Greg & Kathleen's Trip To Kenya

We hope you like our Kenya pictures! Special thanks to our friends and family who supported us financially and through prayer.
Greg & Kathleen Berchelmann 5-27-2003
My young friend Paul, feeling better after a sickle cell crisis. This playground is right outside the paediatrics ward.
 
All children at Kijabe Medical Center share their bed with a parent. Things got complicated for our adolescent patients and their parents! This Masaai child has a brachial cleft cyst on her neck. It was removed surgically without complications.
 
The Masaai girl on the right (with red plaid blanket over shoulder) suffered severe burns over her entire left side and most of her torso. She covered her burn scars with a traditional Masaai red blanket. The Masaai wear red because their diet consists mainly of cow's blood and cow's milk. They bleed the cow at the jugular vein into a jug (no pun intended) and then mix it with milk.
 
This little boy was not sick, but stayed at the hospital for several months with his mother and sister since he was still breast-feeding. Infant formula is very expensive and can only be purchased in a few big cities such as Nairobi. Hence, breast-feeding infants (up to two years of age) cannot be separated from their mothers. When separation occurs, the infants often become severely malnourished. This playful little guy (nicknamed "Buddy") delighted the entire paediatrics ward. He wore the same girls dress the entire time he stayed at the hospital.
 
Kijabe Medical Center sponsored mobile clinics to outlying rural towns three or four times a week. They are staffed entirely by nurses. These clinics focused on preventative care, such as prenatal care, blood pressure monitoring, and vaccination. Although Kijabe Medical Center provides such services on campus, the cost of traveling to Kijabe is cost prohibitive to most Kenyans. Seriously ill patients are referred to Kijabe Medical Center from mobile clinic.
 
These Masaai ladies and their babies are waiting for vaccination at a mobile clinic. Even though it is about 85 degrees Fahrenheit, the Kenyans found this quite cold (I was starting to feel faint in my short sleeved shirt and long skirt). All children arrived at clinic dressed hats and winter clothing.
 
This is Phyllis, one of the nurses in maternal-child health, drawing up a vaccine on mobile clinic. All the vaccines are packed in coolers with ice because there is no refrigeration.
 
Paul, our driver, with the multi-purpose hospital truck/ambulance/mobile clinic. Driving in Kenya is not for the weak at heart (and especially not for those with a weak stomach). The roads generally resemble a dried river bed, and sometimes ARE a river bed, which gets complicated when the rains start. Roads are often obstructed by mudslides, fallen trees, other stuck vehicles, or animals. Zebra regularly cross your path. Petrol is very expensive compared to US prices, and most vehicles have a manual transmission with 10-12 gears and differential lock. Most Kenyans can't drive, and I certainly couldn't have driven any of those trucks. Hence, being a "driver" is a very legitimate profession.
 
Sylvia and her mother both have epilepsy. Many member of their tribe rejected them, believing that they were cursed. Fortunately, they are both Christians, and were able to find a Christian community that accepted them. At Kijabe Medical Center we were able to bring their seizures under control with medication.
 
These identical female triplets were delivered in three different places! The first was born at home, and then it became apparent that there were more babies still inside and not coming out. So, they came to the hospital. The second was born naturally at the hospital, and the third was born by c-section. This proud mother worked around the clock to feed these babies. Only one, the biggest, was able to breastfeed. The others were too small to have an effective suck reflex, and had to be feed by dripping breast-milk off a spoon. Kijabe Medical Center does not have a breast-pump, so all mothers of premature babies have to manually express their milk into a cup with their hands. Then they feed their babies, drip-by-drip. By the time this mother finished feeding one, it was time to feed the next. She slept while she breast-fed the biggest.
 
Many of our patients lived in homes such as these.
 
Click HERE for some pictures of our Safari!