Togo Photo Diary Day 15

Here is Natasha with Lydia Pfenniger and the OB nursing staff.  It has been very hard as we say goodbye to the wonderful team here!  We start the road back home today as we head back to Lome, the capital of Togo to spend some time with our Regional director.

Togo Photo Diary Day 14

Finished up my last day in the operating room today.  Then I had a very special treat.  Eric Miller and I were able to take out all of the surgical techs and Anesthetists (except David and Pataka who held down the fort at the hospital) for burgers in Kpalime.  It was a great time of fellowship.  The van ride with 16 people was full of craziness.  Everyone in the first picture will be leaving Tsiko for Mango in the next few months.  I have really enjoyed getting to know my future Mango team!

 

This is Dr. Eric Miller the full time general surgeon here in Tsiko with the whole crew (Missing David Dagadou and Bataka).

Togo Photo Diary Day 13

Natasha took this photo while she was waiting to receive the baby from a C-section.  Fred Pfenniger in the blue and his wife Lydia, sent with Samaritan Purse's post residency program, have been helping me to become proficient with C-sections.  Moussa the surgical tech on the right will be working in Mango!

Togo Photo Diary Day 12

Natasha has been working on the OB ward and with the newborns there.  She has enjoyed it, and the staff and patients seem to enjoy working with her as well!

Togo Photo Diary Day 11

This is Moussa, a Fulani man who recently presented in the middle of the night when I was on call.  When he arrived he was unresponsive with almost no blood pressure.  He had been hit by a car while riding his moto (motorcycle), and his leg was fractured and nearly amputated.  As a result he lost a lot of blood.  He initially went to a hospital about 1 hour away, but after being there for about 5 hours there was still no doctor.  They had applied a tourniquet made out of rubber gloves.  When he arrived 7 hours after the injury he was still bleeding.  We applied a tourniquet and gave him blood.  He improved, but still required an below knee amputation.  He is now doing very well. 

The Fulani are known for being nomadic cattle herdsmen.  Though now many of them own stores and work in other trades.  They have a reputation for being mean and dangerous.  They are almost all Muslim.  There are many Fulani in Mango, as well as, here in Tsiko.  We had a great opportunity to show the love of Jesus to this Fulani man.  Unfortunately we will not be staying here long enough to build a relationship that might allow me to study the Bible with him. 

Togo Photo Diary Day 10

We have been very busy the past few days and unable to post.  Today I would like to introduce you to a few of the Togolese staff here.  The Anesthetists took some selfies during our last Sign nail for a femur and tibia fracture. 

 

 Dieudonne worked at the hospital in Mango prior to joining our team. 

 

 

Cherry (pronounced like Sherry) recently finished his Anesthesia training in Lome.   Both of these guys are excellent at what they do, and a pleasure to work with.

 

Finally here is some evidence that I have been working.  This is a picture of Dr. Briggs and I working on a Sign nail.  Kofi one of the most experienced surgical techs is in the red hat and Sam one of our techs for Mango in the yellow hat. 

 

 

Togo Photo Diary Day 9

Coffee beans along the path to the waterfall.  The red beans are ready for harvest.  They have been cutting all of the underbrush with machettes (coup coup) to prepare for the upcoming harvest.

Koku harvested a cacoa from a tree for us to suck on the seeds.  The seeds can be used to make cocoa powder, but the seeds taste very sour when they are fresh.

Papaya trees.

In the upper part of the picture you can see the top of the waterfall and the bottom is in the lower left.  We were only able to see the a little bit at the bottom, because the foliage was very thick at this time of the year (the rainy season). 

Togo Photo Diary Day 8

 

 

These are pictures from the HBB soccer teams' game against Kpalime in the regional championship.  They won the week before against a greatly favored team, and they won the orange jerseys they are wearing.  Unfortunately they loss this game 1-0 on a corner kick that our player headed in for them.

Togo Photo Diary Day 7

The kids in genuine batik African fabric made from wax molds.  It was taylored right here in Tsiko.

Togo Photo Diary Day 6

A few of the OR crew I've been working with.  Many of them will be joining me in Mango.  From right to left, Bataka one of the most senior OR techs and staying in Tsiko.  Next Mousa and Sambione two guys who helped build the hospital in Mango and are now trained to be surgical techs. Next Cherry one of the Anesthetists for Mango.  Dr Eric Miller the full time surgeon here in Tsiko.  Luke also a future Mango surgical tech.  Komi one of the surgical techs staying here in Tsiko.  He spent a lot of time sharing the gospel with me to a patient with terminal breast cancer.  An excellent representation of the amazing team of people we have been working with.

Togo Photo Diary Day 5

 

Ahnilyse enjoys riding around on the back held with a Ponia of fabric on Florence's back.  Sofia never would ride like this.

 

 

Natasha and Elli are getting pretty comfortable with this technique too!

Togo Photo Diary Day 4

Elli and Sofia helping Florence pound fufu.  It ends up looking like bread dough.  It's made from cassava root, which is a staple of the diets here in Togo.

 

This was a pile of cassava roots on the side of a road.

Togo Photo Diary day 3

A rhinoceros beetle, one of the many exciting creatures the kids have discovered here.

Togo Photo Diary Day 2

 

A mountain pass south of Kara on the main Togo highway.  It's about 3-4 hours south of Mango.

Togo Photo Diary Day 1

Since making my last post the internet has been down.  Our IT expert, Jon Edwards, returned today and its now working again.  Thank you Jon!

 

Additional seating Mango, Togo style.  Thanks to Josh and Jenny Farver for their hospitality!

Nattier News September 2014

We have a had a very busy and enjoyable few weeks.  Last week we had meetings Monday through Wednesday to discuss the reasons for and potential impact of a surgical training program, ie PAACS in Togo.  It was a great time to meet many teammates and learn about what God is doing in Togo.  We were given the go ahead to begin making a proposal of how it could work at the hospitals here in Togo.  Please continue to pray for us as we seek God's guidance in how to use surgical training as a way of preparing Christian surgeons to be leaders and to someday take our place. 

The following day we set off on a 10 hour car ride with 15 people to our future home, Mango Togo.  The route was full of interesting sites.  It was also very clear that progress was being made in the form of road improvements.  The first two hours was spent on a dirt road with deep potholes.  The next 8 hours was a mixture of paved roads with scattered potholes, mountain passes, and newly paved roads.   When we finally arrived in Mango we were immediately amazed at the sight of the hospital.

We had some ideas of what Mango might look like from pictures and what others had told us.  In spite of that, I was completely amazed by the hospital and especially the operating rooms.  This will be an amazing facility for this area and we pray that God will use it to do great things.  You enter the surgery building through the outpatient holding area and recovery room, a significant upgrade from the facility in southern Togo.  Then there are 5 operating rooms that are very modestly sized.  All in all it would pass for an outpatient surgery center in the USA, which says a lot when you consider Togo is a third world country.

We greatly enjoyed spending time with some of our teammates.  Unfortunately about half of the team was home on furlough or taking a short break before the hospital opens.  There is still a lot of work to be done before the hospital opens.  Due to the Ebola situation, some of the work teams coming have canceled further complicating things.  Please be in prayer for those who continue to labor diligently on the hospital.  Please pray for our team that continues the hard work and many preparations to start a hospital in this very challenging environment. 



One of our goals for our trip was to figure out our housing situation.  We were able to stay in one of the houses on compound.  Most of the providers who will be taking call live on the compound.  We were also able to visit several of our teammates houses in the community.  There are upsides and downsides to each.  Right now there are no other houses suitable for a family of six on the compound, so we will have to wait on God's timing to figure this out. 

We are almost half way through our time here in Togo.  So far it's been a great time of fellowship, and yet we have done almost everything we were hoping to accomplish.  Natasha has been busy working in the hospital, so she is getting the hours she needs for recertification.  I have also spent time in the operating room, and it continues to amaze me at how much I have to learn.  The practice of medicine and surgery in Africa is quite different than in America.

Thank you for your continued support, and we continue to rely on your prayers!  We are excited to announce we are now at 71% of our monthly support.  We continue to be amazed out how God provides.  When we return we will be looking for churches to share about the work in Togo.  Please be in prayer for open doors with churches and individuals.  We still need to reach 85% by March for our next training.  If you want to hear more about the ministry in Togo, please contact us.  As always, we love to hear from you!  I'm going to try and post a picture from our trip every day for the next few weeks as the internet permits, so check back frequently.