It is my hope to begin providing more regular bi-weekly updates on the recurring medical cases out here.
Each week we are often inundated with new people coming with medical conditions that range from common infections to complex multi-system conditions needing specialist help. We try to also balance that with existing refugees we are helping that have ongoing chronic conditions needing attention, like diabetes, hypertension, anemia or even cancer.
Added to that is the steady stream of pregnant refugee women that have nowhere else to go but us for help!
Thus, we are often to caught up in bringing people to the hospital, to the doctor's office for specialist consults, or involved in some other aspect of caring for them. We get too busy and don't take the time to properly share what's happening out here aside from occasional Facebook posts. Moving forward, it's my intent to have more regular medical updates in a format like the below. Please see it as an opportunity to pray in a more focused manner for the refugees we are ministering to out here!
The past two weeks we've given out well over 100 different medications to acutely or chronically sick refugees. With winter upon us we are seeing a rise in community-acquired pneumonia and general respiratory infections. We also see an increase in respiratory issues like asthma this time of year, because the homes are poorly ventilated and usually smoky in the winters.
We had a man come to us two weeks ago with a substantial tumor growing in his jaw and cheek. He was the husband of a refugee woman that often attends our outreaches. Thankfully we had an amount of money donated right then that enabled us to bring him for a costly biopsy. We found out this week that the biopsy results came back borderline. They don't know if it is cancer or not, but it's growing and they now need to remove it surgically when we can help the family to do so.
We had a young boy come in with scarring from severe burns that happened sometime in the last year. Part of the healing was itching him so bad that he scratched it raw and was bleeding. We were able to bandage him up pretty quickly!
We had a young woman deliver a baby boy last week that was found to have heart problems. He stayed in the NICU this past week as they were unsure if the hole in his heart was severe enough to require immediate surgery. They concluded it may close on its own by 7 months, and sent him home, but pray he stays well!
We have a refugee woman pregnant right now with quads. Yes, that's right, four babies at once. We had to take her to the hospital today and they plan to perform a c-section on her tomorrow to deliver all four babies. We understand from the previous visits to the doctor she has two boys and two girls. We are praying the delivery goes well and the babies do not have a long NICU stay! However we are also greatly concerned for them after discharge. The family is extremely poor, living in a closet-sized home on a roof top with only a small heater. The home is very drafty, and they have little to provide warmth for these babies. We aren't sure yet what can be done to help these babies survive the winter.
The local Muslim woman we are helping with cancer treatments is deteriorating. She had to be admitted to the hospital last week as her chemo port became infected. After a surgery to remove the port, the doctors aren't sure they will replace it. Chemo has done little to improve her condition, and only bought her more time as the cancer slowly takes over her body. We may be able to continue helping her with chemo therapy in pill form, but it's not certain at this time what her doctor intends to do. Pray for this woman, she may not live much longer. We've been helping her with bi-weekly chemotherapy for almost two years now, and are thankful it's helped her stay alive this long, but we are sad that the cancer is steadily winning.
The young girl with severe anemia due to thalassemia went to the hospital again this past week. Her hemoglobin was only 3 when she was admitted! She could easily have died that day if she hadn't gotten a transfusion. Thankfully they got her blood in time and she is recovering. Pray for her. The only definitive help for her is a bone marrow transplant. That is not currently possible for her in this country. The UN talks about helping the family to go abroad for treatment, but for the past year it's only talk. We don't know ourselves what we can do either, as the door is closed in many Western countries for Syrians these days.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read these updates and pray. This is only a fraction of everything happening, but attempts to at least highlight the more serious situations.