A Week in my life

Sometimes while living overseas it is hard do describe what we are actually doing over here in Africa. The adventures are so exciting that it is easy for me to write about what is happening here in Lesotho, but often it is just easier to leave out some of the more challenging and difficult situations that we find ourselves in at work. I have no pictures but I want to share a few of my experiences from the last week.

First I want to share a little more about how we work in Lesotho. Our day begins with a schedule for each airplane that is flying for the day. The only sure thing about the schedule is that it will change multiple times throughout the day. We also have four categories of patients that we transport:

Code 1: Urgent medical condition that requires immediate transport (Life and Death)
Code 2: Medical condition that requires transportation sometime the same day.
Code 3: Previously scheduled flight for routine Dr. visits, surgery, etc.
Code 4: A patient returning to the mountains after receiving medical care in Maseru.

Last Friday on March 28th I was scheduled with a busy day making 12 landings throughout the country. I had planned on leaving by 8:30 so that I could make my last landing in Maseru by 4:30 later that afternoon.
My day and that of the other pilot flying started with a couple of broken airplanes, I then switched to mechanic mode and worked on the airplane until almost 10:30. Thankfully three other pilots prepped their trusty steeds and took to the air to cover all of the flights that we couldn't do in the morning. Before long we had all five of our airplanes flying all over Lesotho just to meet the needs of the day. As the day progressed we received code 1 after code 1 for a total of 8 Code 1's before the end of the day.

Mid-afternoon I flew to a village called Nkau to pick up one of these patients, a little girl who was 2 years and 4 months old. Although you would of thought that she was only about 6 months old based on her size and weight. She was severely malnourished and was having a very difficult time breathing. I loaded the baby's grandmother (I am assuming that the mother has passed away), oxygen bottle, and IV fluid in the airplane. I then handed the tiny child to the grandmother so that she could hold her for the 30 minute flight back to Maseru. After loading the baby we proceeded to load another code 1 patient with Stevens Johnson Syndrome; A severe drug reaction that caused the skin of the entire body to slough off. She was wrapped in a bloody sheet and had a hand towel in her mouth that was soaked in blood.

I departed Nkau and climbed to 9,500 feet the lowest I could fly on my way back to Maseru. After taking off I radioed ahead and requested to have immediate medical attention and a Dr. available as soon as I landed. As we climbed away from Nkau I spent my time glancing back to see how she was doing and praying for her as we were flying. After about 10 minutes of flying, I noticed that she wasn't moving like she was before and I could not see her breathing. My front passenger climbed back into the middle seat to take a closer look and confirmed that in fact she wasn't breathing anymore. I radioed ahead and spoke to Dr. Jen and verified that they would be waiting for me on arrival. 20 minutes later we landed just as another airplane took off to collect 2 more Code 1's in Mokhotlong. After stopping we sprung into action taking the child to our patient waiting room that is most often used as our emergency clinic. After about 5 minutes, she was officially declared dead as we continued to clean up and prepared the child in a somber silence.

Now we were awaiting the arrival of the other airplane bringing 2 critical code 1's to the hanger. Dr. Jen, Justin (another pilot) and myself stayed to assist. Once again as the airplane showed up, we donned our gloves and rushed to remove and quickly examine the patients. One had severe head trauma, and the other had some major intestinal problems. They were stable at the time, so we loaded them into the ambulance and watched as they headed for the hospital. Of the 8 emergencies that day it is hard to keep track of how they are all doing. I do know that there are several who did not live through the weekend.

Fast forward to Yesterday April 2nd:
Another busy day here in Lesotho with multiple code 1's. I arrived back in Maseru at 4:00 PM ready to go home and relax after a long day. After landing, as soon as I walked inside I was told of another code 1 at Manamaneng; the place I just returned from. I thought they were joking until I saw them fueling my airplane and putting a stretcher inside. I grabbed a coke, something to eat and ran back to the airplane to leave once again. Normally I would call Dr. Jen to have her go with me if some care was needed, but I had to leave immediately or I wouldn't be able to land back in Maseru before sunset. 40 minutes later (our longest flight) I was circling overhead Manamaneng and saw a large crowd next to the airstrip. I landed and was immediately surrounded by people as they quickly transfered the nineteen year old boy into the the stretcher in the airplane. He was obviously in pain from the single stab wound he received the day before in the bowels. His breathing was heavy and I tried to ask if someone could go with me to keep an eye on the patient. They assured me that he was OK, and would have no problems on the flight. After departing at 5:05 PM I called Leslie on the radio and requested that Dr. Jen meet me at the hanger when I landed at 5:45 PM. Once again I passed the time by monitoring the patient and praying for them. His eyes were open and although in extreme pain he seemed to be OK. At 5:10 PM I glanced back and saw him as he was experiencing convulsions and vomiting, after which he stopped moving at all. I put on a pair of gloves, cleaned off his face and began to give him chest compressions the best I could from the pilot seat. I called Leslie once again and had her warn Jen that I had a patient who appeared to be DOA. I spent the rest of the flight doing some more chest compressions and praying all while flying the airplane back to Maseru as fast as possible. Once again I landed with tee sight of Dr. Jen and Justin waiting so that we could immediately remove the patient to our own emergency room. Dr. Jen, along with Justin and myself worked for about 10 minutes before confirming his death at 5:53 PM.

I share these stories so that maybe through reading them you will have a better idea about the needs of the Basotho and the work that we are doing here. I share these stories so that maybe you can know how to pray for us a little bit better.
I am privileged to have a large number of people praying for me around the world. Please continue to pray as we work with the sick and dying of Lesotho. Often it feels like no matter what we do or how hard we work we can never make a difference. Please keep praying. Pray for myself and the rest of the MAF team. Pray for our families as they stay at home and take care of the kids. Satan has a stronghold in this country and people are dying ever minute without knowing about the one thing that can bring them eternal peace. Pray for Dr. Jen, she deals with this every day here in Lesotho. Pray that MAF Lesotho would take the time and listen to what God would have us do. We have never been as busy as we are now, and we are growing like crazy. We have two new families coming in the next 12 months, and more airplanes on the way. The bottom line is that we need your prayers. Life here can be emotionally and physically challenging. Please... PRAY - PRAY - PRAY