Christmas 2013

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

from

SCHEER MEMORIAL HOSPITAL!

Yes, we celebrate Christmas here at Scheer Memorial Hospital!  

We had a very nice outdoor church service and even though it was cold, with our coats on we were happy and toasty!

Who is up there in the front?
Why it's our Young People's Choir.
Good job!  Please sing more often!

We also had a Christmas program in our courtyard.
Pastor Pukar welcomed everyone

and then the program proceeded with the Nativity play

interspersed with Christmas songs.

Afterwards, Mr. Sundar Thapa thanked everyone for coming.

The standing room only crowd seemed to enjoy the performance and we hope they were blessed.

After the program, hot chocolate helped warm up the audience and performers alike!

Hot chocolate was not all that was served!

The hospital workers, taking turns as their shifts permitted, enjoyed a tasty Christmas dinner and companionship not always allowed during the average busy day.

Our Esa Memorial School students also celebrated Christmas with a fun Christmas party!
The kitchen was a hub of activity--with delectable smells!  "Thank You!" to the cooks!

There were games,

a Christmas movie (Disney Christmas Sing-Along),

songs,

cultural dances,

presents,

general cuteness,

and FOOD!

As you can see, a good time was had by all!
To see more pictures, check out the school's Facebook page:  Esa Memorial School.

We trust all of you are enjoying a very happy holiday season yourselves!
May the Lord bless you and your loved ones in the upcoming new year!

(Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Fall News 2013 post!)

Fall 2013 News, Part 1--"Nepal in the Fall"

Fall in Nepal!  It has been very busy as usual for us!  This Part 1 news post will show you what Fall is like in this area of Nepal.  Part 2, coming very soon, will tell you about the medical teams who were (and some still are at this moment) here and other medical happenings at the hospital.  Check back soon!

Well, what is Fall like here where Scheer Memorial Hospital is?  Well, it's a time to enjoy the Himalayan landscape as the monsoon rains let up and the clouds melt away...and we start to see amazing views!

The first time every Fall, when the clouds part, and you catch your first glimpse of the majestic peaks since the monsoon started, you just have to smile and it always takes your breath away!  You never get tired of it!

However, although Summer is over, it can still be quite hot as we are about equal with Florida latitude-wise.  The nursery class at Esa Memorial School made their own fans one day to compensate for the continued heat!  (Aren't they precious?!)

The nice weather allowed Grades 1 - 5 to take a nature walk--don't you wish you could have tagged along on this beautiful Himalayan Fall day?

                                              Who wouldn't want to jump rope here?

If you're visiting, and you venture just a little bit farther, to Nagarkot, about an hour's drive, this is what you will see this time of year (and during the winter as well)--the splendor of the Himalayas:

Here is what happens (any time of the year actually!)
on the hairpin curves as you travel the Himalayan roadways:
Hmmm...what to do?

The bus waited, then the car passed and pulled over as far as he could.  Then the bus went on.

Can you see how close the bus's wheel is to the edge of the road???  Yikes!

A fun sight to see during the fall is children swinging on the swings that are set up especially for this time of year.  

The hillsides and valleys are filled with the growing crops.  Here is the lovely view of the crops behind the hospital that we get to see changing throughout the year.

When we zoom in, you can see the workers out there!

Then comes the harvest!  You can see how our view is ever changing.

Because it still sometimes rains, we get to see some beautiful rainbows!

But thankfully as the rain diminishes, we see less and less of this mud:

Here is a hard working mother out in a light rain with no thought for herself.  This heavy load on her back may not be her only heavy load.  Many women in Nepal suffer from uterine prolapse and one of the reasons for this is sometimes caused by the hard work of the Nepali ladies.  

Nepal's Women's Reproductive Rights Program (wrrpnepal.org) has put out an online pamphlet which gives more details about this problem.  You can read it here if you are interested.

We are happy to report that three medical teams come to Scheer Memorial Hospital to perform surgeries to alleviate this condition with all its pain.  Did you read about them in our Spring 2013 news post?  If you missed it, you can click here.

More details about what happened when some of these teams came recently will be in our next post:  "Fall 2013 News, Part 2--"Teams & Other Items."  Please visit us soon for pictures and information.

May the Lord continue blessing all of our supporters, new friends, and old friends!
Have a nice day!

Summer 2013 News

The summer of 2013, or the summer of 2070 if you are using the Nepali Bikram Sambat calendar (see here for more information), is now just a fond memory.  Nepal's latitude is 26-28 degrees North, equal to much of Florida, so it can get very hot here in the summer.  If one has the time (which we don't!) and inclination to go swimming, it's now possible to do so here in Kavre District, Nepal!

Yes, the beautiful Kathmandu Fun Park is just a few miles away from us!  Visitors may want to take the time to hope over and cool off!

It can also be quite humid as the summer monsoon rains are upon us.  It was so humid this summer that someone's house plant that had died months before just started growing on it's own!

This is good news for the farmers (and for those of us who like to eat!)!

Unfortunately the rains can cause accidents,

which brings us patients.

Our dedicated surgical teams step into action, day and night, because that's what we're here for.

We're happy to announce that this summer orthopedic surgeon Dr. Rupesh Vaidya, right, seen here with Dr. Ramon Ruiz Diaz, anesthesiologist, rejoined our staff after a brief absence.  

To read more about our orthopedic services, or any other services you may be interested in, please visit http://www.scheermemorialhospital.org/ and click on the Orthopedics Department page and/or whichever page you'd like to see.

Along with Dr. Rupesh, we were happy to welcome back three other physicians to the Scheer Memorial Family this summer after absences as well.  Seen below are, left to right, returning physicians Dr. Angela Basnet, Internal Medicine, Dr. Lavona Pilli, OB/GYN, and Dr. Prameed Pilli, Orothopedic Surgeon.  The Pilli's sons, Jonathan and Timothy (who have since left Nepal to go to school) are on the right.

We're so happy to welcome them back "home!"

Other blessings came our way this summer in the form of visitors.  Our visitors take time from their busy schedules, fund their own trips, and give their time and efforts to our patients.

Dr. Cindy Swannell, family physician from Brisband, Australia, and her husband Dave and three children blessed us with two months of service for the people of Banepa.
Cindy kept busy with patients

while Dave and the children made time to go to Esa Memorial School during recess.

Thank you Dr. Cindy for your dedicated time with your patients and we thank the whole family for coming to spend time with us.  Take care and God bless you all!

Physiotherapist students from England spent time in our Physio Department.  Here, physiotherapist chief Parakram Raj Pandey demonstrates a procedure on an arthritis patient.

Here one of the students advises a patient on the proper exercises for his injury.

Orthopedic surgeon/traumatology resident Dr. Saray Fernandez Munoz from Barcelona, Spain spent a month in our surgical department.  We wish her all the best as she finishes residency and begins her career!

As summer started winding down, between rain storms,

we started seeing blue skies again!

This was nice because it meant that SOMETIMES, yes, only sometimes, we were able to get a glimpse of the majesty that is the Himalayan Mountain Range!

This means that soon and very soon we will be able to see this majesty every time we go down the road!  Yes, we won't have the heat and himidity anymore, but we will have our mountain views!

We're so thankful to God for all His blessings.
Thank you for visiting us, take care and God bless you.