Don't you love Spring? The weather starts to warm up, the odd shower starts the green views returning to the terraced countryside fields, flowers begin blooming and their fragrance fills the air! What's not to like?
However, if you are a woman suffering with uterine prolapse, no matter what the season, life is uncomfortable for you. Every day is a day filled with pain, especially when you cannot take a "sick day" and must suffer in silence while continuing all of your normal and often vigorous activities.
Various studies estimate that approximately 600,000 women in Nepal are living with this difficult condition.
Scheer Memorial Hospital has three Women's Health medical teams who come every year to perform surgeries to correct this and bring relief and "life" back to these ladies. The team members come during their vacations, volunteering their time, efforts and skills.
This Spring, two of the teams were here: Australia's Sydney Adventist Hospital's Women's Health Team...
and Holland's Women for Women (website: www.vrouwenvoorvrouwen.nl). If you read our previous post, you'll have noticed that we also had a Women for Women team here in the Winter. Coming this Fall will be the third team: Colorado's Global Health Initiatives (website: www.globalhealth.org). These teams make such a huge difference in the lives of their patients and if you have helped to support any of these teams, you have made a huge difference too!
We want to give a big Thank You to all of the teams (and their sponsors) and let them know that the importance of what they are doing can't be underestimated.
The surgical teams worked diligently and our own operating room staff members gave valuable assistance as they performed their jobs faithfully.
The Burn Contracture Team from Sydney Adventist Hospital was next. This team deals with the important and necessary surgeries of people suffering with disabilities caused by burns. The impact of the corrective surgeries on the patients can only be imagined. If a young patient can't write, his/her chances to do well in school are diminished if not completely gone and of course, if he/she is made fun of, going to school will not be fun at all. If an older patient can't work, his/her family will suffer immeasurably.
Lives are transformed by this surgery and a big Thank You goes out to the team and their supporters. May you be as richly blessed as your patients.
Working with the Australian Burn Team are plastic surgeons from Kathmandu: Dr. Juna Gurung, left, and Dr. Basant K. Mathena, right, Senior Consultant. Their valuable help, including post-op care after the Australian team leaves, is necessary and we heartily thank them for their time and efforts too.
As mentioned above, Holland's Women for Women team was back again for more female surgeries. If you clicked on their website, you'll have discovered that this small but highly effective NGO was started by women physicians who wanted to help fellow females. This time, only one doctor came: Dr. Antoine van Vijfeijken. His working partners were OB/GYNs Dr. Sabita and Dr. Savjana from Kathmandu. We're so thankful for the help the three of them gave to their patients, and the positive manner in which the patients received their lives back!
Sometimes it's cloudy,
but still beautiful,
...and sometimes the clouds part...
and the awesomeness of the Himalayas is what you see!
However, if you are a woman suffering with uterine prolapse, no matter what the season, life is uncomfortable for you. Every day is a day filled with pain, especially when you cannot take a "sick day" and must suffer in silence while continuing all of your normal and often vigorous activities.
Various studies estimate that approximately 600,000 women in Nepal are living with this difficult condition.
Scheer Memorial Hospital has three Women's Health medical teams who come every year to perform surgeries to correct this and bring relief and "life" back to these ladies. The team members come during their vacations, volunteering their time, efforts and skills.
This Spring, two of the teams were here: Australia's Sydney Adventist Hospital's Women's Health Team...
and Holland's Women for Women (website: www.vrouwenvoorvrouwen.nl). If you read our previous post, you'll have noticed that we also had a Women for Women team here in the Winter. Coming this Fall will be the third team: Colorado's Global Health Initiatives (website: www.globalhealth.org). These teams make such a huge difference in the lives of their patients and if you have helped to support any of these teams, you have made a huge difference too!
We want to give a big Thank You to all of the teams (and their sponsors) and let them know that the importance of what they are doing can't be underestimated.
A Nepalese Australian nurse (left) was able to return here to her homeland to help these patients who so desperately needed surgery. Here she explains a procedure to a student nurse.
The surgical teams worked diligently and our own operating room staff members gave valuable assistance as they performed their jobs faithfully.
Our own Flora and her mom cooked lunch for the Australian teams. Thank you Girls!
The Burn Contracture Team from Sydney Adventist Hospital was next. This team deals with the important and necessary surgeries of people suffering with disabilities caused by burns. The impact of the corrective surgeries on the patients can only be imagined. If a young patient can't write, his/her chances to do well in school are diminished if not completely gone and of course, if he/she is made fun of, going to school will not be fun at all. If an older patient can't work, his/her family will suffer immeasurably.
Lives are transformed by this surgery and a big Thank You goes out to the team and their supporters. May you be as richly blessed as your patients.
Working with the Australian Burn Team are plastic surgeons from Kathmandu: Dr. Juna Gurung, left, and Dr. Basant K. Mathena, right, Senior Consultant. Their valuable help, including post-op care after the Australian team leaves, is necessary and we heartily thank them for their time and efforts too.
One Sabbath, Dr. Pennington, left, senior plastic surgeon, gave the sermon in our church with the help of Mr. Sundar Thapa who interpreted. Thank you Doctor for your spiritual insights, as well as your professional help in the operating room.
Again, we are thankful for all of the teams who come here during their vacations to bless and positively change the lives of their patients and we hope they and their sponsors were blessed too!
Stay tuned for Spring News Part 2, coming soon!
Take care and God bless!
