Spring 2014 News--Goodbye!

GOODBYE!  "Goodbye!" is sometimes hard to say!  However, time doesn't stand still and keeps on slipping away, so sometimes you can't ignore it and have to say it!  Here at Scheer Memorial Hospital we had to say goodbye to some beloved friends who came into our lives--some for a short while and some for a long while!  However, they will all always be in our hearts!

Standing left to right during their last Sabbath with us are Andrew and Elliott, helpers from America, the Lamichhane family, Oshin, Sumitra, Perlin, and Rakesh, a long time office worker, and our pastor Elder Kumar Adhikari, who formally said, "Goodbye, thanks and God bless!"

Time flies when you're having fun and it sure flew for all of these folks!  Andrew and Elliott were only with us for less than a year--it went by too fast!  We now wish them all the success as they head back to their university to finish their studies.  The Lamichhane family has been with us for numerous years and we were blessed to see the family grow!  We now wish them all the success as they head to their new location in Gatthaghar, Nepal, where Rakesh will begin his career, where he actually started some years ago, in the office of the Nepal Section of Seventh-day Adventists where he will be the treasurer.

After the pastor's thank you speech, Mr. Sundar Thapa gave another.

Some of our girls passed out gifts,

...and then we all sang a congregational song:

Thank you for playing the piano Timothy and the guitar Bikram!

The best part is that we know this is true:  God will be with them until we meet again!

Roshmi lead our song service--thanks!

While Binod played the piano, Aashish wondered when he will be old enough to take lessons!

We're happy to report that our young people are learning how to participate in the service.

Here we have Krashis manning the computer--good job!

The words to our songs and also the Bible texts are now able to be seen by all in English and Nepali both!

Next we were all blessed with a beautiful special music selection.  

Thank you Flora, Bikram (guitar), and Abhishek (piano)!  Here's a glimpse:

Our assistant pastor, Elder Pukar Shrestha, gave an informative and inspiring sermon, 

with Binod Dahal translating.

So now we formally say another THANK YOU and GOODBYE!
You will always be in our thoughts, prayers, and hearts!

 Our two promises for all of you are from Genesis 31:49,

and Jeremiah 29:11.

To end, please enjoy a few pictures of our friends!
We hope they won't be strangers and will come back to visit!
Blessings!!!!!

GOODBYE and have a nice life full of blessings!

Spring 2014 News--Teams!

Springtime in Nepal!  Beautiful!  At first you can take your coats off and enjoy perfect "sweater weather!"  At first the skies are still blue and the awesome Himalayas are in view,

but that slowly changes as the spring rains (and the heat!!!) start.

Here is the same view a little later in the spring.

If you didn't know better, you'd never know the Himalayas were there!

We were blessed this spring to have three volunteer medical surgical teams visiting us to help patients who otherwise would have no help.  There are simply not enough doctors in Nepal.

When these teams come, they come during their vacations and give of their time and efforts instead of having a family holiday.  They can only imagine the impact they have made on the lives of their patients.

We also count on Nepali doctors who dedicate themselves to do follow-up treatment if necessary and we value them as very important members of the surgical teams.

The first team this spring was a repeat visit from Centura Global Health Initiatives' OB/GYN team, based in Colorado, U.S.A., seen here with Mr. Pralhad Bhurtel, our Health Project Coordinator, as they arrived.  

We're happy to announce that teams from Centura regularly come twice a year for much needed female surgeries, mainly which consist of uterine prolapse.  If you've been following our news, you already know about them.  If you'd like to check out their website, here it is:  http://www.centuraglobalhealth.org/NepalWomensHealthInitiative

You'll find out that this dedicated team also travels to other countries with their volunteer work.

To read more about the tremendous need of prolapse surgery in Nepal,

here is a very recent newspaper article about the difficulties:

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/may/07/nepalese-women-stigma-fallen-wombs-prolapsed-uterus

These pictures show the common sight in Nepal of women carrying heavy loads on their backs, which is one of the contributing factors to uterine prolapse.

Here are Dr. Jaime Arruda and Dr. Carole Christensen, OB/GYNs from Colorado, USA, in action.

Thank you for changing the lives of the 20 patients you had during your one week in Nepal!

Dr. Cardona thanked the team at a dinner,

and gave gifts in appreciation.

Here is the whole team with our own staff members who worked with them.

We look forward to your next visit!  Blessings are sent your way and a BIG THANKS!

Our next two teams were both from Australia.  Sydney Adventist Hospital (http://www.sah.org.au/) and Open Heart International (http://www.ohi.org.au/) organize these teams and their yearly trips here.  The first team to come was a women's health team, for more uterine prolapse surgeries.  As noted above, this is a large health situation here and we are grateful for each team that comes to help the women of Nepal.  They arrived in the evening.

How many surgeries did they do in approximately ten days?  82!  Yes, 82!  Eighty-two women's lives were changed by their time and efforts!  What a blessing!

Thank you for coming and we look forward to seeing your team again next year!

The next team from Sydney Adventist Hospital and Open Heart International to come was the burn contracture reconstruction team.  This team helps to solve the often insurmountable problems facing burn victims in Nepal.  Tragically, many of the victims are children who do not understand the dangers of fire and live in rural communities where fires (often open fires for cooking and heat) are important to daily life.

They arrived with smiles on their faces after a long flight!

Here is the anesthesia team, with our own anesthesiologist and our acting CEO.  Left to Right:  Dr. Fernando Cardona, pediatrician and acting CEO, Dr. Jiro Sato, anesthesiologist from Japan, our won anesthesiologist Dr. Ramon Ruiz Diaz, Dr. Stephanie Phillips and Dr. Tony Chan, both from Australia.

Dr. Stephanie Phillips is seen here in front of one of the four anesthesia machines she was instrumental in bringing to Scheer Memorial Hospital.  We are thankful and grateful for this wonderful contribution!  What a blessing!

Dr. Neelam Shah and Dr. Basant Mathema, plastic surgeons from Kathmandu, check a patient's chart.  They are an important part of the burn team as they continue with the important after care are the Australian team leaves.  Their contribution is necessary and invaluable.  We thank both of you so much!

We give a big thank you to the whole team for coming here during their vacation time and working!  We hope you all were blessed as much as your patients were!  See you next year!

If you want to read an interesting newspaper article about burns and burn victims in Nepal, click 

http://archives.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=41880.

If you have supported any of the teams, either financially or prayerfully, we thank you too!  

Stay tuned for more news!  Take care and God bless you our friends and supporters!

May Health Calendar

Happy May 2014!  Scheer Memorial Hospital wishes you the best of health during May--and of course, during your whole life actually!

Have you seen the list of World Health Calendar days of emphasis during the month of May?  If not, you can find them here.

If you have any questions concerning any of these or other health issues, please don't hesitate to come in for a consultation.  Don't be shy!

May 4-11 is Hospice Week.  Did you know that there is a hospice in Nepal?  It's in Lalitpur.  Here is the website for anyone who is interested in reading about it:  http://www.hospicenepal.org.np/

May 6-12 is Burns Awareness Week.    Nepal is one of the top ten countries in the world with a very high burn incidence rate.  We've been blessed here at Scheer Memorial Hospital to be able to periodically offer burn contracture reconstructive surgeries to those in need.  A plastic surgery team from Sydney Adventist Hospital comes and works in conjunction with plastic surgeons from Kathmandu.  We thank them for their help!

May 8 is World Red Cross Day, which reminds us to donate blood.  Did you know that one pint of blood can save three lives?  To learn about Nepal's Red Cross Society, you can visit their website:  http://www.nrcs.org/core-area/hc-blood-service.php

May 12 is World Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome Day.  To find out more about this, and why it's celebrated on May 12, please refer to http://www.may12th.org/ 

May 12 is also International Nurses Day.  To find out more about this day and to learn what the theme is (and again, why it's also celebrated on May 12!), check out the International Council of Nurses website here.

May 17 is World Hypertension Day.  Did you realize that Nepal is not immune to this world-wide problem?  This Himalayan Times article is from last year, but still very relevant and full of information about hypertension in Nepal:  http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Hypertension%3AThe+silent+killer&NewsID=372122

To find out the theme for 2014, read the International Society of Hypertension's website:  http://ish-world.com/public/world-hypertension-day.htm

May 19 is International Candlelight Memorial Day.  What is this?  You can find out on this website:  http://www.candlelightmemorial.org/ and why it's relevant in Nepal at this website:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS_in_Nepal.

May 28 is International Day of Action for Women's Health.  Do you have any questions about women's health?  Our OB/GYNs are ready to talk to you about any question you may have.  To read about this day, you can find a website that explains about it here:  http://www.may28.org/about/may-28-herstory/

May 31 is World No Tobacco Day.  For information about this important day, please read the Wikipedia article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_No_Tobacco_Day

May you have a nice, happy, and healthy day, week, year, and life!