Our little sickie

We had our first experience with medicine in the Congo this week with our dear Elder Mpoyi. He entered the mission when we did and is our major Swahili teacher. He has the most delightful smile and twinkle in his eye. We just love him!

He was diagnosed with a hernia that would require surgery. We had been told some very frightening things about medical care here, so we were pretty nervous when they said it would be fine to have his surgery in Lubumbashi.

We picked him up at his apartment and the other elders gave him a wonderful, simple blessing. It was a very touching time with those four good elders caring for each other. We were to be at the clinic to meet the doctor at 9:00 am. When we got there the Dr. wasn't there. We were told to wait out in front of the clinic for him. We had to pay for the medical care paid up front, that's how it's done here ($650 in cash) and we probably got our money's worth. Finally, the doctor walked up, put his arm around Elder Mpoyi's shoulder and started walking away. We told him that we had a car, but he didn't want to ride with us. He said that he wanted to walk with the young man to keep him calm and relaxed, like nothing unusual was happening. So, they walked the 4 blocks to a little clinic among the stores in the middle of town, as we followed along, not even knowing where we were going.

When we got just around the corner from the clinic, the Doctor told us that he didn't want us coming with them and he would call us when it was over. Then he just walked on with Elder Mpoyi in hand. We didn't know what to do as Elder Mpoyi turned and waved a nervous goodbye and rounded the corner. We followed them to the clinic and then decided that we just had to leave. We really had no other choice. Thankfully, Justin, a local bishop who helps us with all missionary needs, was there to reassure us that Elder Mpoyi would be fine.

We went on about our day's activities--looking at apartments and speaking at a new member meeting in Katuba Stake, but we were very anxious as the time went on. We finally heard from Justin, who had gone to the clinic to check things out at 6:00 pm. He told us things had gone fine and we could come and see Elder Mpoyi. We were so relieved! We hurried to the clinic, only to find the gates locked. We tried to call Justin, but it had been raining and we found out that cell phones don't work here when it rains. As we were frantically trying to decide what to do, Justin and his wife arrived and led us to a side door enterance to the clinic. We went through an open iron gate, down a dark alley, behind some stores and around the corner to the door of the clinic. Since it had rained we had to negotiate some big puddles of water to get there. It was such a strange place to be entering a surgical center and we felt so unfamiliar with how things are done here and what it would be like. This was certainly not a great beginning.

Across the hall from a small office with a very nice lady in it, who greeted us and must have been in charge, we found Elder Mpoyi. He was lying on a cot in a cement room that had nothing in it but another cot, a plastic chair, a hat rack and a mosquito net. The room had faded yellow paint half way up the walls and a curtained window that looked out into the hall. There was no doctors or nurses anywhere. Actually, there didn't seem to even be any other patients as we looked down the dark hall. There was no technology at all-no IV, no blood pressure cuff, no monitors, no oxygen. Our elder was in some pain, but seemed fine. Justin told us that his brother-in-law was going to come and sleep on the empty cot in the room with Elder Mpoyi, so we felt better about leaving.

Elder Mpoyi comes from a very isolated town in the middle of the Congo called Luputa. There are seven branches of the church there, but there is no electricity or power at all. The church just build a tape for the city to get clean water. We had called the District president and asked him to find Elder Mpoyi's family to tell them about the surgery. We said that we would call them when it was finished. So, we tried to call them, but the rain had affected the cell phones there too. We were not able to notify his family for almost 36 hours after the surgery. It was very hard to know that they were home worrying even longer than we were.

Elder Mpoyi will be in the clinic for four days to recover and be watched carefully so he doesn't get infection or have other problems. It is very different from the outpatient surgery at home. He will need food and anything else he needs brought to him. No complaining about the hospital food. There is none.

We are so glad that the surgery went fine and he is recovering well. What a relief! It was not the ideal situation, but better than what we had anticipated.

Sunday, after our trip to Likasi, we went to see him again, entering by the same entrance. A very nice man in the office across the hall greeted us and brought in two plastic chairs. Elder Mpoyi was his happy self and feeling much better. We are so relieved that he is going to be fine.

Look how cute he is!! He's wearing his badge on his pajamas.

We are, however, praying that nobody else gets seriously ill while we're here.

Medical care is still frightening to us.