A few scenes from the wards and clinic...

This is the B ward for children......old cracked floors, a corrugated tin roof, and poor lighting. Looking further ahead is the A ward for the more malnourished kids. Finally, way off in the distance is F ward which is overflow. Plans have recently been drawn up to construct a new pediatric ward, CREN (outpatient nutrition ward), and eventually a new medical ward and emergency room. We were delighted to learn the Samaritan's Purse will be actively involved in at least the pediatric and CREN portions of this major renovation project.

                                                                                                                         

Dela is Dave's translator. Here is one of our exam rooms in the outpatient clinic. Shown are Dave's desk, and seats for his translator and the patient. There is another station for a second doctor at the near end of the room. The 2 docs share the exam table and ultrasound machine. There is a second similar room so up to 4 docs are working at a time, seeing the sickest patients whose cards are marked by the health screeners "voir dr" (see doctor).
Surgery, OB-Gyn, HIV/TB have separate clinic rooms. The under 5s clinic (PMI) where Susie works is in a different building. 

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Above is Assam, a 4 year old with abdominal Burkitt's lymphoma. This fast growing tumor is treatable with basic chemotherapy drugs that are available at Galmi. I (Dave) helped set up a treatment protocol that, while not nearly as intense as that used back in the States, still has a chance of curing up to 3/4 of kids that have limited stage disease and who complete the treatments. Sadly, when children begin to feel better or their tumor has shrunk, parents sometimes fail to return for the needed additional treatments.



Below is Susie giving a Tuesday morning talk to the docs. Her English is being translated into French by Dr. Matt Megill, an internist from Pennsylvania. We met Matt on our first Galmi trip in 2009 - he was a Samaritan's Purse Post-Residency Fellow who stayed on as a career missionary . He speaks fluent French as well as the local tribal language, Hausa. We have enjoyed our friendship with Matt, his wife Tara, and their 4 kids!