hey mom, i hope your flight went well. & that you managed to make it through the 24 hours without wanting to kill yourself. everything is going alright at home, & we all miss you very much. have fun enjoying what you love to do, & be careful. don't forget to take lots of pictures for my article when you get home. i love you, & have fun. - mckenzie.
Hey girlfriend, are you and Linda sharing this blogspot or does she have her own? Hope your flight was OK and your back did OK. Start blogging - we're tired of reading each other's messages. Have an amazing time. Both of you are in my prayers. Love, Susie
Hey thanks for getting on here and checking on both me and Linda.The flight here was long we took three different planes just to get to Narirobi. We got up at 4:45 to get the plane today for Eldoret. On the way here we heard so many people speaking so many languages. The Hotel we stayed in the first night was very nice. We are saying at the I.U. house in Eldoret it is very simple with 2 beds and a shared bath in the hallway. We drove into Eldoret saw many people living in very poor conditions. Lots of he houses are like tin shacks. It must be hot inside them. People riding bikes and walking all over the place. Men carrying heavy loads of wood on their bikes. Many very poor people.We met a lady on the plane who lives in the US and works two jobs but her family lives in Eldoret and she sends them money. She was coming back to Africa because her mother had died. She was very nice and explained all the customs around funerals in Africa. We went to the hospital today it was very interesting. First Dr. Lemmons was like a celebrity they could not take enough pictures of him and they named the newborn ICU after him and had him cut a ribbon in a opening ceremony. He was proud and embarrassed.We have alot of challenges with the unit and teaching. We want to teach thermal regulation but the first obstacle we ran into was that no babies have diapers so they are always on wet linens. It would be difficult to change frequently because water in scare. Let me know if you have any ideas. They had 40 babies in the unit all premature. Not one of them was bundled or used any positioning rolls. The humidity was turned way up to 85 on some of the babies isolettes. It was very hard for me and Linda not to go right in and change things. We saw a baby that had a very large stomach and some with loops none had og tubes. We really wanted to put them down but we have to hold back as to not to offend anyone. I know what you are thinking me and Linda not offend anyone it might not be possible.The hospital is beautiful and so is the place. I will update as often as I can. The computer is very slow. Mckenzie and Murphy I miss you both and I got your messages.Tell Dad and the boys I said hi. I'm taking lots of pictures not sure yet if I can down load some to the computer. Hope all is well in the U.S.
Glad you guys got there okay, I know the culture shock must be great. I will ponder the wet linens, guess they have very few disposables of any sort. Maybe we could send plastic wrap and 4x4s to lay under them to keep them drier? Can't wait to read more stories! Have a great time and be safe! Marcia
i'm sorry to hear about all the things going on, i know it must be hard for you to see all of that & its hard not to able to do what you know you can. but you are strong & i know you can do what you need to, to get done what is needed there. we talked about how you knew the conditions were going to be worse here & you knew that you weren't going to be able to help every single baby that you knew that you could. but your strong & i know your going to make the right choices. i love you mom.
Stacia and Linda,I'm so proud of the both of you for stepping out of your comfort zones and making a difference. Keep us updated, I am thinking and praying for you both. Can't wait to hear all about it. Love, Kristen Nicks
hey , i am taking jenna to ur house to be with murphy tomorrow night.talked to mike tonight and he said he talked with you. hope all is going well for you and linda. peace, susie
Sorry i didn't write yesterday but the computer was down for about 23 hours. Linda and I have been so busy the computer is not something that I have time for. Yesterday we wen to the NICU and watched the work flow of the nurses. The nurse have 6-10 babies during the day and 25-30 a piece at night so I do not want to hear any of you complain ever again. They keep the room 85 degrees so you all know I have had heat stroke the entire time we have been here. The rooms are heated with coil heaters and then pans of water are put in front of them to put humidity in the room. There are no iv pumps and all the fluids are mixed by hand. I mean a little here and a little there. The rate is titrated by the nurses. Mothers are breastfeeding and cup feeding everywhere the less then 1500 gm babies are ng feeding. None of the babies are on monitors so the nurse must watch them to see if the have apnea. We gave them blankets pens, stethoscopes, and thermometers they were very excited to have them.We are still looking for Ambu bags ,oximters and bubble CPAP. The people we are working with are all very kind and helpful you can not believe how hard they work. We are asking Jim to use his pull to try to convince them that they need dedicated nurses and doctors. We walk through the Peds ward. Whole families stay with their children. The hospital provides only one meal a day the family must bring the rest. We walked through the cancer ward one little girl with a purple dress looks 18 months but she is three. Malnutrition makes it hard to tell how old children are here. We went to a child life carnival the center is named sally test after a lady that gave money for the center in the 90's There are 12 abandoned children one is only a month old and she was found in a field.One girl who was burned in the uprising and has contractures. and has been in the hospital for a year We took a Swahili lesson. So when we get back we ill not be fluent but we might be able to say one word. I also got a Henna tatoo.
Today is Friday the 24th I do not think I can write down everything that has happened. We went to the NICU and we put together monitors. We were told by the biomedical techs that they could not get them off the walls fast enough and we would have to wait until Monday but me and Linda went in and took them off in about 5 seconds they were very embrasure that we could them off so fast. We put several babies on the monitors, a few on oximeters, and we tries bubble Cpap. The nurses were very overwhelmed.That was in ab out 5 hours. We tol them about thermo-regulation and we tried to explain that a baby who is sick weight does not matter you still need to put them in a warmer or isolette. Then Jim took us to an orphanage for HIv positive children. It was great fun I don't think I have smiled that much ever. The kids wanted you to pick them up and take pictures the family that runs the place is wonderful. We stayed and had dinner with them and then sang happy birthday to one of the orphans. You can not imagine how well behaved these children are. They are all well taken care of too. These people have 4 of their own children all different ages and I wish my children acted that well. Mckenzie I would love for you to go and work there for a few weeks. I miss you and murphy and Dad and the boys I am very busy. I go on safari tomorrow
I cannot imagine how overwhelmed you both are. It sounds like it is what you expected for the most part. However I am sure that being there is so much different than can be described on a computer screen! We all miss you two around here, can't wait to see your pics and hear all of your great stories! I am so jealous! Your friend~Shellie PS. Shannon says hello too!
Hey chic! Can't wait to see the tattoo. You didn't say where it is or what it says....... I can't believe you are tolerating heat like that without hurting anyone - if only you had my cold hands right now :) Could they layer plastic/linen/plastic/linen etc. under their bottoms so that they could be changed a little more frequently? Can't believe their staffing ratios. I bet they don't have to computer chart, though, and if their preemies aren't on monitors they don't alarm constantly - right? Maybe it's not so bad after all......Smooches, Pini
We just got back from safariwe saw lots of animals that were so close we could reach out and almost touch them. We saw giraffes,rhino, gazelle,water buffalo,and the lake in Nakaru is where the flamingo feed so their was about one million very bright pink. storks,pelicans,water buck which is like Africa's version of deer.monkeys. baboon some kind of black and white monkey but we could not find the lions I was a little disappointed but I should not be because it was a great experience. I did not sleep all night and had bad dreams for what ever reason. I dreamed the whole place burn and I woke Linda and Dr Lemmons up and made them go to the middle of the lake. I don't know what that was about. The road to Nakaru is wild some of the raod is like driving on a washed out corn filed the road is mud and the pot holes will eat you alive. The rest of the road is paved but it has alot of trucks that must go slow because it still has a lot of bumps and cars are passing all the time and it seems as though you will have a head on collision any time. I have lots of pictures to share I may try later tonight to get them on the computer but I'm not sure this computer will load them so I will try. Hope all is well Stacia
Hi Stacia - It's mom. I really miss you. It sounds like you are having a wonderful adventure. Something you will remember all your life. I bet you will want to go back some day. I would love to go with you. The safari sounds really spectacular. I love you and I'm soooo proud of you. You are making a difference, probably more than you know. Can't wait to see your pictures. I am taking Murphy to Julianne's soccer game at noon today and then I'm going to Mason's baseball game. Your time over there is short, but seems long to me and the people who love you. I read all your blogs. Nancy and I tried to get on the other night at her house, but I thought it was a slash not a dash.
hi girls, paula and i are working together this weekend. we both did ecmo yesterday and today pt care. sounds like you are having an amazing time, well all work aside!! jenna had a good time with murphy. safari sounded like out of a survivor challenge reward!!! hope pxs will load, we all keep checking! later, peace susie
hey mommy, sorry its been a while since i've been on here but i haven't been at home all weekend. i was with haley when she got ready for prom & she looked really pretty. your gonna have to see the pictures when you get home. & i had a lot of fun. i can home this morning & found a mess but its all clean & you don't have to worry about your house its in good shape. i hope everything is going well with whats going on & that you don't get burnt. lol (: but i wanna hear all about your safari when you get home. i love you so much, & what are you talking about me working where for a few weeks? have funnnn.
Stacia, We are all so glad you are enjoying yourself. Thanks for keeping us up to date! Ann said to bring back plenty of pictures. See you soon! Safe travels, Love, Megan & Ann
Stacia and Linda, What an unbelievable experience!!! I would be bringing kids home...I'm sure it is hard to see the conditions there and the obstacles to making things better. Be safe and enjoy your time there...you are making a difference. Hugs, Gail PS Your updates are great!!
Today was I think one of the hardest days because we stayed in the nursery all day.We put a kid on CPAP. Tell Mike thank you for making it easy to set everything up. They only have 3 flow meters so it is difficult to make things work but they set up this octopus system not really sure how much is being delivered to anyone but that is all they have to work with. The CPAP is bubbling so I will assume they baby is getting something we are trying to work on thermal regulation but all the babies that are not in isolettes are in bassinets naked with coil heaters and pans of water in front of them for the humidity. We wrapped all the babies and talked them into turning off the coil heaters but it took several times to convince them it was ok we took the babies temp about 3-4 times before I think they thought it might work . We don't know what we will find in the am. We also put a couple of babies on Cpap a total of 4 but as we began talking we realize it might be impossible for them to keep doing all of this one they will run out of leads in 2-3 weeks and also oximeter probes in about 4 weeks. We also realize that they do not have the nursing staff to keep up this pace. The ministry of medicine is coming on Wednesday to look and see if they need more nurses but then it still has to go through a bunch of red tape with the government which is very corrupt.They had no idea how many babies were having desats and bradys until we put the monitors on. We just still can't figure out if what we are doing will make a difference or just frustrate everyone including us. Oh we taught them how to do heal sticks they were sticking a vein with a 25 gauge needle and letting it drip in a tube. So at least we taught them that..Stacia
Hi stacia, Tell Linda I said hi. It really does make us appreciate what we have. Everything is going good here.I will be glad to see both of you have a good time. Ann
Wow--good morning ray of sunshine. I can't even begin to imagine what its like to do what you are doing, but you sure make it sound surreal. Will we be sending things there when you get home???? I wish we could do more---of course I think that every time someone goes on a trip like this. Maybe someday I will try it out myself---not sure if I'm that brave quite yet. I think I would cry every day. You guys are doing great things and believe it or not you are making a difference---and not just a temporary one. Take care of yourselves and be "cool". Can't wait to hear more. Love, Stephanie
We went to the nursery to find one of the Cpap on the 800gm baby not working and two of the others not working we got them working right away. We found one without o2 just an empty tank and it is a production to get any o2. They do not have proper wrenches to work the o2 So they have to share. The 800 gm baby is mostly only warm if me and Linda are there i wrapped it in plastic to get it warm. the baby started out 35.5 and I got it up to 36.8 before we left a few hours later. We went to the Imani workshop which is a place were HIV positive people make jewelery,pottery, purses,and cards and them sell them for support of the Aids clinic. I took lots of pictures there. We went into town and picked up the blankets we bought for the nursery. We now have given them a total of 175 blankets which will go a long way to helping with thermal regulation. You can not be warm if you are wet which was the problem we are having teaching. We can tell them to keep the babies wrapped and dry but if they do not have clean linens to wrap the babies in that teaching does no good. There was a baby with birth depression in the NICU we started on Cpap but We are not convinced that it was the best idea but they will have to figure that kind of stuff out themselves. We are told that if you have a a baby with problems it is considered a curse and the whole family will be treated differently.There is the class system as in the US lower,middle and upper but the difference is very great. Many people living in mud huts or on the street and people selling things everywhere just to make a living. Nurses make 2100 shillings or 300 dollars a month and no overtime pay which they often work. See how spoiled we are.
Hi girls, It sounds like you are having a great adventure. I would love to see everything you are doing, but I'm not as brave as you two are! Miss you ! Donna
Hi... it's me :) What is up!!!! I'm so glad to hear what you are doing. It is GREAT!!! I feel helpless here and can't imagine how you guys feel. I want to be there with you to help!!!! It sounds like you are doing great work and trying so hard to help. You can only teach them what you know and the rest is up to them being able and WILLING to do what you have said. WOW... with the wet linens. What to do? Not even cloth diapers huh? That is a problem. Are we supplying more leads and probes for them? Where did the monitors come from? GREAT job removing the monitors off the walls ladies. Love it!!!! Makes me laugh picturing you and Linda barging in there and showing them how to use a monkey wrench!!! hahaha! Things here are not as exciting. I took two kids off ECMO yesterday and told Josh that I've done enough work (from Sunday and Monday) to not work tghe next two weeks... didn't go over though. I'm still here today :) Plus side is, I've gone from heart surgery and two kids off ECMO yesterday to two growers on room air! Tough life today huh? Loving it!!! Well, I should probably chart. Speaking of... do they chart anything? Anyway, check up on you later. Good luck and have fun. Oh... Shannon, Mom and I are going to the Vera sale Thursdya... Want anything? :) Staci
Hi, Stacia and Linda!! What great things you both are doing!! It must be overwhelming at times what you see, and, then, what you don't have any control over. It is so eye opening to see how good we do have it here, and, how lucky "our babies" are here. Just at the few conferences I've been to, I have learned how far advanced we are @ Riley from the rest of OUR country, but, WOW!!! How exciting for those nurses there to learn even just little things to make their care better! Take care! Can't wait to see pics, too. Brenda H.
mommy i miss you soooooooooooooooo much happy anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cant wait til Friday having you away made me realize how much you do for us i will take more responsibility at home Ive been helping kenzie around the house and getting up on time for dad
the house is clean and we all miss you soooo much we have all had to take more responsibility around here
you taught us well and again we miss you sssssooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much
Hi Stacia = It's mom - I am so very proud of you and so happy you could have this adventure. Sunday I took Murphy to Julianne's soccer game and to Mason's baseball game. She was very tired so we left early. Love you very much and miss you. Happy Anniversary Love Mom
I took today off and Aunt Nancy and me are going to lunch with some of our cousins. I need a computer at home. I am going to buy one now. The work you are doing great. Hope the hospital is furnished with enough supplies that they can keep it going. It is probably expensive to ship anything there. See you this weekend. Love Mom
Stacia isn't nice to know how appreciated you are at home! Happy Anniversary. I hope you and Linda are planning to do some sessions to inform us all about what you have seen and done. Cindy J.
Wow, I am just getting to view your blog and I am amazed, heart sad, frustrated and grateful... I applaud the work and the efforts however frustrating it may be. I can't wait to see the pictures and hear the stories. Thank you for sharing the moments and the work. I can feel the need to do more radiating off the blog space... See you soon, blessings and safe travel. Mary Lynn
Hi Aunt Stacia - sounds like you are doing extraodinary work over the pond in Africa. I hope you are enjoying your trip and learning many things. I'll be excited to hear about it when you return. Elliot
Hi honey - I'm at Chris' house. He is in Lexington on business. Julianne's soccer game was cancelled so Heidi is going to fix dinner and then back to work tomorrow. Miss you much. See you soon. Love Mom
Stac!! Great adventure! Murphy told me about the safari when she was at Julianne's game. Good stuff! Isn't it crazy how well we live? Sounds like you're in your element. Can't wait to see pics. No elephants, I suppose. Dangit. If you find a stray I'll rehab it. Enjoy!! Love, Heidi
awl, well isn't daddy just so cute ? lmao. i miss you mom, & i can't wait to see you firday. just for the fyi when i see you i'm tackling you to the ground. (: cause yk i bawled the first day you left. get home soooooon. i love you mommmmmmy! kenzieeeeeeeeeeee!
Stacia this is your brother Chris, I hope that this experience has been one of the things you will remember for the rest of your life. Push the envelope, you are one of the ones that can take it. See you soon.
It looks like your enjoying Africa. We all cant wait for you to get home. Remember that your not aloud back here in the states with out my spear. Hope you enjoy the rest of the trip
-Love, Little Michael (The favorite)... just in case you forgot lol
dear mom this is probably the last time i will blog you I FINISHED WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS !!!!!!!!!!! i now will listen when you tell me to read a book these past 10 days have been difficult without you BTW I have a surprise for you when you get home im feeding Orlans cat while you have been gone I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH
why don't these idiots realize that i'm your favorite. i mean honestly, i spend all my time with you. & we all know you love me the most. bahaaaaa, i love you mommy.
Stacia and Linda it looks like you guys have done some amazing work. This is the first time I have had to check out your blog. What an awesome experience, can't wait to see pics and hear your stories. Have a safe trip back, I know your families will be very happy to see you. Take care. Teresa
Hi... It's me :) Have fun and can't wait to hear all about it!!!!
ReplyDeleteStaci
heyyy mom, i hope you have fun in africa (:
ReplyDeleteit is me murphy
ReplyDeletei love you mommy
ReplyDeletehope you have a great
trip
love murphy
What an adventure! I'll be keeping tabs! Enjoy! ML
ReplyDeleteStacia- we emailed staff to inform them of your blog. Hope you have a great time. Can't wait to hear the stories you will have to tell. Cindy
ReplyDeletestacia...i awoke this morning with you in mind. prayers to you all for a safe trip. have a wonderful time. can't wait for all the "dirt". ---pardieck
ReplyDeletemommy blog me when
ReplyDeleteyou get there
PS i love you
Hi Stacia. I hope your trip to Africa is delightful. Have a safe trip. And No! you can not adopt any kids. You already have 4. XXOO Casey JO
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed our meeting.Hope everything is good over there. Have you seen Suzanne? Be careful!
ReplyDeleteAnn BeckCollins
are you there yet????
ReplyDeletei miss you already
i want you to come
home i miss you to
much blog back
PS i HATE school
soooooooo much
hey mom, i hope your flight went well. & that you managed to make it through the 24 hours without wanting to kill yourself. everything is going alright at home, & we all miss you very much. have fun enjoying what you love to do, & be careful. don't forget to take lots of pictures for my article when you get home. i love you, & have fun. - mckenzie.
ReplyDeleteHey girlfriend, are you and Linda sharing this blogspot or does she have her own? Hope your flight was OK and your back did OK. Start blogging - we're tired of reading each other's messages. Have an amazing time. Both of you are in my prayers. Love, Susie
ReplyDeleteDo they have skunks in Africa?? Hope all three of you are having a great time. Ashley
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for getting on here and checking on both me and Linda.The flight here was long we took three different planes just to get to Narirobi. We got up at 4:45 to get the plane today for Eldoret. On the way here we heard so many people speaking so many languages. The Hotel we stayed in the first night was very nice. We are saying at the I.U. house in Eldoret it is very simple with 2 beds and a shared bath in the hallway. We drove into Eldoret saw many people living in very poor conditions. Lots of he houses are like tin shacks. It must be hot inside them. People riding bikes and walking all over the place. Men carrying heavy loads of wood on their bikes. Many very poor people.We met a lady on the plane who lives in the US and works two jobs but her family lives in Eldoret and she sends them money. She was coming back to Africa because her mother had died. She was very nice and explained all the customs around funerals in Africa. We went to the hospital today it was very interesting. First Dr. Lemmons was like a celebrity they could not take enough pictures of him and they named the newborn ICU after him and had him cut a ribbon in a opening ceremony. He was proud and embarrassed.We have alot of challenges with the unit and teaching. We want to teach thermal regulation but the first obstacle we ran into was that no babies have diapers so they are always on wet linens. It would be difficult to change frequently because water in scare. Let me know if you have any ideas. They had 40 babies in the unit all premature. Not one of them was bundled or used any positioning rolls. The humidity was turned way up to 85 on some of the babies isolettes. It was very hard for me and Linda not to go right in and change things. We saw a baby that had a very large stomach and some with loops none had og tubes. We really wanted to put them down but we have to hold back as to not to offend anyone. I know what you are thinking me and Linda not offend anyone it might not be possible.The hospital is beautiful and so is the place. I will update as often as I can. The computer is very slow. Mckenzie and Murphy I miss you both and I got your messages.Tell Dad and the boys I said hi. I'm taking lots of pictures not sure yet if I can down load some to the computer. Hope all is well in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys got there okay, I know the culture shock must be great. I will ponder the wet linens, guess they have very few disposables of any sort. Maybe we could send plastic wrap and 4x4s to lay under them to keep them drier? Can't wait to read more stories! Have a great time and be safe! Marcia
ReplyDeletei'm sorry to hear about all the things going on, i know it must be hard for you to see all of that & its hard not to able to do what you know you can. but you are strong & i know you can do what you need to, to get done what is needed there. we talked about how you knew the conditions were going to be worse here & you knew that you weren't going to be able to help every single baby that you knew that you could. but your strong & i know your going to make the right choices. i love you mom.
ReplyDeleteStacia and Linda,I'm so proud of the both of you for stepping out of your comfort zones and making a difference. Keep us updated, I am thinking and praying for you both. Can't wait to hear all about it.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Kristen Nicks
hey , i am taking jenna to ur house to be with murphy tomorrow night.talked to mike tonight and he said he talked with you. hope all is going well for you and linda. peace, susie
ReplyDeleteSorry i didn't write yesterday but the computer was down for about 23 hours. Linda and I have been so busy the computer is not something that I have time for. Yesterday we wen to the NICU and watched the work flow of the nurses. The nurse have 6-10 babies during the day and 25-30 a piece at night so I do not want to hear any of you complain ever again. They keep the room 85 degrees so you all know I have had heat stroke the entire time we have been here. The rooms are heated with coil heaters and then pans of water are put in front of them to put humidity in the room. There are no iv pumps and all the fluids are mixed by hand. I mean a little here and a little there. The rate is titrated by the nurses. Mothers are breastfeeding and cup feeding everywhere the less then 1500 gm babies are ng feeding. None of the babies are on monitors so the nurse must watch them to see if the have apnea. We gave them blankets pens, stethoscopes, and thermometers they were very excited to have them.We are still looking for Ambu bags ,oximters and bubble CPAP. The people we are working with are all very kind and helpful you can not believe how hard they work. We are asking Jim to use his pull to try to convince them that they need dedicated nurses and doctors. We walk through the Peds ward. Whole families stay with their children. The hospital provides only one meal a day the family must bring the rest. We walked through the cancer ward one little girl with a purple dress looks 18 months but she is three. Malnutrition makes it hard to tell how old children are here. We went to a child life carnival the center is named sally test after a lady that gave money for the center in the 90's There are 12 abandoned children one is only a month old and she was found in a field.One girl who was burned in the uprising and has contractures. and has been in the hospital for a year We took a Swahili lesson. So when we get back we ill not be fluent but we might be able to say one word. I also got a Henna tatoo.
ReplyDeleteToday is Friday the 24th I do not think I can write down everything that has happened. We went to the NICU and we put together monitors. We were told by the biomedical techs that they could not get them off the walls fast enough and we would have to wait until Monday but me and Linda went in and took them off in about 5 seconds they were very embrasure that we could them off so fast. We put several babies on the monitors, a few on oximeters, and we tries bubble Cpap. The nurses were very overwhelmed.That was in ab out 5 hours. We tol them about thermo-regulation and we tried to explain that a baby who is sick weight does not matter you still need to put them in a warmer or isolette. Then Jim took us to an orphanage for HIv positive children. It was great fun I don't think I have smiled that much ever. The kids wanted you to pick them up and take pictures the family that runs the place is wonderful. We stayed and had dinner with them and then sang happy birthday to one of the orphans. You can not imagine how well behaved these children are. They are all well taken care of too. These people have 4 of their own children all different ages and I wish my children acted that well. Mckenzie I would love for you to go and work there for a few weeks. I miss you and murphy and Dad and the boys I am very busy. I go on safari tomorrow
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine how overwhelmed you both are. It sounds like it is what you expected for the most part. However I am sure that being there is so much different than can be described on a computer screen! We all miss you two around here, can't wait to see your pics and hear all of your great stories! I am so jealous! Your friend~Shellie
ReplyDeletePS. Shannon says hello too!
Hey chic! Can't wait to see the tattoo. You didn't say where it is or what it says....... I can't believe you are tolerating heat like that without hurting anyone - if only you had my cold hands right now :) Could they layer plastic/linen/plastic/linen etc. under their bottoms so that they could be changed a little more frequently? Can't believe their staffing ratios. I bet they don't have to computer chart, though, and if their preemies aren't on monitors they don't alarm constantly - right? Maybe it's not so bad after all......Smooches, Pini
ReplyDeleteWe just got back from safariwe saw lots of animals that were so close we could reach out and almost touch them. We saw giraffes,rhino, gazelle,water buffalo,and the lake in Nakaru is where the flamingo feed so their was about one million very bright pink. storks,pelicans,water buck which is like Africa's version of deer.monkeys. baboon some kind of black and white monkey but we could not find the lions I was a little disappointed but I should not be because it was a great experience. I did not sleep all night and had bad dreams for what ever reason. I dreamed the whole place burn and I woke Linda and Dr Lemmons up and made them go to the middle of the lake. I don't know what that was about. The road to Nakaru is wild some of the raod is like driving on a washed out corn filed the road is mud and the pot holes will eat you alive. The rest of the road is paved but it has alot of trucks that must go slow because it still has a lot of bumps and cars are passing all the time and it seems as though you will have a head on collision any time. I have lots of pictures to share I may try later tonight to get them on the computer but I'm not sure this computer will load them so I will try. Hope all is well Stacia
ReplyDeleteHi Stacia - It's mom. I really miss you. It sounds like you are having a wonderful adventure. Something you will remember all your life. I bet you will want to go back some day. I would love to go with you. The safari sounds really spectacular. I love you and I'm soooo proud of you. You are making a difference, probably more than you know. Can't wait to see your pictures. I am taking Murphy to Julianne's soccer game at noon today and then I'm going to Mason's baseball game. Your time over there is short, but seems long to me and the people who love you.
ReplyDeleteI read all your blogs. Nancy and I tried to get on the other night at her house, but I thought it was a slash not a dash.
See you soon
what a dream ,I would love to go on a safari. Too bad you didn't see any lions, but you saw lots of other animals. Mom, I really miss you.
ReplyDeleteLove Murphy
hi girls, paula and i are working together this weekend. we both did ecmo yesterday and today pt care. sounds like you are having an amazing time, well all work aside!! jenna had a good time with murphy. safari sounded like out of a survivor challenge reward!!! hope pxs will load, we all keep checking! later, peace susie
ReplyDeletehey mommy, sorry its been a while since i've been on here but i haven't been at home all weekend. i was with haley when she got ready for prom & she looked really pretty. your gonna have to see the pictures when you get home. & i had a lot of fun. i can home this morning & found a mess but its all clean & you don't have to worry about your house its in good shape. i hope everything is going well with whats going on & that you don't get burnt. lol (: but i wanna hear all about your safari when you get home. i love you so much, & what are you talking about me working where for a few weeks? have funnnn.
ReplyDeleteStacia, We are all so glad you are enjoying yourself. Thanks for keeping us up to date! Ann said to bring back plenty of pictures. See you soon! Safe travels, Love, Megan & Ann
ReplyDeleteStacia and Linda,
ReplyDeleteWhat an unbelievable experience!!! I would be bringing kids home...I'm sure it is hard to see the conditions there and the obstacles to making things better. Be safe and enjoy your time there...you are making a difference. Hugs,
Gail
PS Your updates are great!!
Stacia and Linda--Thanks for the blogs...I really can't wait to hear all your stories. Cindy J.
ReplyDeleteToday was I think one of the hardest days because we stayed in the nursery all day.We put a kid on CPAP. Tell Mike thank you for making it easy to set everything up. They only have 3 flow meters so it is difficult to make things work but they set up this octopus system not really sure how much is being delivered to anyone but that is all they have to work with. The CPAP is bubbling so I will assume they baby is getting something we are trying to work on thermal regulation but all the babies that are not in isolettes are in bassinets naked with coil heaters and pans of water in front of them for the humidity. We wrapped all the babies and talked them into turning off the coil heaters but it took several times to convince them it was ok we took the babies temp about 3-4 times before I think they thought it might work . We don't know what we will find in the am. We also put a couple of babies on Cpap a total of 4 but as we began talking we realize it might be impossible for them to keep doing all of this one they will run out of leads in 2-3 weeks and also oximeter probes in about 4 weeks. We also realize that they do not have the nursing staff to keep up this pace. The ministry of medicine is coming on Wednesday to look and see if they need more nurses but then it still has to go through a bunch of red tape with the government which is very corrupt.They had no idea how many babies were having desats and bradys until we put the monitors on. We just still can't figure out if what we are doing will make a difference or just frustrate everyone including us. Oh we taught them how to do heal sticks they were sticking a vein with a 25 gauge needle and letting it drip in a tube. So at least we taught them that..Stacia
ReplyDeleteHi stacia,
ReplyDeleteTell Linda I said hi. It really does make us appreciate what we have. Everything is going good here.I will be glad to see both of you have a good time.
Ann
Wow--good morning ray of sunshine. I can't even begin to imagine what its like to do what you are doing, but you sure make it sound surreal. Will we be sending things there when you get home???? I wish we could do more---of course I think that every time someone goes on a trip like this. Maybe someday I will try it out myself---not sure if I'm that brave quite yet. I think I would cry every day. You guys are doing great things and believe it or not you are making a difference---and not just a temporary one. Take care of yourselves and be "cool". Can't wait to hear more.
ReplyDeleteLove, Stephanie
We went to the nursery to find one of the Cpap on the 800gm baby not working and two of the others not working we got them working right away. We found one without o2 just an empty tank and it is a production to get any o2. They do not have proper wrenches to work the o2 So they have to share. The 800 gm baby is mostly only warm if me and Linda are there i wrapped it in plastic to get it warm. the baby started out 35.5 and I got it up to 36.8 before we left a few hours later. We went to the Imani workshop which is a place were HIV positive people make jewelery,pottery, purses,and cards and them sell them for support of the Aids clinic. I took lots of pictures there. We went into town and picked up the blankets we bought for the nursery. We now have given them a total of 175 blankets which will go a long way to helping with thermal regulation. You can not be warm if you are wet which was the problem we are having teaching. We can tell them to keep the babies wrapped and dry but if they do not have clean linens to wrap the babies in that teaching does no good. There was a baby with birth depression in the NICU we started on Cpap but We are not convinced that it was the best idea but they will have to figure that kind of stuff out themselves. We are told that if you have a a baby with problems it is considered a curse and the whole family will be treated differently.There is the class system as in the US lower,middle and upper but the difference is very great. Many people living in mud huts or on the street and people selling things everywhere just to make a living. Nurses make 2100 shillings or 300 dollars a month and no overtime pay which they often work. See how spoiled we are.
ReplyDeleteHi girls, It sounds like you are having a great adventure. I would love to see everything you are doing, but I'm not as brave as you two are! Miss you ! Donna
ReplyDeleteHi... it's me :)
ReplyDeleteWhat is up!!!! I'm so glad to hear what you are doing. It is GREAT!!! I feel helpless here and can't imagine how you guys feel. I want to be there with you to help!!!! It sounds like you are doing great work and trying so hard to help. You can only teach them what you know and the rest is up to them being able and WILLING to do what you have said. WOW... with the wet linens. What to do? Not even cloth diapers huh? That is a problem. Are we supplying more leads and probes for them? Where did the monitors come from? GREAT job removing the monitors off the walls ladies. Love it!!!! Makes me laugh picturing you and Linda barging in there and showing them how to use a monkey wrench!!! hahaha! Things here are not as exciting. I took two kids off ECMO yesterday and told Josh that I've done enough work (from Sunday and Monday) to not work tghe next two weeks... didn't go over though. I'm still here today :) Plus side is, I've gone from heart surgery and two kids off ECMO yesterday to two growers on room air! Tough life today huh? Loving it!!! Well, I should probably chart. Speaking of... do they chart anything? Anyway, check up on you later. Good luck and have fun. Oh... Shannon, Mom and I are going to the Vera sale Thursdya... Want anything? :)
Staci
Hi, Stacia and Linda!!
ReplyDeleteWhat great things you both are doing!! It must be overwhelming at times what you see, and, then, what you don't have any control over. It is so eye opening to see how good we do have it here, and, how lucky "our babies" are here. Just at the few conferences I've been to, I have learned how far advanced we are @ Riley from the rest of OUR country, but, WOW!!! How exciting for those nurses there to learn even just little things to make their care better! Take care! Can't wait to see pics, too.
Brenda H.
stac happy anniversary all is well on the home front. miss you much!how about another 19 yrs. love you see ya fri.mike
ReplyDeletemommy i miss you soooooooooooooooo much
ReplyDeletehappy anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cant wait til Friday
having you away made me realize how much you do for us i will take more responsibility at home
Ive been helping kenzie around the house and getting up on time for dad
the house is clean and we all miss you soooo much we have all had to take more responsibility around here
you taught us well and again we miss you
sssssooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
much
Hi Stacia = It's mom - I am so very proud of you and so happy you could have this adventure. Sunday I took Murphy to Julianne's soccer game and to Mason's baseball game. She was very tired so we left early. Love you very much and miss you. Happy Anniversary Love Mom
ReplyDeleteI took today off and Aunt Nancy and me are going to lunch with some of our cousins. I need a computer at home. I am going to buy one now. The work you are doing great. Hope the hospital is furnished with enough supplies that they can keep it going. It is probably expensive to ship anything there. See you this weekend. Love Mom
ReplyDeleteStacia isn't nice to know how appreciated you are at home! Happy Anniversary. I hope you and Linda are planning to do some sessions to inform us all about what you have seen and done. Cindy J.
ReplyDeleteWow, I am just getting to view your blog and I am amazed, heart sad, frustrated and grateful... I applaud the work and the efforts however frustrating it may be. I can't wait to see the pictures and hear the stories. Thank you for sharing the moments and the work. I can feel the need to do more radiating off the blog space... See you soon, blessings and safe travel.
ReplyDeleteMary Lynn
Hi Aunt Stacia - sounds like you are doing extraodinary work over the pond in Africa. I hope you are enjoying your trip and learning many things. I'll be excited to hear about it when you return.
ReplyDeleteElliot
Hi honey - I'm at Chris' house. He is in Lexington on business. Julianne's soccer game was cancelled so Heidi is going to fix dinner and then back to work tomorrow. Miss you much. See you soon. Love Mom
ReplyDeleteStac!! Great adventure! Murphy told me about the safari when she was at Julianne's game. Good stuff! Isn't it crazy how well we live? Sounds like you're in your element. Can't wait to see pics. No elephants, I suppose. Dangit. If you find a stray I'll rehab it. Enjoy!! Love, Heidi
ReplyDeleteawl, well isn't daddy just so cute ? lmao. i miss you mom, & i can't wait to see you firday. just for the fyi when i see you i'm tackling you to the ground. (: cause yk i bawled the first day you left. get home soooooon. i love you mommmmmmy!
ReplyDeletekenzieeeeeeeeeeee!
Stacia this is your brother Chris, I hope that this experience has been one of the things you will remember for the rest of your life. Push the envelope, you are one of the ones that can take it. See you soon.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like your enjoying Africa. We all cant wait for you to get home. Remember that your not aloud back here in the states with out my spear. Hope you enjoy the rest of the trip
ReplyDelete-Love, Little Michael (The favorite)... just in case you forgot lol
dear mom
ReplyDeletethis is probably the last time i will blog you
I FINISHED WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS !!!!!!!!!!!
i now will listen when you tell me to read a book
these past 10 days have been difficult without you
BTW I have a surprise for you when you get home
im feeding Orlans cat while you have been gone
I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH
LOVE,murphy (the mirical child )
why don't these idiots realize that i'm your favorite. i mean honestly, i spend all my time with you. & we all know you love me the most.
ReplyDeletebahaaaaa, i love you mommy.
& michael your getting a spear? lmao.
Stacia and Linda it looks like you guys have done some amazing work. This is the first time I have had to check out your blog. What an awesome experience, can't wait to see pics and hear your stories. Have a safe trip back, I know your families will be very happy to see you. Take care. Teresa
ReplyDelete