Surgery

A few weeks ago Graham fell off of our dining table on his elbow. We could tell right away he was hurt pretty badly. We got some x-rays done at a local hospital, but they were really poor quality and the radiologist said the bones looked okay. I was really skeptical but we decided to wait.

Graham's arm swelled to twice its normal size and he refused to use his arm or hand at all. About a week after his accident it still wasn't any better so we decided to drive to Entebbe to nice orthopedic hospital. We saw a Ugandan orthopedist who came very highly recommended. We got some new x-rays and we could all see right away that he had a severe break. The doctor said it would require surgery to set and put in pins. We were not expecting surgery at all and we initially felt shocked and disappointed. But we trusted this doctor and knew that we had to do whatever it would take to fix Graham's arm.

So we came back two days later for surgery. Graham was put to sleep (the worst part) and the surgery was completed without incident. The hospital facilities were really nice, nicer than we expected. Graham was groggy the rest of the day. Chad stayed the night at the hospital with him while Molly and I returned to the hotel.

It's difficult to see your child suffer, but it was more difficult to here in Uganda, where we are skeptical of most of the medical advice that we get. But the Lord was with us granting us peace through it all. We're so thankful it's over! We go back in about two weeks to follow up and have the cast removed. We continue to pray that there will be no complications.

Thank you to all of you who prayed!

Here you can see how swollen Graham's arm was:

We diligently elevated and iced his arm 3 times a day.

Graham's x-ray. You can see that the tip of his elbow was broken off.

All prepped for surgery!

The hospitals here are different. There are several buildings which each serve different purposes. They are connected by covered walkways. So while we waited, and there was a lot of waiting, we sat outside. Molly had a lot of fun playing with these two little girls.

Out of surgery!

Watching a movie at the hospital.

Ready to go home! We have been amazed at how quickly he bounced back. He seemed to feel better right away.

Visitors

Last month we had the pleasure of having my parents come visit us in Uganda for the first time. My mom came for 3 weeks and my dad for 1. For an entire year I have dreamed of showing them our house, our neighborhood, our town, our friends, and LIU. It was even more fun than I thought it would be! 

My mom was a bit overwhelmed the first week she was here. The bad roads, the boda drivers, the lack of air-conditioner, it was a lot! But then she kind of got in the groove of it all and really enjoyed herself. We did some really fun things while they were here like drive to the top of Mount Wanale. On the way down we purchased some chapati, roasted corn, and a kilo of carrots to taste. We hiked to the base of little Sipi Falls. Probably one of the most memorable experiences was going on a village visit to see a friend of ours about 1 1/2 hours away. My mom got to see up close what life is like for an African farmer. And she got to eat a traditional Ugandan meal of chai, chicken, chapati, rice, and matoke. It was tough for all of us to eat this food, but we did the best we could! We spent one night in Jinja at a nice resort on the Nile River. We took a boat ride along the Nile. We went to church, went shopping, went swimming, went out to eat, met up with our friends, played outside, played inside, etc.

I'm so so thankful that my parents came to visit us. It's certainly not an easy trip, but I think they really enjoyed it. I know they enjoyed getting to play with Graham and Molly so much! I'm already looking forward to the next time they get to come!

Furlough in Pictures

Get ready for picture overload! Here are my favorite moments from our furlough 2014 in no particular order: