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Feb202010

New cataract surgeon!

By DrWillDean
Ephraim Kambewa, Cataract Surgeon

Ephraim Kambewa, Cataract Surgeon

One of the greatest aspects of working here at Nkhoma is the team at the Eye Hospital.  I have the pleasure of working with a team of nearly 40 dedicated nurses, patient attendants, drivers, administrative staff; and one clinical officer, Mr Ephraim Kambewa.

I mention Mr Kambewa especially, as he has returned after 18 months training in Tanzania last year, and has graduated now as a qualified Senior ophthalmic clinical officer Cataract Surgeon!  It was thanks to cbm that his training was possible.

Mr Kambewa has worked at Nkhoma for 7 years, and has a wife and 3 children.

Since starting training, and being back at Nkhoma he has completed over 800 cataract operations and is an excellent surgeon.  He is a fantastic asset to Nkhoma Eye Hospital, and will be a crucial part of its sustainability.

Dave McComiskey, cbm Regional Director, awarded Mr Kambewa a certificate of congratulations for his acheivement, and we had a colourful presentation ceremony yesterday at Nkhoma.

Posted in Cataract, Surgery, Training | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment |
Feb122010

The big Indaba

By DrWillDean

So I started the day as normal 5am, but this time with no strange animals or creatures in the house.  Even my dog Ellie had gone on her weekly walkabout for a day or maybe two.  A nice coffee, a beautiful sunrise and some paperwork and emails.

At 8am we had the big staff meeting/indaba to discuss the year ahead, tell everyone an update on Nick’s condition, and tackle any concerns that anyone might have.  Was a great time to have everyone together in the same place, and closed with a nice prayer by Church elder Mr Banda.

We saw a few patients, and then lept into a series of meetings with senior staff, tax consultants, drivers, and cataract case finders.  Finally we met with Stefan, CBM National Coordinator for Malawi and Dr Ter Haar the Nkhoma General Hospital Medical Director.  It was a very productive day  and we got a massive amount of issues sorted.  I’m not a fan of having meetings for meetings sake, but find it a pleasure to sit down with all the staff and people involved with Nkhoma Eye Hospital, to really hammer out and resolve important issues.  A real blessing to be able to do this now, as in 2 weeks time we will start to screen patients in the villages and bring them to Nkhoma for surgery or other help; and that is when we start to get very busy.  Looking forward to it.

It is great to have to weekend ahead to try and find my prodigal dog, and sort through some more work.  What astounds me always is the view from the hill here of the valley beyond.  Just to give an idea about the changing seasons:

Dry season

Dry season

This is a photo last August in dry season, after the maize has been harvested.

And this is the exact same view from the house yesterday morning, some two months into the rain season.

Rainy season

Rainy season

The landscape now is a real garden of Eden.  The great thing is that the rains have been good over the past two months, interspersed with sunshine, and the maize crops are flourishing.  Crucial really as this one harvest will sustain villagers for the entire year.

I’m off to go and find that prodigal dog.

Posted in MACOHA, Nick Metcalfe, Vision 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment |
Feb092010

Screening at the lakeshore

By DrWillDean

And so we start the year..

We have done our first few cataract operations.  I also saw a 12 year old boy who had a penetrating  pen injury to his eye.  Managed to sort it out in theatre.

Steve and Kambewa are driving 200 miles to Mangotchi and Machinga, near the lakeshore, tomorrow to meet the district health officer for his permission to work for patients in his area.  It’s actually a very under-served area of Malawi, so a perfect place to start our outreach activities this year.

We have had fantastic rains here in Nkhoma, interspersed with beautiful warm sunshine, so the maize crops in the villages are doing really well.  In fact the rains and storms were so good here at Nkhoma, I had lightning strike my house twice last Friday.

So here we are.  All safe and well; scorpions, spiders, malaria, tame snakes and lizards, and my trusty dogs Ellie and Malu; ready to tackle the house; and with the amazing staff at Nkhoma, the year ahead.

We are all missing Nick.  And we continue to pray daily for him and his family.  The work that he built up here absolutely must continue.

Sadly the gentleman, Mr Efuloni, who came to Nkhoma from Salima last year, having been referred by the Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) has died.  He was a wonderful man, a village chief.  The cataract surgery on his first eye was the 25,000th cataract operation at Nkhoma since 2000.  I remember his smile very well after we operated his second eye!

before the cataract operation

before the cataract operation

Jebele, after both surgeries

Mr Efuloni after surgeries

He had spent the last few months with his family in his Salima village.  But, as a small blessing to his family and Mr Efuloni, he could see his family, his children and grandchildren; and his wife.

Let’s get this year started, trying to help more people like Mr Efuloni who have been robbed of their sight.

Posted in Adult, Blindness, Cataract, Malawi, Nick Metcalfe, Outreach, Surgery, Vision 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment |
Jan302010

The rains have come

By DrWillDean

I was happy to arrive back in Nkhoma during the rains.  They shouls have started in ernest 2 months ago, but have been somewhat scanty over the past weeks.  The crops are surviving in the central region and over the past week we have had a number of huge down pours to soak the fields and keep fears in the villages about drought, failing crops and possible famine at bay.  The country is completely different now… a green garden of Eden!

Some awesome electrical storms pass over Nkhoma.  I was in the house during one two nights ago, and the thunder and lightning happened simultaneously as bright flashes surrounded the house.  Poor Ellie ran for cover under the bed.  I found out the next day that two cows were struck by lightning in neighbouring Dzuwa village.  The owner of the cows fainted at the time, but is absolutely fine now.  She still has six more cows, and villagers have been coming around to buy beef.

After less than two months of rain

After less than two months of rain

I had to drive to Blantyre yesterday to spend the day with Dr Tamara, helping her with her retinopathy of prematurity thesis.  We spent the day at the Kangaroo mothercare and Chitanka neonatal unit seeing premature babies, and chatting with their mothers.  It’s quite hard looking at these babies eyes, some were so small.. less than 3 lbs when born a few days or weeks ago.

I also met with the Registrar General, and although it is pretty rare for a British and an American citizen to marry in Malawi, there should be no problem legally or registering!

A South Africa missionary couple got married at Nkhoma 15 years ago, and were carried from the church in a traditional ox cart.  Sadly the groom was sick with malaria and was carried in a litter up to the mountain hut for their honeymoon.

I was very glad to see Esther, Kambewa and all the staff at Nkhoma.  We are planning together for the year ahead.  We continue to pray for Nick’s recovery; and for rains to continue, especially in the south of the country where the crops are starting to fail.

I’ll enjoy the weekend walking around the village and market with Ellie and friends, and then tee up for the Africa Cup of Nations final at Kambewa’s house tomorrow night.

Posted in Child, Malawi | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment |
Jan052010

The New Year

By DrWillDean

I have gathered strength from family and friends over the festive season, and am ready for the new year.  It’s not going to be easy.  We have much less funds, and I totally understand.  With the past two year’s international financial crisis, we all perhaps have less to give; and this ultimately boils down to affecting Nkhoma Eye Hospital.  Our goal will stay the same.  To aim to tackle poverty by eradicating avoidable blindness, with our work in central Malawi.  Make no mistake, we will find under-served and impoverished and blind people; and we will serve them.  We will try our very  best as the team in Malawi to make this happen, in spite of the reduced funds; and we will do it.  But I have to say it makes me a bit sad that all this will slow down a little.

It takes me 7-10 minutes to do a cataract op.  It costs, in the general scheme of things, £20 for each op.  It doesn’t cost Mr Efuloni or Mrs Limon a penny.  Wow, they don’t work and have less than 50p to pay for the surgery!  It costs me nothing, it’s just my job, mime and the teams work.  The costs are for the staff salaries, medicines, surgical supplies.

I think the point of my ramblings are that for Mr Efuloni or Mrs Limon, that 10 minutes or that £20 will utterly have changed their lives.  Make no mistake.  Sitting here in the Western World for the next week before I return to Africa has kinda highlighted what we, all of us, do together at Nkhoma.  We send teams to reach out to far villages.  We screen the blind villagers who have been holed up in their huts for years, unable to function in their communities, as they once did.  We treat them with the respect and dignity that they deserve, and ultimately we restore their sight.

Yes, this is what we do.  Over 4,000 cataract operations, each year.  The staff at Nkhoma are amazing, an amazing team dedicated to their fellow people in helping them regain vision.

I am incredibly lucky to be a part of this.  But I will be very sad when I return to Malawi.  To have to tell the staff that we have to slow down.  We have to go in to fewer villages, and see fewer people, and do fewer operation; because the money is not there.  It kinda breaks my heart.

Finally, I can’t express my gratitude more strongly, than saying a huge thanks to all CBM donors for making it possible to do near 27,000 cataract operations in the past 10 years at Nkhoma.  We hope this year to push it to 30,000.  30,000 people who were blind, but now can see.  Village life with no electricity or water is hard enough; but if you cannot see the well, or your grandchildren; my guess is it’s a lot harder.

Thank you all, and all the very best for 2010

We’ll keep in touch

Will

Posted in Blindness, Cataract, Vision 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment |