For those of you, who like me, maybe experiencing some of the aches and pains of getting a bit older, we know we have the resources to address most of the little bumps in the road we experience. Spending time working in a garden, or on hands and knees with children and grandchildren can reveal our age in our back and knees. A few days with ibuprofen can usually do the trick for me!
For women in most mission countries, the physical labor that is required to provide food for their families has them, from a young age, working the fields, hours spent stooping to plant and gather crops.
Often, there is little to be done. Their mothers suffered this way, and they expect that they will as well. In Ghana less than a month, Dr. Robyn Jennings found that, what would be a simple remedy in the US, could be considered revolutionary and have a great impact.
She wrote,
“One-day last week I saw a patient in clinic who presented with osteoarthritis in her knees. I sent her to the pharmacy to buy supplies for an intra-articular steroid injection, and when she returned a few curious staff members watched the quick procedure. The next day while I was finishing rounds in the hospital, a clinic nurse came to let me know that there were a couple of other women waiting to see if they also could get injections in their arthritic knees. Apparently word travels quickly in our small African town. So we’ve talked to the pharmacy about ordering more supplies so we’ll be able to do more injections in the future.”
I have a feeling that this won’t be the last of the women coming forward for this specific care!
Yet beyond the medical care that both Robyn and Brian will provide in Ghana, they are also a sign of hope and love.
One of our Mission Doctors, Dr. Tim Cavanagh recounted the story of a patient he was treating in Zimbabwe who pointed to a photo of their four adult daughters sitting on his desk. “Are those your children?” the patient asked. Tim shared like any proud father he said, “Yes, these are our girls!” The patient then paused and asked, “Then why are you here?” Tim’s response speaks to the unique partnership that is Mission Doctors. “We are here because there are people in the United States who love you and they sent us here.”
What a dramatic way to show our love for our sisters and brother. We can send them a doctor. Thank you for being our partner in hope!