It is with a heavy and reluctant heart that I sit to write this long over due update. The hospital is emotionally draining and I find myself dreading visits as I invariably leave the hospital sad and frustrated. . . needs and requirements seem to grow daily and it is tough not to sink in despair.

For example ~ Kelly, a 9 year old girl involved in a road accident. Her whole family was on the back of a truck when the accident occurred and they were all flung from the back of the vehicle - on Christmas eve! Amongst others, Kelly, her parents and 2 younger sisters suffered various injuries.
When my dad and I visited the children's ward we found the 2 younger sisters with head injuries that had been crudely stitched before they were transferred to Mutare General Hospital. Flies settled on their uncovered wounds and they had no clothes to wear. We covered the wounds with
antiseptic, bandaged them, clothed both children and gave them a few donated toys to play with. We were then asked to help Kelly (at 9 yrs old in the woman's ward) - her parents were both still in a rural clinic themselves being treated. The sight of Kelly was alarming, she had been admitted on the
25th and it was now the 27th and she had not been tended to. Her face was a mangled mess, her right arm seriously damaged and broken and her right leg had huge wounds on it. She was caked in dried blood and the smell of rotting flesh/blood was overpowering (our weather in Dec was dreadfully hot and humid) Through her swollen left eye (right closed and appearing damaged) she spotted my dad at her bed side, she frantically grabbed his hand and begged him to pray with her!

Kelly became our patient. We provided drugs, anti septic, gloves (nurses will not touch you without gloves and there are none in the hospital) bandages, strapping, a drip etc as requested. This was the easy part. I then had to beg staff to attend to her, clean her and bandage her - her wounds being too extensive for us to deal with! We left cerelac for the nurses to gently feed her as her mouth was damaged. On the 29th Kelly was finally attended to by the doctor on duty. She was given morphine and the doctor requested surgical gloves and a surgical blade. . . !! On the 30th we went to the hospital and Kelly had been dressed but not stitched - her face still
a mangle of torn flesh! In desperation I wrote a note to the hospital superintendent, Dr Nyadundu (who is an orthopedic surgeon and would not normally deal with cases like Kelly) begging him to attend to her before it was too late. On the 1st we supplied all that was needed for the operation to take place (gloves, suturing etc etc) and on the 2nd she went in for surgery - 9 DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT! As I expected, Dr Nyadundu did the most incredible job on Kelly's face (this time last year he kindly stitched up my husbands forehead after a skiing accident and you would never know he had 8
stitches) Her right eye has been saved, her mouth stitched etc -you could barely recognise her as the same little girl. She is now eating well and reading the children's bible we gave her. She particularly loves the teddy that my dad gave her!

But, Kelly now needs 3 units of blood ! The reason why this is so alarming is that we recently discovered whilst trying to save a 6mth old baby's life that ONE unit of blood is US$100.00 !!

With Kelly's continued ordeal fresh in your mind, I feel it appropriate for me to make you aware of a few other gruesome facts -

~ one unit of blood is US$100.00 in an economy where the kind of folk that attend Mutare General are barely surviving on a daily basis - to be put in a position where your child will die if you don't find the money - faces of desperate, anxious parents stand by their critically ill child's bed side praying for a miracle. . .

~ surgical supplies are not available and unless they can be provided by the patients, the surgical procedure CANNOT take place no matter how urgent. We have had to provide suturing, surgical gloves, drips, betadine and swabs. But lately requests for surgical gowns have been added to the list - apparently there is a shortage of surgical gowns! Our surgeons are gifted but their hands are tied!

~ over the Christmas period there were 3 deaths in the children's high care ward and 3 in the neo natal ward - this is due to the fact that the hospital had no oxygen!

~ on Friday I watched in horror as a young woman, who had just had an abdominal operation, sat and physically emptied her urine bag into a bed pan - on closer inspection I found that the 'urine bag' was actually an old saline drip bag! Without assistance from medical staff (no gloves) she emptied her 'bag', detached it, and painfully hobbled toward the toilet area to try and wash herself. I went to her assistance. Her dressings smelt strongly and she was faint from pain and blood loss. Out of my league, Lilian (qualified nurse that is working with us) helped her, but sadly Lilian came away pessimistic about her outcome.

~ food provided is by us or the Lighthouse church - there is no food provided by the hospital.

~ emergency caesers are just that - due to the lack of "resources" many become infected.

~ little 4year old Gibson who swallowed caustic soda desperately needs the quoted US$300.00 for an operation or he will slowly starve to death. His mother can't even afford the bus fare home!

BUT, in all this chaos and despair, you amazing folk continue to make donations and then in turn we can meet some of the needs - thank you!

Through you - a more positive note:

~ we have folk driving from East London South Africa, on a mission to help - having sourced much needed supplies they are then taking the long journey to deliver them to our doorstep - how amazing is that!? These folk are incredible, driven for God and filled with compassion and passion for a
cause so far from home and comfort.

~ just before Christmas a financial donation was made that has made it possible, amongst other things, to buy oxygen for the hospital and blood for the little 6mth old. Other financial donations come in and I am able to request and pay for non donated medical items. Most of you donors do not know me, the hospital or the patients, yet in a leap of faith you have saved lives!

~ the hospital opened its kitchen for me and made staff available to prepare the lunch time meal - this was done under the condition that I provide enough to feed the patients and staff on duty. We deliver supplies regularly and the patients have reported back to me that the meal is indeed delicious

~ patients now have hope as they get a wholesome meal and medicines are available to those without - all this would not be possible without your continued help.

With reference to the first part of my letter, it is your prayers,
generosity and commitment that lifts my heart and encourages me to keep going as together we ARE making a difference!

With sincere gratitude
Jenny

"carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" Galatians 6:2