Niger October 2022

  There were triplets born at the Hospital yesterday. The waters broke for the first baby and there was an increasing chance of infection.  Unfortunately they were only 31 weeks old.  Fortunately they are all doing well so far.  There are 2 girls and 1 boy.  We are inducing a lady that has had 2 previous stillbirths and it has been going on for several days.  She has had a previous cesarean and we don't want to push it too much, so I will be doing her cesarean tomorrow.   I had a nice chat with the OBGYN who will be leaving Saturday to go to a conference.  I didn't know this, but their family was told they wouldn't be able to go unless they could find a replacement.  It feels even more special that I was able to help them having heard this.  They are a lovely family with young children and lots of missions experience.  It is so invigorating to see people so committed to the Lord and serving His people everywhere....

Running around the landing strip   Today was my first full day of work at the hospital.   I started early by getting out for a run. After days of sitting in an airplane it felt good to get some exercise.  After that the devotions/bible reading with the Sage Femmes (midwives) started at 0800 and then rounds.  Fortunately there are 3 OBGYNs working at the moment (the one I am replacing leaves for Dubai on the weekend). There is also a family doctor with extra training in Obstetrics and Gynecology.  Esther has been here the longest and I followed her around today so I am being eased into the routines again.  We saw a woman who had a cesarean for an infected pregnancy, an ectopic pregnancy, and a lot of patients with hypertension.  There is also a specific type of cancer that affects women that seems to be VERY prevalent hear.  I hardly see it at home, but they are always looking after 2 or 3 woman with it here.  Someone has speculated it co...

I flew from Niamey to Galmi today via SIM air. It was a straight forward flight and we arrived at about 1030 in the morning. Evelyn is the manager and she had everything ready when I arrived. I met David, the fellow I am replacing and he gave me a tour around the Hospital. It all looks pretty familiar but it sounds like they are pretty busy with patients right now. There is also another OBGYN Esther that has been here longer and is going to orient me around 3 pm. The next 3 nights I am being hosted by other missionaries in their home for dinner. That will make it easier for me to get aclimatized. If you look to the left of the road just above and to the left of the centre of the picture you will see the gravel landing strip. It looks like I am on call on Thursday so tomorrow will just be a regular clinic day. Esther did walk me around the whole hospital complex. It looks mostly the same, but there are a few changes. It seems like there are more perso...

 Between lay overs and cancelled flights it took 36  hours, but I am finally at the Guest House in Niamey.  I think the tiredness caught up to me and I got a bit anxious when my flight from Addis Ababa to Niamey wasn't showing up on the displays in the Airport, but it did board from the gate on my boarding pass so all is well.  The airport in Niamey has been updated somewhat and it looks nicer.  Once again glad that I can speak french and talk to all the officials.  Because I got a "Visa Volante" they will be keeping my passport for 24 hours, but apparently this happens all the time, and Crystal from SIM in Niger will be collecting it back for me soon.   It was raining in Niamey when I arrived.  I have never been to Niger in rainy season (and this still isn't really it), in fact this is the first day of rain I have ever seen in my 3 trips here.  My luggage arrived in spite of all the flight changes so thanks again to the wond...

Flying in to Addis Ababa Well, I'm not there yet and it has already been an adventure.  I flew Turkish airlines this time Vancouver - Istanbul - Niamey.  The flight to Istanbul was fine (for an 11 hour trip). However, when I arrived in Turkey I found out my flight to Niamey was cancelled for the day. The easiest way to reroute me was through Addis Abba (Ethiopia) with a 10 hour layover arriving in Niamey the next day @ 2 pm.   Fortunately I had a very helpful Turkish Airline employee who organized this for me and made up a new baggage tag (so hopefully it will arrive when I do).  Thank goodness for wifi in Airports, so I could let the people in Niamey and Galmi know I would be almost a day late.  Trying to find a secure place to sleep for a few hours.  I have already been invited to a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner, so looking forward to that.  More when I can.

 Well, my bags are packed and I have made it through the airport lines.  Now begins the trip.  I will be flying to Istanbul with a 2 hour layover and then on to Niamey.  I will be staying there overnight and then flying out to Galmi the following morning.  With the time changes etc it may be a while before I post again, so thank you all for your prayers for safe travels, and I will let you know as soon as I can when I have arrived safely.  Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians.  John.

I received an email from World Medical Missions on June 8th asking for help in October, so I will be going back to Galmi in Niger from October 8th to 30th. For those of you that don't know, I was there in 2016   https://johninniger2016.blogspot.ca/  and again in 2017  https://johninniger2017.blogspot.ca/ for some reason blogs come up with the last post at the top, so you will have to scroll a long way down and go to a previous page to get to the start.  I am looking forward to connecting again with people I have worked with before and making new connections.   I want to thank my wife Sylvia for being so understanding and agreeing to me going back again.  I want to thank my Colleagues at the hospital for taking up the slack while I am away.  I also want to thank Dr. Darin  Cherniwchan for all his advice on travel medicine, and Robin Caldwell for her legal aid.  There are a host of others - thanks to you all.  I will be trying to post...