To those without names, You were not supposed to come so early. You were in your mother’s womb only 14 weeks when her water broke. Your mom traveled two days to get to Kudjip. By the time she got here, she was septic. I looked at you on the ultrasound machine. You were so tiny. … More To Those Without Names
Pregnant with her fifth child, Esther was referred to Kudjip Hospital from a small aid post for possible twins. Her second baby, a girl, had died soon after birth. She had left her other three children, all boys, at home. Esther and her husband had already agreed this would be their last child and she … More Anything but Routine
At the exit of the “hot zone” at the Samaritan’s Purse Field Hospital in Central Park sits a bell. An old-fashioned cow bell. As patients were being discharged after days and sometimes weeks of battling COVID-19, they rang the bell. It was a scene of pure joy. A deathly sick man or woman was now … More The Bell
(Written by Tammy) As we travel around the States speaking in churches, we are often asked what our greatest need is. While there are numerous needs depending upon which aspect of serving in PNG is being discussed, our current greatest need in our missionary community is for teachers for our MKs (missionary kids). Please take … More Our Greatest Need
“Mi pilim ai raun” (I’m feeling dizzy), J said as we loaded him on to the aircraft. That was the telltale sign that his heart was about to stop. Don’t stop yet, I thought as we were now so close to getting him to the lifesaving procedure he desperately needed. J, an educated and athletic … More Staying Alive
I was awoken from a dead sleep by a phone call: “Dokta, mipela nidim yu long A ward. Pikinini i no pulim win.” Translated: “Doctor, we need you in Pediatric ward. A child has stopped breathing.” It was a Saturday morning at 2 a.m. during my third month at Kudjip. I was the only medical … More Not to Us
As I rushed into the emergency room, I faced a chaotic scene. The center bed held the lifeless body of the middle-aged man the nurse had asked me to see. He was the only patient in the ER, but the room was bursting with people and buzzing with noise. The multitude of visitors stretched out … More Unrecognized
Like many hospitals in the world, Mondays are typically the busiest here. It makes it even busier when a 25-seat public vehicle carrying 12 passengers and 60 bags of Betel Nut collides with a tractor trailer on a bridge near Kudjip (pictured above). This was an opportunity for our hospital to show its true quality. … More Mass Casualty
Bana Health Center lies deep in the heart of East Sepik province in Papua New Guinea. Run by two fantastic nurses, Buckley and his wife, Charity; Bana is the only medical facility for 15,000 people spread across several mountains. (Due to the difficulties in acquiring an accurate census, it’s probably much more than 15,000.) The … More Bana Health Center
Inexplicable radiance. That is how I would describe Moanna in two words. Moanna initially came to Kudjip severely septic from a deeply seeded infection in her femur. (The medical term is osteomyelitis.) Over the course of several tenuous days, we were able to stabilize her. Her life is no longer in grave danger, but the … More Somehow Smiling
