What a difference a year makes...

Time for yet another update!  This last month has been packed with fun, friends, and fruitful endeavors. 

1.   The Loma Linda University (LLU) International Ophthalmology Elective Rotation has officially begun!  In August, Howard Guan, a senior ophthalmology resident at LLU, was the first resident to come through for his month-long rotation at Lusaka Eye Hospital.  He was a great resident and fun to teach.  I’m sure he can attest to the fact that the eye pathology we see here in Lusaka is at a level that we don’t normally see back home in the U.S.  It was rewarding to watch him master, in just a few days, the surgical skills necessary to perform small incision cataract surgery.   

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We look forward to hosting our next ophthalmology resident, Nicole Kohan, who will be coming in November.  

2.   From 12 – 16 August 2013, we held the Chibombo eye camp at Lusaka Eye Hospital.  Doctors from the U.S. came to help during that eye camp – including Nitin Shah (anesthesiologist from CA), Angela Smith (LLU anesthesia resident), and Ravi Krishnan (ophthalmologist from Texas).   

 

During that time, 82 eyes (mostly cataracts) were operated on in patients who came from different parts of Zambia (Kembe, Chibombo, etc.), and it was such a blessing to know that this small effort made a big difference in the lives of those patients.

  

3.   From 17 – 21 August 2013, the South African Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery had its annual congress in Livingstone, Zambia.  It was a wonderful meeting with a great scientific program and really world-renowned ophthalmologists/speakers in an intimate setting.

4.   When staff writer and photographer from the LLU School of Medicine Alumni Association, Emily Wilkens, came to Lusaka earlier this year to interview us and take some photos/video footage, I was not entirely sure what she would do with it all. But recently, she revealed her creative and artistic talents in a short video she made.  Here is the link!  

5.   My parents are in town!  Paul and I are so blessed to have parents who love and support us as well as the work we are involved with.  Paul’s mother spent a total of 6 months with us, helping cook wonderful food and watching Jaycee while we were at work. 

 

Now, my parents have taken their shift and will be spending all of September and October in Zambia.  Their goal is to have Jaycee potty trained by the time they leave.  =)  

 

6.   I continue to do a lot of pediatric surgeries here in Zambia.  One of my most enjoyable surgeries to do is strabismus surgery (aka “squint surgery”), especially bilateral medial rectus recessions on little girls and boys with congenital esotropia (non-medical people: read, “correcting crossed eyes and making them straight”).  When the mother of a patient tells me words like, “It’s like a miracle that my child’s eyes are finally straight!” or “I never thought this could be fixed!” I feel that special sensation in my heart that burns whenever I realize how much I love being an ophthalmologist, being the hands of Christ in His healing ministry, and helping patients that otherwise could not have been helped.  Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be a part of such an amazing work.  

 Beautiful child immediately before surgery

 

Same beautiful child one day post-op

7.   Just a few days ago, we launched the official beginning of our partnership with Radian Stores/LG.  From September 2013 until January 2014, LG will sponsor 100 cataract surgeries for the poor, needy patients.  

Last week, they donated and installed two large-screen television sets at the Lusaka Eye Hospital waiting rooms.  And the discounted air conditioners were installed last week as well – just in time for the heat wave that has struck Lusaka!  The press launch was graced by the presence of Honorable Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Chikusu, as the guest of honor.  Many members of the press were present, and so in my speech I took that opportunity to ask the Deputy Minister of Health to help us in 3 important areas: building road infrastructure in the area surrounding our eye hospital (dirt + rainy season = impassible roads), financial assistance to allow Lusaka Eye Hospital to continue providing free eye care services to the vulnerable, and authorization to allow corneal tissue to be brought into Zambia so that corneal transplants can be done for those with corneal diseases.  

 

I believe that the message was well-received by the Deputy Minister of Health, and I hope that will translate into positive action that will benefit Lusaka Eye Hospital, but ultimately translate into better eye care for the Zambian people.  Regardless, it was fun to hear that the speech made radio news headlines the following day!   

8.   Last, but not least, Jaycee turned one!   

 

The expectation in Korean culture is that a big Doljanchi, or first birthday party, must be planned for any child turning one.  Had it not been for my parents insisting that Jaycee have this celebratory event, and had they not made the two-day journey to come to Africa during the month of this first birthday, Paul and I might have resorted to a small cupcake-and-candle type of event with just the three of us.  Instead, we had a Zambian Doljanchi.

 

We decided to open up the celebration for our entire eye hospital and dental clinic staff, their spouses, children, and grandchildren. Note the blow-up "jumping castle" in the background. 

The week prior was busy glue-gunning beans to a cylindrical cardboard tower, creating a photo collage of the birthday girl, pre-making 9 batches of home-made ice cream, carving a "one" into a watermelon, and participating in other arts and crafts projects for a precious girl who would never know nor remember how much work can go into planning a party like this. 

The number of guests ended up topping 100 (mainly because of the proliferation of children in each Zambian household), but fortunately there was enough food and fun for all!    

 

The day was quite tiring for the little princess, and she was a little bewildered by all the strange faces, but she seemed to enjoy it nonetheless. 

Fiinally, a Doljanchi is never complete without a Doljabi.

 

Jaycee’s choices were: stethoscope (doctor like Mommy), tooth (Dentist like daddy), pen (scholar), string (long life), money (wealthy), and music note (musician).  Guess what she picked?   

 The music note!  Looks like we’ll have a true musician in our household one day.