To the Ends of the Earth

Visitors seem to come in spurts.  Last year, there was a two month period where we had one set of visitors to another hopping through Lusaka.  When one group would leave, another would come, and so on until finally we were left back to ourselves. It was around this time of year last year that we had a huge influx of visitors and activity in Zambia.  Interestingly enough, this year, the trend continues.  

1.  Phacoemulsification: In February 2013, we finally began phaco surgeries using the donated Alcon Laureate phaco machine!  Although the generous donation of a phaco machine came last year, it took a few months to set up a direct account with Alcon South Africa for the disposables.  Then my maternity leave put a pause on any new developments.  Now that we’re back up to speed, Lusaka Eye Hospital can now say we officially have a phaco service!

  2. LILA charity event at the Statehouse: On March 28^th, I had the opportunity to meet the First Lady of Zambia, Dr. Christine Kaseba.  Lusaka Eye Hospital was chosen to receive a donation from the Lusaka Indian Ladies Association, and the event was held on the Statehouse premises.  Unfortunately, I had to surrender my phone and camera at the entrance before entering the premises, so I was not able to document the group photo with the First Lady.  Nonetheless, it was a privilege to meet her, and to shake the hand of her husband, President Michael Sata, who made a brief (5 minute) appearance at the event.

 

3.   Visit Mukuyu Outreach: On March 2^nd, we had Hein & Melissa Myburgh as well as Dr. & Mrs. Shank over for Sabbath lunch.  It was a nice time of food & fellowship.    

      After getting to meet the Myburghs in Lusaka, we decided to pay them a visit at their outreach site, Mukuyu Oureach, in Southern Zambia, from March 29 – 30.  It is a beautiful property in the middle of the African bush, where the Lord has called them to set up a self-supporting ministry, in cooperation with OCI.  Melissa is pregnant, and should be expecting a baby girl any day now!  So Jaycee will soon have another friend. 

4.   Horse consultation & Game Drive:  As an ophthalmologist, I’ve never been asked to look into a horse’s eye.  But I got my first equine consultation here in Zambia.  Unfortunately, one horse, Rainbow, had a lens dislocation (likely from trauma, as she is a polo horse).  The other horse, July, has a corneal ulcer/neovascularization as well as cataract.   

 

      As an appreciation for the consultation, Billy, the owner of the horses, offered to take us on a short game drive on his property, where we saw many of the plains game, giraffes, and a brief encounter with orphaned baby elephants!

 

5.   Abigail:  On April 13^th, we visited Riverside Farm Institute, and Jaycee had the opportunity to play with Abigail once again.

 6.  More visitors:  We had Alyssa, the student missionary at Riverside Farm Institute, stay at our house for a week from April 1^st – 7^th.  She shadowed us at the eye hospital and spent some time at the dental clinic as well.  Her stay in Zambia has now come to a close, as has already returned to Tennessee for good.  

 

      Then, Jenn & Andre Castelbuono came out for 3 weeks starting April 11^th.  They are our first set of mission elective student/residents from the U.S. to come join us at Lusaka Eye Hospital!   

 

      We also had Kelvin Sawyer, aka “Mr. Fix-It,” with us at Lusaka Eye Hospital from April 3 – 13^th.  It was blessing to have him around when we had a water issue at our house.  He fearlessly and agilely climbed up the water tank tower to figure out where the problem was.  

     Dr. Lowell Meister, an optometrist from Oklahoma, and the General Conference Associate Director for Health on Eye Services came out to Lusaka on April 18-19^th to assess the eye care situation in Zambia.  

 

      The following day, we had three different flights unload three sets of individuals from the U.S. at the Lusaka airport: Joanne Cross & Carlos Moretta, Emily Wilkens, and Dr. William McGhee! Carlos, Joanne, Emily, Jenn & Andre all joined us for our trip across the country to Yuka Adventist Hospital.

7.  Yuka Eye/Dental Camp:  From April 21^st – 25^th, Paul, Jaycee, Mom, Satipha, and I took a trip with our friends from the U.S. as well as local staff from the Eye Hospital & Dental Clinic to conduct our annual eye/dental camp in the Western Province of Zambia.  It truly feels like we are going to the ends of the earth after our 8 hour bus ride and 3 hour speedboat ride to the hospital.  On the return trip, we got to experience riding the banana boat for 6 hours across the Zambezi River.  

     It is always an amazing experience, serving patients who desperately needed cataract surgery and dental extractions.   

 

      We even had one or two patients who wanted their second eye operated on after we did the first eye on our trip last year.  

8.   Livingstone trip:  After the Yuka camp experience was over, some of us headed down to Livingstone for a short breather for rest and relaxation from April 28^th – May 1^st.  It is always amazing to see Vic Falls when it is at its fullest.  

      The strength and grandeur of this humongous cataract deserves the utmost respect and reveals the awesomeness of God’s creation.  Our day trip to Chobe National Park was a highlight as well, and the mock charge of a male lion protective of his recently killed kudu caused palpitations through all of our hearts.   

       We also finally saw a white rhino!   

 

      Now, after almost two years on this continent, Paul and I can officially claim that we’ve seen the “Big Five” (rhino, lion, cape buffalo, leopard, elephant).

9.  Jaycee: No blog entry is complete without some photobombing of our beloved daughter.  Jaycee truly has been a joy to raise.  It truly is incredible to see an individual change on a daily basis, but that is what babies do!  On March 16^th, she turned 6 months, so we had an enjoyable time taking her 6 month photos. 

 

      She seems to be the star and center of attentions whenever we go anywhere, as children especially love to touch her hair.  

The next few months will also be a flurry of activity, as we will be returning to the U.S. for our Annual Leave at the end of this month.  When we return from our leave, we expect to have a steady stream of rotating students/residents!  In July, we will have a medical student join us for a month.  Then, in August, the first senior ophthalmology resident from Loma Linda University will officially spend a month on his international ophthalmology rotation here at Lusaka Eye Hospital.  We plan to have each of the four senior residents join us for a month during the course of the academic year.  And so the fun continues.

Work Hard, Play Hard

I’ve always been a hard worker.  Ever since I can remember, I strove to excel, to bring tasks to completion, to follow through with what I said I would do, to put 101% into everything I did.  It’s something I valued inherently, but that desire was groomed and encouraged as I grew and learned and understood.  Looking back at my life, I was always on the go.  No time to dilly-dally.  No time to sit and smell the roses.  I led a very focused life, and one that sometimes compromised sleep.  I would work hard, and I would play hard. 

But here in Zambia, I’ve come across a people with a different mindset, values system, cultural upbringing.  It’s not that one culture is right or wrong.  It’s not that my work ethic is superior to that of another culture.  It’s just very, very different.  The pace of life is eerily slow.  Initially, I had a hard time adjusting.  My mind could not quite grasp the concept of time as it moves in Africa.  I felt angry when appointments were not kept, or meetings began 3 hours late.  I felt bewildered when my clinicians would go on a Tea Break at 8:00 am, just after reporting to work, then another one at 10:00 am, as if the 2 hours at work merited a time for much-needed rest, when hordes of patients sat waiting and waiting in the appropriately named waiting room. 

But slowly, I’m beginning to understand that life here is about relationships, family, events.  Although, out of habit, I still tend to work hard, I’m learning to slow down, take a few deep breaths, and live life to the fullest.

Now for our December and January updates, filled with work and play:

1.  WORK:  When I arrived back at work in December after a 4-month absence, I found my institution in a very different place than when I had left it.  Many of my medical personnel were on the verge of rioting, as they felt they were underpaid.  What had happened was that in June 2012, the government employees in Zambia all got a huge increment in their salaries.  That left private institutions like ours in the dust in terms of salary scales.  All my medical staff were comparing their wages to the compadres in the government, and hence the unrest.  In fact, my only other ophthalmologist at the hospital, along with the cataract surgeon, had both found jobs with the government and were waiting for my return so they could turn in their resignation letters!  Hence, I spent the whole month of December talking with individual employees, negotiating new packages with key personnel, and trying to convince everyone not to jump ship.  Fortunately, after some intense negotiations, everyone decided to stay.  I just praise God that things are now back to “normal,” and my employees are appeased…at least for now. 

2.  PLAY:  For the New Year holiday, Paul, my mother-in-law, Jaycee, and I took a week-long vacation to South Luangwa National Park.  We visited the Ang & Peduche families in Mwami on the way there and enjoyed a delightful dinner.  At the game park, we enjoyed some amazing wildlife.  Jaycee was known by the other guests as the “Safari Baby,” and she made some incredible memories.  

 

 

 

 

3.  WORK:  At the end of January 2013, the NPBC (National Prevention of Blindness Committee) met once again for a week-long deliberation on the subject of trachoma elimination in the country.  Trachoma is a bacterial infection, caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, and leads to scarring of the eyelid, in-turning of the eyelashes, and eventual corneal scarring and blindness.  As some of you may know, the WHO VISION 2020 objectives include eliminating trachoma by the year 2020 in developing countries.  In 2012, Zambia successfully completed its first country-wide trachoma mapping exercise to determine the prevalence of trachoma in each of its 72 districts.

The results were sobering, as it was found that the prevalence of trachoma was as high as 52.9% in some areas, especially in the Southern Province of Zambia.  A SAFE Strategy Framework was composed and edited, and it is our hope that with this document the Ministry of Health will be able to convince other line ministries in the government to get on board to work together to rid Zambia of this blinding disease.

4.  PLAY (& WORK):  Raising an infant is a lot of fun, but a lot of work as well!!!  

Jaycee has been a trooper through all of our adventures.  She has grown like a weed and remains in the 95^th percentile for weight & 75^th percentile for height.  She successfully underwent her 4 month shots at a local clinic here in Zambia. 

 

 Her voracious appetite is made manifest in the abundance of fat rolls along her arms and the full, scrumptious cheeks.  Happy 5 months, Jaycee!

5.  WORK:  In January 2013, I started doing ophthalmic surgeries once again!  It felt wonderful to be in the operating theatre, to scrub before a case, to put on my gown and gloves, to sit at the operating microscope, and to feel the microinstruments in my hands once again.  It was relieving to see that I had not completely forgotten how to operate, after such a long hiatus.  It was at that moment that I realized why some surgeons never seem to wish to retire, why someone would even want to continue operating at the age of 70 or 80 or beyond. 

 

By the way, can someone help me make a diagnosis?  37 y/o male with h/o HTN, noting double vision when looking up or down, for the last 15 years.  

6.  WORSHIP:  This year, we've also started to attend a church just down the street from where we live.  Although we had felt quite comfortable last year attending a more diverse, "upper-class" church in a better part of town, we felt that it was the right time for us to move to a local church.  We wanted to let the community know that we're interested being involved and supportive.  We stick out like sore thumbs, being the only foreigners there.  And it is quite uncomfortable physically, as the wooden planks sitting on brick blocks are not something one would call luxury.  

 

 

 The church structure itself is in a constant building stage, but slowly progress is being made - the brick walls are finished, now plastering is almost done.  In the next few weeks the floor should be laid down with cement.  We have pledged to help with funding to buy nice benches for this church.  If anyone is interested in donating to the church bench fund, just let us know!!!

  

It's been a good start to the new year, and we look forward to 2013 - working hard and playing hard!

A 6 month recap

As I look back at the last blog entry, I am honestly shocked to see that almost 6 months have passed since I last wrote.  Perhaps I can blame it on my pregnancy brain. Then the sleepless nights with a newborn.  Or the jetlag upon return to Zambia.  Nonetheless, I suppose that there is a lot of catching up to do on this blog.

1. At the end of June 2012, Paul and I went to a conference down in Capetown, South Africa.  It was a wonderful week, and it happened to coincide with our 5 year wedding anniversary.   

We learned a lot at the conference, but we also got to do some sightseeing.  Capetown is truly a gorgeous place – beautiful coastlines, lovely harbor, quaint beachfront communities, majestic mountains.  

A visitation of Helderberg College was in order, 

as was a scenic tour of the western coastline of the Cape, 

down to the Cape of Good Hope, 

 Cape Point, Boulders Beach, a city tour, Table Mountain, 

 and Bo-Kaap Quarters.  

I also got to see some people I have not seen in a long time! 

Dr. & Mrs. Bill Chunestudy,

Colin Lawrence,

and Leo Joseph!

2.  At the end of July, Lusaka Eye Hospital held a surgical eye camp, during which we operated on 74 patients from the Gwembe Valley, which is about 150 miles from Lusaka.  It took 2 trips to and from the Valley for our hospital bus to pick up all the patients, then another 2 round trips to take them all back.  But our driver, Mr. Jere, managed to transport all of them safely. Most of the operations done were cataract and trachoma eyelid surgeries. 

3.  In August, Paul and I made the long journey back to the U.S.  Paul went straight down to San Diego to attend a two week continuing education course while I stayed with my parents in their home.  The first few weeks back, I relished in being able to eat at my favorite restaurants – something I had missed sorely during our time abroad.  Thai food, Mexican food, pizza, gourmet sandwiches, and also my mom’s home cooking were a delight.  

4.  On 26 August 2012, we had our baby shower.  My brother, sister-in-law, and a family friend helped to organize the event.  We were so blessed to have our family and friends come to show their support and share in the joy of preparing for the impending birth of our daughter.

5. The following week, my nephew, Oliver James Lee, celebrated his “dohl” (1^st year birthday) at my parents’ house.  Ollie’s birthday is 16 September 2011. 

6.  On 16 September 2012, Jaycee Hannah Yoo was born!   

With a full head of hair and a energetic cry, she showed us all how precocious she was by latching on to feed in her first hour after birth as well as showing us some pseudo-smiles during those first few precious days of life. 

7.  On 18 - 22 October 2012, the first ever Global Health Care Conference took place on the campus of Loma Linda University (LLU).  More than 300 individuals from many different health care institutions throughout the world gathered together to discuss issues in provision of international health care services.  A few of our Eye Hospital and Dental Clinic staff were generously sponsored by the Global Health Institute at LLU to come to this conference.  It was an exhilarating experience for all of them, most of which had never before left Zambia or even been on an airplane. 

We were happy to host Dick & Judy Hart, Mike & MiYe Rauser, and our Zambian colleagues at my parents’ home for dinner.  

8.  On 25 - 28 October 2012, my mother (Jennifer), Jaycee, and I headed down to San Diego for the AMEN (Adventist Medical Evangelism Network) annual conference.  It was refreshing to attend seminars on how to witness to others in the medical setting.  But it was even more refreshing to catch up with old friends.

 John & Elisa, Paul Chung

Janine & Joshua, Sunny & Enoch

Carlos, Daryl & Joy, Trudie!

9.  From 9 – 14 November 2012, my mother (Jennifer), Jaycee, and I boarded a plane for Chicago to attend the AAO (American Academy of Ophthalmology) annual meeting.  It was Jaycee’s first flight, and she handled it like a champ.  It was a busy few days: attending the Chicago Central Korean SDA Church, the Claus Dohlman Dinner, the Orbis Dinner, and many continuing education classes.  

 Happy 90th birthday, Dr. Dohlman!

With Dr. Chodosh

10.  By this time, Jaycee turned 2 months old and received all her 2 month vaccinations.  She also had a valid passport as well as her Zambian visa by then.  She was anxious to move to Zambia, especially since her father, Paul, had returned to Lusaka on 26 October, and she was missing him. 

11.  On 21 November 2012, my mother-in-law (Annie), Jaycee, and I left for Zambia.  The 25 hour flight was exhausting with an infant.   

Jaycee cried quite a bit, likely due to her reflux issues, but our fellow passengers were gracious and didn’t even so much as throw a dirty look my way.  We basically spent Thanksgiving in the air, but we were just thankful when the whole ordeal was over.

12.  On 28 November, Annie, Jaycee, Paul and I headed down to Livingstone to celebrate Paul’s birthday.  On our way there, we stopped in Zimba to meet Kevin Ross, CEO of Midwest Eye Banks, and say hello to Dr. Doug Buxton.  

We also made a stop to our maid's village.  They saved Paul's phone number on the wall of their house.

This trip to Livingstone was exciting.  We spent 4 days and 3 nights at a beautiful lodge.  We checked out Devil’s Pool for the first time.   

We also crossed the border to see Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe side for the first time. 

Things were a bit tricky to manage with a newborn, especially since we were all jet-lagged, and Jaycee’s night did not correspond at all with our concept of night.  Nonetheless, we had a great time. 

13.  I started back at work 2 December, mostly covering administrative duties.  I also went back down to Livingstone from 4 – 7 December 2012 for a work-related trip, this time without Jaycee.  It mostly work and no play, but I managed to take my HR officer and driver out to Indian food. 

14. Although the last several months have been filled with baby duties and not much ophthalmology, it has been such a blessing to be given such a precious little girl.  She is a definitely bundle of joy, and she loves to smile.  On 16 December 2012, Jaycee turned 3 months old.  From a mere 6 lbs 2 ounces (10^th percentile) at birth, she has blossomed into a big girl of 15 lbs 10 ounces (95^th percentile).  

We are also blessed to have my mother-in-law living with us for 6 months to help raise our daughter. 

 Our neighbors love their "little sister," Jaycee.

Meeting friends, Abigail & Amy, for the first time

We look forward to what God has in store for us in 2013, which is certainly to bring a new chapter of adventures.  As I officially start seeing patients and doing surgeries again in January, I'll try to stay more up-to-date with this blog, sharing in our triumphs and challenges here in Zambia.  

Happy Holidays, from the Yoos!