First things first: Gopal is doing much better! Every day he improves a little bit. Today he was walking, eating, sitting up, and answering questions. He eventually got overwhelmed answering questions and got tired, but overall he is doing amazingly well. I love watching his mother with him. She is thrilled to be getting her son back, and we are thrilled for her! Thanks to those of you who have been praying for him.
On the burn ward, we have had a few successes recently. I did a skin graft last week on a lady in her 40s who has been with us for over a month now. We took the dressing down the other day and the graft has taken beautifully. It was such a relief to finally see a nice result after a skin graft - we've had so many failures lately. She still has one more grafting operation to go, as her burn was so extensive we thought it would be better to do it a little bit at a time. We pray she does well after this second operation, too.
Lest I start thinking I have some magic touch when it comes to skin grafting, the baby whose dressing I took down today to look at the graft for the first time didn't do so well. Part of the graft has taken, but a large portion of it is infected. So on we go.
In other news, we have moved into our house, finally! We are currently living out of the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, as the living room is still in process (as you can see in the photo, below), but we're getting there. We should be into the living room by next week. It's nice to finally be in our house, and despite the chaos of ongoing work, we both feel like we've been able to settle into more of a routine here, and that is really nice.
This past week there has been a fair here in Tansen, complete with very loud music, crowds of people, booths selling things, a magic show (which never seems to have actually been shown!), some kind of circus dome where motorcycles and taxis drive around and around like crazy (amazing no one has been killed...some people around here call it the "dome of death"), and some very old rickety roller coasters and a ferris wheel. We did go to check it out, but opted to stay on the ground! Not sure about safety standards here in Nepal. We did enjoy some cotton candy, though!
This weekend we are off to Pokhara, a town about 4-5 hours away, for a break, and to do some shopping for things for the house that aren't available here in Tansen. [As a side note: It is amazing how much we've been able to find here, with a bit of looking. Paul knows the bazaar better than anyone by now, I think, at least when it comes to plumbing, paint, electrical, and other construction materials.] We're looking forward to a weekend away. Please pray for safety for us as we travel there on Friday and back on Monday. The roads are quite dangerous and there was a serious bus accident just this past week (bus rolled over and fell 300 metres down). Mind you, it didn't help that the driver was drunk! We have one of the hospital drivers taking us, and he is very careful...but we'll still take all the prayer we can get...
On the burn ward, we have had a few successes recently. I did a skin graft last week on a lady in her 40s who has been with us for over a month now. We took the dressing down the other day and the graft has taken beautifully. It was such a relief to finally see a nice result after a skin graft - we've had so many failures lately. She still has one more grafting operation to go, as her burn was so extensive we thought it would be better to do it a little bit at a time. We pray she does well after this second operation, too.
Lest I start thinking I have some magic touch when it comes to skin grafting, the baby whose dressing I took down today to look at the graft for the first time didn't do so well. Part of the graft has taken, but a large portion of it is infected. So on we go.
In other news, we have moved into our house, finally! We are currently living out of the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, as the living room is still in process (as you can see in the photo, below), but we're getting there. We should be into the living room by next week. It's nice to finally be in our house, and despite the chaos of ongoing work, we both feel like we've been able to settle into more of a routine here, and that is really nice.
This weekend we are off to Pokhara, a town about 4-5 hours away, for a break, and to do some shopping for things for the house that aren't available here in Tansen. [As a side note: It is amazing how much we've been able to find here, with a bit of looking. Paul knows the bazaar better than anyone by now, I think, at least when it comes to plumbing, paint, electrical, and other construction materials.] We're looking forward to a weekend away. Please pray for safety for us as we travel there on Friday and back on Monday. The roads are quite dangerous and there was a serious bus accident just this past week (bus rolled over and fell 300 metres down). Mind you, it didn't help that the driver was drunk! We have one of the hospital drivers taking us, and he is very careful...but we'll still take all the prayer we can get...
