Malaria strikes again...

As many of you know, Landon and I have spent some time in the Akatsi hospital this last week. Landon was diagnosed with malaria, and was admitted to stay overnight. He is now almost completely recovered. Thank you to all of you who have been praying-we appreciate it so much!

Landon's response to his positive malaria test?
Laughter. Why? "Vikings always laugh when
they get malaria." Oh Landon...

Unfortunately, our sweet Sarah received the same diagnosis today. She couldn’t keep anything down all morning and she was running a fever of 103.1! She really had me worried! I gave her a dose of Tylenol and we headed to the hospital.

Sarah (pre-malaria)

I soon discovered that there’s no triage here. If you have a dangerously high fever and are behind fifteen elderly men with sore throats, you won’t be seen until they are. We waited for three hours until we saw a doctor (I was SO thankful for that dose of Tylenol!) and finally, she was admitted. They drew some labs and sure enough, malaria it was! Sarah got an IV (which she handled like a champ!) and slept the day away. 

Teddy, Ellie, and Mercy are currently in Yeji to bring the remaining three girls home! This means that Landon and Helen and I are here at the house with the girls. Helen is fabulous, but doesn’t speak English. Needless to say, we’ve had a pretty crazy day! While I was at the hospital with Sarah, Landon was busy playing hours of hide and seek, teaching English lessons and rounding up all the live crabs that had gotten loose in the kitchen!

Between Landon and Sarah, I’ve had more than my fill of the hospital (It’s usually not a good thing when the nurses know you by name)! It’s definitely not the most pleasant place to pass the time, however, I did learn some valuable lessons during my time there.

When Landon and I first got to our room, the aide came in (she said her name was Florence Nightingale) and said a beautiful prayer about the fine line between life and death, and how we can trust the Lord to take us only when He is ready. She prayed for protection over Landon and for a rapid recovery. It brought tears to my eyes! I realized that we have such an attitude of entitlement sometimes. We think we deserve to live a full, healthy life just because we have always had access to high-quality medical care. These nurses have a sober perspective of life and death because death is so real to them! If you’re in the hospital and your condition is declining, it just might be your time to go.  As scary as this is, it has some good truth to it. We were created and are sustained by God, the maker of heaven and earth. Every breath we take is a gift. We are not guaranteed another minute on this earth, let alone another day. So let us be grateful for each breath we are given (and for the fabulous medical care we get in the States)!

Sarah and I are now back at the Yellow House, and very much enjoying the change in scenery. We were welcomed back with shouts of “Sarah!, Auntie!” and many hugs.  It’s good to be back. We will soon have three more girls to add to the family! We’ll be sure to introduce them to you as soon as we can :) 

Thank you all so much for your love and prayers!

We love and miss you!

Kate and Landon

the patient and I

One of the two very crowded waiting rooms
on a Monday morning

A shot of our beautiful girls with their new tailored dresses!
Africans love their colors :)

Have a lovely week! :)