Monday, I went to Moundou to check up on the remodeling project for our new utpatient surgery center in Chad's second largest city. The route is simple: follow the bumpy, dirt road to Kelo and turn left onto the paved road until you hit Moundou. In Kelo, as we turned left, I saw the post office. I decided to stop. I found 14 packages waiting for our student missionaries. I paid for them all, loaded to car and continued to Moundou.
The project is going well, I talked over a few details with the builder and then he joined us for the ride back to Bere so he could look over our existing operating room to better understand what we were shooting for. It was when we were back on the road to Bere that I had the wonderful idea for my surprise. Little did I know how much deception I would have to employ in order for it to succeed.
The first thing was to swear our driver, Levi, to secrecy. We then had to quickly unload the packages into my house without the student missionaries seeing them. Since Thursday was Thanksgiving but American holidays tend to get neglected or rolled into one, I decided to turn it into an early Christmas surprise. I wasn't going to tell them I'd picked up their packages sent from home, not until Thanksgiving morning.
I didn't count on our volunteers' desperation to have those goodies.
The very next day, Stephan came to me to explain how he'd arranged everything with our Administrator, Andre, to have the day off so he could take a motorcycle taxi to Kelo to see if they had any packages. They were all expecting some that would have things to make Thanksgiving dinner with.
I put on my severest, coldest boss face.
"Stephan, did you come here to work, or to get packages. You should've told me yesterday. I passed right by the post-office and could've easily checked to see if there was anything for you guys. We're really busy right now, besides, how are you going to get a bunch of packages back on a motorcycle. It's just not a good idea. I'll probably be making another trip early next week, I can pick them up then."
Stephan's face falls, but he has no choice but to accept.
"Well, ok, but Kristin was going to go with me, maybe she can just go. She's not scheduled till this evening so she wouldn't miss work."
Thinking quickly, I'm amazed at how easily I continue the deception. "Stephan, do you really think it's a good idea for a girl to go by herself to Kelo? It's just not very smart. It'll be even harder for her to carry all those packages back. Plus, this is Chad, it could be dangerous." I'm lying through my teeth, but somehow keep a straight, concerned face.
Stephan turns sadly away to go back to his accounting office. I smile inwardly at my success. It is short lived as lies tend to pile on top of each other; once you start it's hard to stop.
I have to repeat a bunch more to Kristin later on as she is unwilling to accept Stephan's explanation and feels that if she talks to me personally, maybe this mean boss will change his mind. I hold firm and convince her it's just not a good idea. Besides, there's other things already planned and we won't really have a real Thanksgiving anyway, we might as well just wait and have our Thanksgiving next week sometime. She's crestfallen but also has to accept.
Tuesday night, I find myself chatting with Kristin and Ansley and, unfortunately, they've come up with a solution that I can't lie my way out of. I'm forced to spill the beans. They are excited but agree with me to keep it a secret from the others. Ansley joins to lying as she announces to the others on Wednesday that due to her 6 episodes of explosive diarrhea the night before she's just not up to a trip to Kelo and Emily shouldn't go by herself.
Early Thursday morning, I pull the 14 packages and numerous letters out of my closet and carry them over to the SM's common room in the middle house. I leave a note that says "ho, ho, ho, merry thanksgiving, merry thanksgiving." And it turns out to be just that...after a long day at work.
Work starts out with rounds on a completely full hospital with no beds to spare. Then, I have a tubal ligation, a D&C/tubal ligation combo, a rectal polyp to remove on an 8 year old Arab boy, a bilateral inguinal hernia repair with mosquito net, another emergency D&C for an incomplete spontaneous abortion and finally finish at 4:30pm just in time to go to Gilbert's going away party that Jason has organized.
I slip into the courtyard where many of the staff and Gilbert's friends are already seated on a variety of chairs and stools and mats. I slip off my Crocs and settle onto a mat. My ankle is aching a little and somewhat swollen after a long day upright in the OR, but it's not too bad. I exhange pleasantries with Job and Koumakoy and nod at Simeon and Abel who I've spent all day with in surgery. Gilbert slides onto the mat next to me and we have some decent small talk as Jason serves us the best "bouille" I've had in Chad. Zachee, our cook, is the best and Jason contracted him for the feast. The "bouille" is a rice porridge with milk, sugar, cinnamon and peanut paste. I grab the crude metal bowl from Jason and slurp it up without a spoon.
The second course is either roasted goat or chicken in a tomato sauce with boiled sweet potatoes, all served over mushy rice. It's quite tasty, but I'm trying to save room for Thanksgiving dinner later.
At 6pm, we all head to my house to prepare the feast. We have invited Gary and Wendy and their volunteers (Steve, Jeremy and Annie) as well our our 6 student missionaries, Maria (our Danish volunteer) and Sarah and I. Jacob's mom has sent 5 packages stuffed with everything needed. The menu is impressive: Fri-Chik, garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce and relish, anti-pasta salad, stuffing, spiced apple cider, candied yams, and a pumpkin pie spice squash dessert with real whipped cream! Gary and Wendy add some real (not powder) mashed potatoes, more gravy, a cranberry-like hibiscus flower sauce, and some stuffing made from scratch. Jeremy and Annie bring a fresh garden salad of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and sprouts; fresh squeezed lemonade; and boiled beets.
Jacob's mom has also sent Thanksgiving-themed plates, napkins and decorations and with the half-cut into pumpkin-like squash in the center of the table we're only missing NFL football to make it feel like a real American holiday.
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Right before eating, Sarah comes over to tell me that she's already hospitalized 5 kids with malaria, 3 of them with severe anemia needing blood transfusions. Luckily, Samedi is on with her until 9pm so they're managing, but the hospital has been filled back up despite being cleared out by me in the morning. She refuses my offer to eat with us, saying she'd rather I just brought her something later.
We all sit around the table and go around with each person saying one thing they're thankful for for each of the 5 kernels of corn placed before them. We pray and then we chow down.
Just as I'm finishing my overloaded plate (the first one done of course) Hortance, the midwife, comes knocking to tell me about a woman, 8 months pregnant with vaginal bleeding referred from the health center 2 days ago but just now arriving. She is severly anemic with a hemoglobin of 4.8 g/dl and has a placenta previa where the placenta wants to come out before the baby. I think I find a fetal heart beat so we quickly resuscitate her with two large bore IV's and a lot of IV fluids, give her anti-biotics, and take her to the OR. Fortunately, her blood type is AB + making her a universal recipient (i.e. she can take blood from anyone) so we have both her brother and father give blood while we prep her for surgery.
We start the first bag of blood running as we pull out a dead baby with skin already peeling off meaning he's been gone for a few days. Fortunately, there's not much bleeding and we quickly close her up as the second bag runs in. Her heartbeat is almost normal now and her blood pressure has come up. We wheel her into the wards almost running over some Arab women who've spread their sleeping mats right across the entrance and then are forced to leave her on the gurney for the night since there are no available beds.
I come home at about 10pm and we play Settler of Catan and Citadels until almost 2 in the morning when I fall into a deep, contented sleep.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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