A Layne Post
I cannot remember the exact day we closed, but I think our house as a project was shut for about two months, due to corona virus. The hospital had thinned out the ward, trying to get patients from other provinces back home, and since they are the ones we focus on, there were no other good candidates. Jon kept working at the hospital, but our house felt quiet and strange. The girls kept asking when Tias and Tios would be back. I love that they enjoy our ministry as much as we do. Sometimes I wonder, but this was a good reminder. I actually was recently reflecting on our journey to where we are now and realized my girls have had patients around since my oldest was 2 years old and my youngest two never knew life without Tias and Tios around. This is our life!
We did get to the beach for a quick trip to catch our breath, while the house was empty. Here’s a couple pictures:
As soon as we heard there were a potential 5 ladies in Oncology who could come to our house we jumped. They came over for a preview visit to see the place and the next week they moved in. It feels good and right. We had a former patient from up north needing to do his follow-up, so he came as well, but has already returned home.
We are used to the phases we go through as a little community. We are all in the “get to know you” phase, figuring personalities out. Everyone is on their best behavior. I always have to identify my point person who is going to tell me when they run out of things, or when someone has been sick, and things like that. One of our ladies does not speak Portuguese, so that is always an interesting dynamic. Her roomie translates when needed. One lady is struggling with post-Chemo throat sores. It has been rough, but I think yesterday she made a bit of turn for the better.
Here are 4 of the 5. Joana, with the throat sores was not up for a picture yet, and you can imagine why. We always give people the option to opt out of photos. Know she is lovely. I am betting she’ll want a picture soon.
We are also excitedly taking a few new steps.
First, I finished my Master’s degree in Palliative Care and there is an opportunity for me to sit two times a week on a cancer tumor board, where the oncologists, gynecologists, and head/neck/throat specialists, discuss complicated cases. I hope to be a voice for whole patient care and symptom/pain management.
Second, Jon, with all he is learning in his Master’s of Thanatology program, has offered to serve families of the dying as hospital treatment transitions from curative to non-curative and difficult conversations must be had about the mysteries and difficulties of dying. The oncologists work super hard and their time is full. Jon has more time to linger and discuss and answer questions. He has been able to do this a couple time now, and it has gone well.
Third, for the first time there are 2 oncologists in the northern city of Beira, able to treat patients with Chemotherapy from there! This is an exciting step for Mozambique. It does, however, affect our project as most of our patients are from those northern regions. We are shifting a bit to accommodate this new reality and include patients from the closer provinces of Gaza and Inhambane. What this means is that they may not stay with us for the duration of their treatment, but rather about a week at a time and then return home, and come back each month.
Finally, we are opening up the option for local cancer hospice patients. We want to offer two things. For those who would like their loved ones to stay home, we want to offer home visits for education and support. For those who feel overwhelmed or incapable, we will offer our home. The patient can come and if a family member would like to stay, they will also have a bed. Because it is just Jon and I right now, we will only offer home support to 1 or 2 families at a time, until we get a feel for the workload. The same will be true for inpatient hospice at our home. We want to offer quality service, so we do not want to run ourselves too thin.
Pray with us in the days ahead. We are constantly reminded that we are not alone. Thank you for your support, messages, and love.
P.S.
Current Covid-19 Stats in Mozambique are: 1060 active cases and 11 deaths to date. God is being merciful!