Random pics from the last days at Koutiala Hospital

This little boy was treated for malnutrition and now is looking great!  He is wearing a  shirt that is the same style as the one I wore to the church at Zamblala.  He looks a bit more authentic than me!

This baby was treated for a severe skin infection called staph scalded skin and after antibiotics he is looking much better and will soon be heading home.

This boy was diagnosed with a congenital tightening of the last part of his large intestine that led to back up of his stool and inability to eat (Hirschsprung disease).  He required surgery to bring his intestinal drainage out through his abdomen and will have more surgery to reconnect all of his hardware later.

This infant is severely malnourished because his mother has poor milk production.  In Mali, the extreme heat combined with poor nutrition makes it difficult for some mothers to keep up with the needs of their child.

This little girl was standing with her mother outside of the hospital yesterday morning waiting for things to open up so that she could be seen.  It is obvious by the look of her face that something is seriously wrong.  She had swelling over her entire body and her urine showed that she was losing large amounts of protein.  She was diagnosed with a kidney disorder known as nephrotic syndrome (likely minimal change disease for all of those medically inclined).  She was started on steroids and will be followed closely.

Mamadu, our new patient with Hodgkin lymphoma, was back today for day 2 of his chemotherapy.  We took the bandage off of his biopsy site and the healing looks good.  He will need about 5 months of chemotherapy.

This is the 9 year old girl with sickle cell disease who received my blood yesterday to help with her dropping hemoglobin and worsening pain.  She was better today, but not quite as strong as I expected after getting strong blood like mine!  No color changes yet!

Sheri with her buddies Mussa and Bala outside of the "inpatient" part of the peds hospital.  Mussa (on the right) had a huge abdominal tumor that had been growing for years prior to his first visit to the hospital.  He is receiving intensive chemotherapy for Wilms tumor and is currently doing well.

Two brothers with sickle cell disease (HbSS...the worst type).  The older brother, Muhamed, had been diagnosed with sickle cell in Bamako after having severe pain episodes.  The younger brother, El Hassan, had not been tested for sickle cell until we drew his blood and ran it on the electrophoresis machine.  His sample showed that he also has sickle cell disease.  He was started on penicillin and given special vaccinations to prevent infection.

This cute little girl....

....has a congenital area of hair loss and scarring (cutis aplasia congenita) that was present at birth.

Mussa enjoyed juggling withe me today.  He looks good is his pinstripe suit!

Baobab tree.... these trees are an amazing part of the landscape here in West Africa.  They can withstand this harsh environment.

Salif, the young man that runs this gas "station" down the road from the hospital, was treated for a chronic compound fracture of his femur from a work accident.  The open wound with bone fragment coming through the skin had been present for over 2 years.  He finally came to the hospital for treatment.  After clearing up infection and removing the bone fragments, a skin flap was placed to cover the wound.  He still walks with a limp, but is now able to function.

Smoked caterpillars in the market today....no, I did not try any!  I did like the fact that she had them separated out into individual servings on the plate.

The market in Koutiala.