Micah's story

If you've read Hannah's post already, you have heard most of Micah's story. But I'd like to share with you a bit more and also what God has done in the midst it all.

The day we arrived at the Children's Home, we were invited to dinner at Joseph's house. Joseph is the man who had the dream to build the orphanage. The orphanage is built on his land. We had a great dinner together and heard some stories of when Joseph was a young boy, how he killed a hyena, and other stories of courage. He spoke a lot on being courageous. However, it was late and the kids were getting restless so we sent them back to the guest house (where Ronn's brother and his family live) which is very close. Micah lagged behind a little; he was distracted by trying to get the door closed to the house.

Daytime view of the steps where Micah fell

A few seconds following, we heard loud crying outside. At first I thought someone had just gotten scared, but soon Katie came in and asked her mom to come--quickly. She went and then called for us to come. By the time I got to the house, Micah was getting cleaned up and it was obvious this was more than just a cut. Ann cleaned it as well as she could (she is a nurse) and thought we should take him to the hospital. She made a few calls: one to Joseph, who urged her to take him to the Kilgoris hospital instead of the one they usually visit in Kissee (which is further away); and one to Vincent, the orphanage nurse/doctor/social worker. Rick, Ronn, Vincent, Micah and I loaded up the car for the very bumpy ride down the hill to the hospital. We had Micah hold a damp gauze on his face to keep it from crusting, and I sang "Step by Step" to him all the way down the hill. It's amazing how a song like that can bring comfort. I used to sing that to him when he was upset as a baby.

Anyway, we arrived at the hospital and the doctor didn't know what to do with Micah. The nurse initially said they would have to admit Micah so he could see the regular doctor in the morning, but after consulting with the doctor that was there, she decided to call and see if he could come and take a look. About 10 minutes later, Dr. Magita came in and introduced himself. He took us into an operating room so he could get a good look at Micah, clean out his wound, and assess the situation. There were two options: to leave the deep wound open and clean it out several times a day, or stitch it. Both came with risks, one of which was infection with either choice. Because we were flying home in a week, he decided stitching would be better. I was happy because the last thing I wanted to do was inflict pain on my little boy three times a day while cleaning his wound.

I am convinced the area had not been sufficiently numbed before the stitching began; Micah moaned and cried in pain with every touch. First the cleaning, then the stitching. It was awful. And this hospital was not state-of-the-art. It was dirty. The floor was peeling up. The paint was old and faded. The cloths were stiff and crusty. But the doctor did wear gloves and had sterilized equipment, thank God. I sang to him and told him Joseph's stories of courageousness were just for him, at this very time. And God wanted him to be courageous right then and there. Two stitches later he was done.

Dr. Magita told us Micah would need to be on an antibiotic because he fell on dirty wood and there was a risk of infection. He called his wife, the pediatrician, and she was there in five minutes trying to find something suitable for Micah. They don't have a lot of medication to choose from, and most of it is adult strength. They gave him a mild antibiotic that he would have to swallow twice a day.

When the nurse handed the doctor the paperwork, he refused and told us he would not be charging us for our visit. He was glad we were visiting Kenya and wanted us to use our money to support the economy rather than to pay a hospital bill. WOW. That wouldn't happen in the USA! We were overcome with gratefulness; God provided right then and there for us.

Two days later, Micah's wound started pussing. It was pretty gross, and mostly oozed out when he ate or laughed, causing the cut to stretch. I was hoping it wasn't a big deal, but when Ann saw it, she told us we needed to take another trip down to the hospital. Dr. Magita and Vincent were waiting there for us. Dr. Magita took a look and sure enough, infection had set in. Instead of opening up the sutures and cleaning it out, he attempted to push on the area to excrete as much puss as he could. This seemed to work well enough that he said the stitches could stay, but that Micah needed a stronger antibiotic. So he took us over to his home to consult with his wife. They introduced us to their son and his wife, and their granddaughter. The doctors discussed antibiotic possibilities. There wasn't much available for children at their hospital, so they settled on giving Micah 1/2 dose of Augmentin (in pill form) twice a day.

Micah: Day 3

We had a chance to stay and visit for a bit and found out that the doctors' granddaughter was starting homeschool, but they explained that there was not much curriculum available in Kenya so it has been challenging. Ann shared with them that she homeschooled her kids and she was just going through all the curriculum that she was done with and would love to give it to them. Through Micah's tragedy, this little girl would get the curriculum she needed to have a successful homeschool experience. 

We also talked about the possibility of partnership between Dr. Magita and the Children's Home. Oasis has a donor willing to send hospital equipment and supplies to them, but in the past, the clinics didn't know what to do with the supplies or weren't trained to use them so they were useless. Because of this new friendship with Dr. Magita, any medical supplies that are sent will be able to be used at the hospital!

There is also new staff coming to live on the hill, one of which is a doctor wanting to learn about the medical practices in Kenya. Dr. Magita will be an invaluable resource to him, as he is very willing to take time to come alongside and share his knowledge with the new staff member. If Micah had not gotten hurt, this connection might never have been made.

On our way back to the hill from the hospital we visited Ronn at the local church where they were doing the pastors' training. The pastors stopped everything to pray over Micah. It was a beautiful and moving moment to hear them pray in their native tongue and lift up our son to the Lord.

We gave Micah his first dose of Augmentin that evening along with the antibiotic they had prescribed for him at the beginning of the week. Later that evening he complained of the bottoms of his feet itching. We weren't sure what the cause was and assumed it was because he hadn't bathed regularly and was not changing his socks daily. We put some anti-itch cream on them, cleaned out his wound (a very painful process for us all), and put him to bed.

Thursday morning Micah took both antibiotics and almost immediately he broke out in hives on his knees, elbows, and legs. We gave him Benedryl which helped and knew he was allergic to one of the antibiotics. That meant figuring out another antibiotic that was strong enough to fight his infection, that could be prescribed to a child, and that was available locally. Ann is well connected with other doctors so she made a lot of phone calls back and forth. By evening Micah was on yet another antibiotic.

Interior of hospital

 We took one last trip to the hospital on Friday to have Dr. Magita look at Micah before we left for home. He was so happy with Micah's quick recovery from the infection; he called it a miracle. There were no signs of infection, and the healing had begun. We stopped by the Magita's home to check in with Mrs. Magita (the pediatrician) and thank her for all she has done to help us. She shared some of her personal story with us and their family's heart for Kenya. They are good people, doing a good thing. They are not in medicine for the money; they truly want to care for the underprivileged and make a difference in Kenya.

Through this whole ordeal Ronn and I wondered, why now God? Why did Micah have to get hurt in Kenya when he has been perfectly healthy for the first 7 1/2 years of his life? Coming out of it, we look back and see how God orchestrated all of this for His glory, not ours. Although Micah didn't personally benefit from his pain, others certainly are receiving blessings from it. God provided homeschool curriculum for a lonely little girl, and possible future friendships for her on the hill. He provided a hospital where donated equipment would be used and otherwise could not be afforded. He connected doctors who can learn from each other to provide healthcare for the Kenyan people. God is good. He sees the bigger picture when we don't. Thank you Lord for being in control!