Presence

“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together”

African Proverb

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20b (NIV)

On the way to Kenya during one of the “long legs” of the journey, I watched the latest movie of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”, “The Good Lie”.   This is one story of their journey and of finally reaching the United States.  We are able to see the strangeness of our American culture and the distance between the Sudanese and the Americans.  It is a good movie of a difficult journey!

The distances we all travel is what I think is the behind the idea of “far” in the African proverb!  Part of that “far”ness is the inability to connect across cultures, languages and beliefs.  The good news here at Tenwek is the support provided by those who share a common faith as partners in providing care.  They, the Kenyans, become our connection partners to the patients.

The challenges medically are the unusual presentations of disease and obstetric complications.  For the medical readers, postpartum acute blindness from bilateral severe ptosis, obstetric paralysis with pulmonary thromboembolism, and septic abortion in a patient with a hemoglobin of 3 gm% and  a positive VDRL are what have been seen in the first week.

Presence, being with others, is what is central to providing care with new partners and patients. “Being present” is what we need to implement to conquer the distance between us.  The good news is that no matter where we are, we are not alone and we all can be “present” in the lives of those around us even when the barriers appear insurmountable.

Marv

Photo from the organization: Presence Health http://www.presencehealth.org/about-presence-health

http://www.thegoodliemovie.com/