Ginn Family Missions

June 14, 2024

Our time in Italy was fantastic. David and Viviana’s wedding was perfect – a sunny day in an Italian vineyard with rolling hills surrounded by friends and family. We spent a total of two weeks touring around several cities and spending time together. We liked Florence the most – beautiful and historic, without being as crowded or expansive as Rome. Henry got to hang out with his grandma, grandpa, great aunt Deb, and Uncle David & Aunt Viviana. We ate gelato at least every other day and delighted in the gastronomic experience of northern Italy. We packed a lot of touring into those 2 weeks and experienced Italy by car, train, boat, and airplane. Some of the highlights (besides the beautiful wedding) included a gondola ride in Venice, touring the Colosseum, climbing over 400 steps to the top if Il Duomo in Florence, and visiting quaint cafes most mornings for a cappuccino and pastries. It was truly a phenomenal experience.

Brian:

The most recent excitement has been the arrival of a team from our alma mater, Olivet Nazarene University, lead by Dr. Mike and Nancy Pyle. The Pyles have been coming to PNG for 20 years now, bringing teams of students to give them a firsthand deep dive into medical missions and cross cultural living. It was on a team lead by the Pyles in 2012 that I first came to PNG, so it’s quite full circle to have them back 12 years later in our new home! Dr. Pyle was our anatomy and physiology professor at ONU and is still a practicing general surgeon. His wife Nancy is a former professor in the nursing department at Olivet. They served 4 years at the Nazarene Hospital in Swaziland in the 80s and 90s and have been inspiring the next generation of missionaries while continuing to serve ever since. Their team this year contains two other professors (one in engineering and the other in microbiology) and six students – a mix of nursing, pre-med, and engineering majors.

How wonderful it is to see old friends and mentors as well as the fresh faces of college students, some of whom are experiencing another country for the first time. The students are rotating through all departments of the hospital, which includes time on surgery, outpatient, X-ray, pharmacy, blood bank, store room, and rounding with the chaplains.
Rewind back 12 years to the first time I ever set foot inside an operating room and to the first time I ever placed sutures in a patient and Dr. Pyle was responsible for both. Fast forward back to present day and I now get to work with him as a colleague. Given his 35+ years of surgical experience (including on the mission field), it has been such a blessing to scrub surgeries together and discuss difficult cases. It’s also been great to have an additional set of experienced hands for the recent rash of large operations I’ve had recently, including a low anterior resection for rectal cancer, a right hemicolectomy for colon cancer, a hemigastrectomy for gastric ulcer disease, and a large soft tissue sarcoma of the thigh.

As always, surgery continues to be surprising and challenging. In my residency, I took care of many patients with gun shot wounds (GSWs), but I was in for something new when we received a young many who was accidentally shot by his father in the buttocks at very close range. The X-ray showed that his pelvis was full of bird shot and the tissue destruction causes by a shotgun at close range is massive compared to a small caliber bullet. In surgery, I explored this gaping wound and retrieved the plastic wad from the shotgun cartridge from deep within – a sign of just how close range this was (less than 5 feet). Despite the large wound, the patient is doing okay and will hopefully not need any additional surgeries. The wound will fill in with time. And to answer a commonly asked question: no, we will not go in to remove the bird shot/bullets – those will stay with him forever.

Abigail:

Since we’ve returned from our vacation in Italy, I’ve been in the hospital consistently 3 days per week. Having a more set schedule has been helpful as I plan my days and has given me plenty of time to spend with Henry at home too. I’ve been rounding 3-4 days per week on one of the hospital wards before going to clinic. I spent some time rounding on our adult medical ward before landing back “home” in the pediatric ward. Being back amongst kids has been a huge blessing. I have even managed to consult my favorite surgeon on some patients, which has been a fun new part of working in the same hospital as Brian.

Over the past 2 weeks in particular, I’ve graduated to being without a medical interpreter in the clinic and having more independence on rounds in the ward. While I normally savor independence, I have to admit to feeling a bit weary and frequently overwhelmed. It is a big change for me to have gone from being an attending physician who generally has knowledge about hospitalized kids to being a doctor in a foreign country with diseases I have only read about in textbooks and in medical system that I am still learning. I have to frequently remind myself that it is going to take many months for me to feel comfortable and confident in my diagnoses and treatment of kids, let alone the myriad adult diseases that I’m seeing in clinic. Regardless of that frequent mental reminder, I find myself feeling inept and just fatigued. I have to think about what I want to say to patients in English and then think about how to say those same words in Tok Pisin, so just speaking to patients and understanding what they are saying is a daily chore. I have never been more appreciative to have patient and understanding colleagues, especially as they answer my dozens and dozens of questions.

Since our last blog post, I had the opportunity to go on my first solo home palliative visit in PNG. These visits give me a lot of perspective and help to recenter the purpose of my work here, especially when I sometimes feel bogged down by the day to day tasks of working in a hospital. They do, however, remind me of the brevity of life and the injustice of childhood cancer care in PNG. The patient I saw is a 6 year old girl with a soft tissue tumor of her left leg that has likely invaded her spinal cord, although we can’t confirm this suspicion with imaging, rendering her legs paralyzed. She is a sweet and shy girl, and is the oldest of her siblings. Although we are still awaiting pathology results, we know that her prognosis is poor given her physical condition. I had a lovely visit with her and 4 generations of her family at their home. I am grateful that her family knows Jesus and that their faith has given them much comfort in the midst of this terrible disease. Since first meeting this girl, I have seen 2 other kids with new cancers: one with a large abdominal tumor that has likely spread to his brain, causing him to become blind and another with leukemia. Although we have some chemotherapy options available at our hospital, many of our patients present after the disease has spread throughout their body, which makes the likelihood of successful treatment next to impossible. And just like that, I’m back to feeling weary, especially since I know that these kids would have a fighting chance if they lived in the U.S.

Amidst the heaviness of the patients and illnesses that I am faced with, I have been reminded of God’s goodness and grace. The lyrics to 2 specific songs have been running through my head for weeks now, and many of you will be familiar with these lyrics. First are lyrics from the song “Goodness of God” by Bethel Music and Jenn Johnson which say “And all my life you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, Oh I will sing of the goodness of God.” Second are lyrics from “Hosanna” by Hillsong United which say, “Break my heart for what breaks yours. Everything I am for your kingdom’s cause.” Just like us, Jesus also felt weary, frustrated, and heartbroken at times, and yet, He remains so so good. He has called us here and He will continue to enable and strengthen us as we serve.

Praises:
– Helpful pediatric colleagues back in the U.S. who consult on tough cases
– Henry’s continued growth and development. He is learning more words each week and loves to explore
– The presence of the Olivet team. They have been a huge encouragement to us and a source of new playmates for Henry

Prayer requests:
– Speedy learning, especially as Abigail gains more clinical responsibilities that are new and scary (i.e. adults)
– Abigail as she prepares for her hospice and palliative board exam in November

We are also feeling a bit homesick these days, so prayers for emotional strength are much appreciated too.