Sheryl has been with us for 3 years and for the past 3 months she has been our only fully trained General Surgeon. More than once, one of us has called her in at night, asking her to help us with something that is beyond the skills of the pediatricians, family practice or rural medicine doctors among us. From ruptured appendectomies, to bowel obstructions, to bleeding chopchops, to burr holes drainage of subdural hematomas (blood under the skull), she comes when we call. She uses her skills as a surgeon to heal and save lives that the rest of us can’t, and for that we are so very THANKFUL. Without her here, the care we can give at Kudjip would be much, much different. 
It isn’t easy being the only surgeon in our hospital. You are essentially always on call. Despite, trying to give her protected noncall days/nights, there are still times when we have to call her in even if she “isn’t on call” – like tonight. Tonight, she saved the life of a mom who wouldn’t stop bleeding in a Csection, by doing a hysterectomy. Mom and baby will both be able to walk out of our hospital in a few days (well the baby probably won’t be walkingJ). It is hard to know what the outcome would have been without her, I am thankful I don’t have to know.
Please pray for Sheryl. These days of being the only surgeon can be pretty tough. We had some OB/Gyn help in Jan and Feb, which was a blessing, and were anticipating having more OB/Gyn and General Surgery help in March - May – but the Coronavirus changed all of that. Ben isn’t scheduled to get back until June – pending what happens with Coronavirus. When you pray for Sheryl - pray for strength, for rest, for wisdom to know what cases to schedule, for margin for the emergencies, for June to come quickly and for the Coronavirus to not affect plans even more.
Pray also for our patients, that through their time with us, they will learn more about God's love for them through the words they hear and the lives that are lived out in front of them.
