Eilzabeth

I met Elizabeth, my adopted patient, today! She seems really sweet. Her older sister, who is also conveniently named Elizabeth, is going to be staying with her while she's in the hospital, so I'll get to minister to Elizabeth x 2. :) The first few minutes where a teensy bit awkward as I tried to explain to her that I had signed up to be her friend; there are mild language/age/culture barriers to overcome. But all things considered, I think we hit it off pretty well, and I'm looking forward to developing a relationship with Elizabeth as well as her older sister Elizabeth. The older Elizabeth (O.E.) already asked if I would be her best friend. This invitation, in combination with the wedding proposal last weekend, is leading me to the cultural assumption that Liberians are very friendly people.

I also found out more about Elizabeth's upcoming surgery - her right hand/forearm was severely burned, and it healed in a way that forces her wrist to remain fully flexed and barely functional. I learned that the surgeon will need to repair this with a skin graft from Elizabeth's groin, and the graft has to have subcutaneous tissue because it will cover exposed tendon and will need to vascularize the area. The tricky thing about this is that the skin must remain attached to the groin during recovery so it can remain alive to vascularize the new tissue. So basically, Elizabeth will have to spend three weeks recovering here with her right arm attached to a piece of skin around her groin. To me this sounds terribly uncomfortable. But Lord willing the discomfort will be worth the outcome, and Elizabeth will once again enjoy full functionality in her wrist.

Please keep Elizabeth in prayer as she undergoes her surgery tomorrow (Friday)!