Livingstone Trip, Continued

We continued Lauren's birthday celebration with high tea at The Royal Livingstone Hotel, another delightful and relaxing experience, and then returned to Chanter's for dinner.

As we were eating, Lauren got a call from The Haven that baby Sarah had stopped breathing earlier in the day and was having a rough time. Harriet, the housemother's daughter, was taking care of her and was going to stay up all night with her. We ended our day by praying together for Sarah and for Lauren. As Kathi Merritt has warned us, taking care of babies like Sarah is a roller coaster of highs and lows. The next morning Harriet called to say that Sarah was doing better. We heaved a sigh of relief.

Saturday morning we investigated two new medical facilities in Livingstone. Our primary purpose was to find a source of oxygen for babies like Sarah when they are having trouble breathing. So far the hospital at Maacha, three hours away, was the closest source we could find.

The first facility is an emergency/ambulance service that caters to tourists and ex-patriots. Ihanda, the wife of the manager, was extremely helpful in explaining what they have available and said they do have oxygen. She also referred us to a new clinic in town. We visited there as well and were very impressed with the equipment and services offered. We now feel that we have two new resources to tap when we have emergencies at Namwianga. Livingstone is only an hour an a half away as compared to the three-hour trip to Maacha.

We ended our time in Livingstone by picking up Dr. Sid Tate at the airport. He is returning to Namwianga to finish getting the X-ray machine in operation at the clinic. A technician is flying in from Kenya on Monday to do the final set-up and adjustments.

When we arrived back at Namwianga, Lauren found that Sarah has bounced back once again and is doing better. Her weight is now below five pounds, though, so she doesn't have much to fight with. It's a day to day struggle for her. We'll keep you posted.