Loading...

Published by josh-korn

Jan152013

0comments

Josh & Julie Korn: Nigerian Winter Wear

posted by at 6:00 am

Hannatou, the hospital social worker, does an amazing job with the patients, and especially their families, during their stay at the hospital. Many of the mothers who accompany their children get to participate in all kinds of activities like cooking, sewing, jewelery making, and knitting. One of the projects Hannatou does with them is knitting winter outfits for kids. Yes, they bundle up like they’re just about ready for a snow storm! Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in | No Comments »

Jan082013

0comments

Josh & Julie Korn: Introducing Leon Jonathan Korn

posted by at 6:00 am

It has been quite awhile since we have written a blog post. One of the biggest reasons for our recent silence has been the addition of a baby boy to our family. Leon is an orphan. His mother died at his birth, and no one in his family knows who his father is, so he was taken by his relatives to an orphanage here in Niamey. We met him there when he was only a couple months old, and began the process of adopting him.

We are still in the process of adopting him (and will be for the foreseeable future), but in the meantime, the orphanage has given us permission to bring him home as foster parents. This was quite unexpected, but it has been great getting to know him better, learning how to be parents, and giving him as many kisses as possible.

Leon has only been with us for about a month, but we love him so much already. Of course, it isn’t hard to love a face like this:

What a cutie.

What a cutie.

We also decided to give him a new name. Names are important, and we wanted to give him a new name that would represent his new identity as our son. His full name is Leon Jonathan Korn.

Leon is named after Leon Trotsky, Leon Blum, and most importantly, his great-great-grandfather, Leon Hirsch Karp, who died in Auschwitz in 1945. It is a name that carries a lot of our family history. A history of pain and suffering, but also of hope and of overcoming.

His Hebrew name is Lev, which means “heart,” and that is apt. This kid has a lot of heart. In his short life, he has already been through so much. He has suffered loss and been witness to death. He has been separated from everything familiar to him, and placed and the mercy of strangers. But through it all, he has overcome. He has fought for his life, and he has had a positive attitude. Even though he is so young (5 months old), his personality shines through, especially in his smile, which he is quick to flash to anyone who looks his way. He has already learned that life is struggle, but he has also learned a great secret – it is a struggle that is won through determination and heart, through tears yes, but also through laughter.

"Keep Loving, Keep Fighting" by Dalia Sapon-Shevin.

Keep Loving, Keep Fighting by Dalia Sapon-Shevin.

Jonathan was the middle name Leon was given at the orphanage, and we decided to keep it. First of all, it is a name we both like, and we wanted to keep at least one of the names he had been given in his first home. But also, we like the meaning of Jonathan, which is “God given.” This is certainly true. Leon is a gift from God, a true blessing. An unexpected, transformative blessing that has changed our lives forever. We can only hope that we will be as much of a blessing for him as he has been for us.

Finally, his last name is Korn. We are sorry about that one Leon, but you are stuck with it. You can’t win them all I guess. But at least you are not alone. From now on you never will be.

Leon Jonathan Korn. Cute in stripes.

Leon Jonathan Korn. Cute in stripes.

Originally posted at: http://joshjulieblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/introducing-leon-jonathan-korn/.

No Comments »

Dec182012

0comments

Josh & Julie Korn: Music therapy – Slovak style!

posted by at 6:33 am

I am beyond ecstatic to have my parents here again. They came at exactly this time last year. And last year, before they took their trip out here, my dad said, “Liz, you have to take your accordion with you to play for the kids at the hospital.” My mom kind of laughed it off. He tried his best to convince her, but she had some valid reasons why she thought it was a bad idea. For example, it’s massive, weighs a ton, and it would have used up her allotted luggage space! So this year my dad was still set on the idea and devised a fabulous plan. He contacted everyone he knew, as well as the broader community grapevine email system, with a very specific request. He asked if anyone had a smaller (80 bass) accordion they’d be willing to sell or trade for another instrument. Sure enough, someone responded that same day! My parents met the couple and ended up exchanging my dad’s trombone for their perfect, hand luggage size accordion. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in | No Comments »

Nov012012

1comments

Josh & Julie Korn: The chief of the hospital

posted by at 6:53 am

Some people are childish, even when they grow up. Others are somber and stern-faced even as infants, kind of like tiny adults, world-weary on the inside, but trapped in a fresh-faced exterior. That is how Maaouya is. He is a 4-year-old grownup, a serious kid, with a no-nonsense attitude that was evident from the moment I first saw him. I am tempted to describe him as “studious,” although, obviously, he is too young for school. But this is a helpful description, as it comes close to capturing his aloof demeanor. He floats above the fray with enviable scholarly detachment, and rarely talks or smiles, as though he is preoccupied with other, bigger problems.

But this is not to suggest that he is unhappy. Au contraire, he seems quite content to look on as the other children giggle and play. To look on, but not to participate in their games. There is a small but clearly discernible hint of condescension in the way he watches them. Almost pity. There activities are so far beneath him. So childish.

“Bless their little souls,” he seems to say, “When will they ever learn?”

Maaouya – not impressed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in | 1 Comment »

Oct172012

0comments

Josh & Julie Korn: Chains

posted by at 6:37 am

“Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons…”
Ps. 107:10

Peter

Picture Peter in chains.

He was bound by the king. He sat in prison, awaiting his fate. His friends prayed for him, but there is no reason to believe that he prayed for himself. He knew the way it would play out. He would be killed – put to death like many who came before him, and many who would follow.

Peter pictured his chains.

He closed his eyes, but he still felt them on his wrists. They were weighing him down. He fell to the floor and kept sinking, deeper and deeper. He sank like a rock. He fell beyond despair and hope. He fell into a hole, a place of darkness and shadows.

A light pierced the darkness and a voice called out. “Arise.” Peter rose and his chains fell. He was bound by the king, but he was unbound by God. He walked past the guards. A vision. He walked through the iron gates. They opened before him. He was free.

It was Passover. Read the rest of this entry »

No Comments »

Jul242012

0comments

Josh & Julie Korn: Clubfoot roadtrip

posted by at 6:25 am

A mother with her baby at the clubfoot clinic in the Dosso Hospital.

On average, about 1 out of every 700 children is born with clubfoot. This is a figure that is pretty consistent everywhere in the world, but in places like Europe and the U.S. children born with clubfoot are treated right away. In places like Niger, most of them do not receive treatment and grow up with severely deformed feet. Most of them are not sent to school and are deemed unfit to work; many are sent into the streets to beg. They have no real hope for the future, and the real tragedy is clubfoot is a deformity that can be easily treated. That is why CURE started CCW (CURE Clubfoot Worldwide), a program that provides training to doctors, physical therapists, and counselors, as well as the materials they need (such as casts, braces, etc.). The idea is to train people and open up clubfoot centers all over the country, so that eventually babies born with clubfoot will have access to treatment close by, no matter where they are born. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in | No Comments »

Jul032012

1comments

Josh & Julie Korn: Nyantire mobile clinic

posted by at 5:49 am

Everyone came.

Last week we headed out to the village of Nyantire for CURE’s first mobile clinic here in Niger. We have done different training programs and specialized consultations before, but this was the first time that we did a general consultation. In other words, before we were screening for patients that we could bring back to the hospital and operate on. This time we just told everyone to come.

Guess what? Everyone came.

The whole village showed up, plus people from other villages and even from Torodi and Macalondi, the closest big-ish towns. We tried to put the word out before hand, and even had a spot on the local radio station. I think it worked. Everyone listens to the radio here. Nyantire is not a big village. It is a near the border with Burkina Faso, about an hour’s drive from Niamey. But it has the advantage of being right off the main road. So it is easy to get to and a natural gathering point. Also, it is a mixed (Fulani and Gourmanchema) village, so there were people coming from all over.

Medical consultation

We arrived around 10 in the morning, and didn’t leave until the sun went down. Even though we were there all day, and managed to see almost 100 patients, we still weren’t able to see everyone. Some people walked over 30 km. just to come to the clinic. Others had come the night before just to make sure they didn’t miss it. It was really amazing to see how far people will go to be cured. Or even to have some hope of a cure. We brought lots of medicine with us and gave almost all of it out, but it was mostly to treat simple illnesses like malaria or dysentery. We were not equipped to handle some of the more serious problems people had. But we were able to refer some of them to other clinics, and made appointments for some of them to come to the hospital.

We also ran a children’s program for all the kids that were just hanging out with nothing to do. They played different games under a big tree, and it was great to see how excited they were. Someone brought a radio but there were no batteries. We managed to find some, and then the music and dancing started. They danced for hours. We also had quite a large group of people who wanted to be prayed for. Some of them complained of having bad dreams or of being harassed by evil spirits. So we prayed for a lot of people as well.

Playing games under a tree

We certainly learned a lot from this clinic, and will probably make some changes (especially concerning organization and crowd control) in the future. It was kind of crazy at times, but overall it was a great success. For people in Nyantire, and other villages like it, if you are sick, you suffer. That’s it. There are not a lot of options for treatment, so you just have to deal with the pain and hope it goes away. So we were really happy to see that a lot of people suffering from different problems got some relief, and we found a few potential patients for the clubfoot program which is great.

Originally posted at: http://joshjulieblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/nyantire-mobile-clinic/.

Posted in | 1 Comment »

Jun192012

0comments

Josh & Julie Korn: Around the hospital

posted by at 6:34 am

Every day at the hospital is different. It is constantly changing as people come and go. It is always filled with new faces and familiar faces. There is always someone to meet, or someone to see again. It is also full of contrast. It is full of pain and injury. People come from all over the country bringing the sick and wounded. But it is also a place of healing and laughter. It is a very interesting place to be, and here are some pictures of what has been going on around the hospital lately: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in | No Comments »

Jun072012

0comments

Josh & Julie Korn: Digging for a CURE

posted by at 6:21 am

Husseini before.

Husseini Elhadj Omarou was born with cleft lip. His twin brother, Hassane, was also born with cleft lip. Hassane and Hussein are popular names for twins here in Niger. If you meet a Hassane or a Hussein, chances are they have a twin brother. Both Hassane and Husseini grew up dealing with their cleft lip, and it was not easy. Twins are already viewed as suspicious, and twins with matching cleft lips would be considered very bad luck. Luckily, they had each other for support. They were brothers and they took care of each other. Also, their father was the imam of the village, so nobody said anything to them. But when they went to other villages, people made fun of them and pointed and laughed, but life goes on. Hassane and Husseini grew up, and both got married and had children. Then Hassane died.

Now Husseini is 47 years old. His twin brother is gone, but he has other brothers, and they take care of him as well. Brothers are important in this family. Husseini’s brothers are also imams. Imams are also important in this family. Mahamadou is Husseini’s older brother. He took his father’s place as the imam of the village. Halidou is Husseini’s younger brother. He is also an imam, but here in Niamey. They both came with Husseini to the CURE hospital, and all sat down in a row according to their order of birth. It did not seem like they sat that way intentionally but out of habit.

Brothers

We asked them to tell us their story and how they came to the hospital. Mahamadou did most of the talking. He spoke on behalf of Husseini, and spoke as one who is used to speaking on behalf of the family. But he was not overbearing. He seemed like a kind and gentle older brother. Husseini did not hesitate to interject every once in awhile, but he was hard to understand. We met with him once before the operation, and his words were slurred because of the extent of the cleft lip. When we met with him after the operation, he was hard to understand because of the swelling. Halidou, for his part, mostly sat and listened. But he smiled in a friendly way, and nodded his head in agreement with everything that his brothers said.

The three brothers come from a village called Chinyerga, in the region of Sanam. It is in the desert. They are Tuareg, but they also speak Hausa. Their village is very remote, only about 300 km from Niamey, but in reality, worlds away. Over the years, Husseini made friends with a military man who is stationed in a town near his village. He would often go and visit him, especially on market days when he would be in town anyway. One day his friend told him that he had heard about a hospital in Niamey that treats cleft lips. Husseini was interested but not convinced. His friend told him that he would try to get more information about the hospital on his next trip to Niamey. He left, and when he came back he was excited to see Husseini. He brought before and after pictures of cleft lip patients that had been treated at the CURE hospital. This was all the proof Husseini needed. He started making plans to come to Niamey and immediately told his brothers about the hospital.

Husseini after.

Husseini knew that he would need money for his trip. The city is an expensive place. But he had nothing. So he decided to go to a place nearby that is known for its gold and its goldmines. These are not mines that are run by an enterprise or organization, just individual panhandlers. Husseini went and started digging for gold, but he knew that he was digging for a cure. Eventually he dug up enough, took it to the market and sold it for cash. Now he was ready.

The operation was a great success, and Husseini’s lip has healed wonderfully. He even started growing a mustache! He and his brothers were very happy with their experience at CURE, and told us over and over again how impressed they were with the warm reception they received. “You treat everyone the same,” Mahamadou said. “It does not matter if they are black or white, or Hausa, Tuareg or Djerma. Everyone is treated like a member of the family.” In other words, everyone is treated like a brother.

Originally posted at: http://joshjulieblog.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/digging-for-a-cure/.

Posted in | No Comments »

May292012

0comments

Josh & Julie Korn: CCW in Niger

posted by at 6:46 am

A baby with clubfoot at the Dosso hospital.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to go and visit one of the CURE Clubfoot Wordwide clinics in the town of Dosso, 140 km. away from Niamey. It was in the regional hospital of Dosso, and we met with the surgeon, the physical therapist, and the counselor (as well as a few others). It was really great to talk with them a bit,  hear some of the challenges they face, and see them in action.

I met them before, when they came to the CURE hospital in Niamey for a training, but that was when we first got here, so it was good to see them again. They told us that before the training they had no way of treating clubfoot, so whenever they saw clubfoot cases they always referred them to the National hospital in Niamey. Obviously, this was not an option for many families because of the distance and the cost(s) of the trip. But now, they can treat them right there in Dosso, and it is paid for.

One of the patient we saw being treated was Al-Moustapha. He is only three months old. He came in for a recasting, his third one. With the Ponseti Method of treating clubfoot, a series of casts are used to set the feet back in place, which is great because it avoids surgery (at least most of the time; sometimes small surgical procedures are needed). But it is a long and drawn out process, and it involves a lot of visits to the hospital. Al-Moustapha was at the hospital the week before, and now he was back again, getting new casts on both of his legs. It is hard for the families to come to the hospital so often, especially when they don’t live nearby. Some of the families are from villages that are far away, and they often come the night before and spend the night at the hospital so they can be there in the morning to see the doctor. It goes without saying that they don’t spend the night in a bed (most of the patients don’t even have beds). They sleep on a mat on the dirt floor. But that is enough for them; they are just happy to be able to get treatment for their children.

When it was time for the recasting to begin, they first soaked Al-Moustapha’s legs in a bucket of water to loosen up the plaster, and then they just peeled it off. They didn’t use an electric saw to cut off the casts (the power went out while we were at the hospital, so this probably wouldn’t be the best choice even if they did have a saw). All they needed was a bucket and water. I remember when I broke my leg as a kid and they used a saw to take the cast off. That was the most painful part of the process, and it was scary with the saw buzzing right next to my leg. Why didn’t they just do it this way?

 

Next they massaged Al-Moustapha’s feet and legs, and stretched them out. He didn’t like this part very much.

Finally, they put new casts on Al-Moustapha’s legs, and it was done quickly and done well. Al-Mopustapha (“Al-Mou” to his close friends and family – seriously) almost slept through this part.

Since the program started not too long ago, they still do not have a ton of patients coming in to Dosso. A lot of them still go to Niamey because they don’t know that they can be treated in Dosso. It takes time for that kind of information to really sink in, but while we were there a young couple came in with their baby. The future for this program looks bright, and it is exciting to see the progress.

Posted in | No Comments »

123» Last