God first, and the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit Team second

Last weekend, Rick and I traveled to Omaha to help the Biocontainment Unit Team celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the creation of the unit at Nebraska Medical Center for the treatment of patients with highly contagious diseases.  For 9 years, a team of nurses, infection control experts, lab techs, and doctors trained and studied without caring for a single patient.  And finally, on September 5, 2014, they admitted their first patient.  Yes, that would be Rick.  As he said in his comments, he put the "Bio" in "Biocontainment" 

 

This was Rick's room

It was a special time to be able to thank all of the team members who did so much to save Rick's life. They are really an exceptional group of professionals.  Since Rick left, they have had two additional patients.  They have also become a resource to other hospitals all over the USA in preparing to handle an unexpected contact with an Ebola patient.  They have traveled around to evaluate newly established isolation units and invited thousands of doctors, nurses and administrators to Nebraska to learn the essentials of setting one up.  We are so impressed by them.  They are also heroes of the Ebola epidemic, because they make it possible for volunteers to go to West Africa to serve in such a high risk situation.  Even this month, they were monitoring a small group of workers who had an exposure in Sierra Leone while they went through their 21 day observation period. Today is their 21st day, and none of them became ill.

 

Most of the leadership team

We really thank God for the team of doctors and nurses and support people who took care of Rick in Nebraska. It was super fun to go back and see them again.  They were all so pleased to see that Rick had gained weight and had his color back--- "You look good" was the most frequent comment.  We shared memories of good moments in the midst of Rick's illness: homemade Runzas by Nikki's mom, Kendall's chicken soup, and a midnight air guitar dance party that had not previously been exposed. We got to meet Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, who was bursting with pride in his state and his people. It was really fun to be a part of their celebration.

 

But most of all, it was good to take a moment to thank God for what he has brought us through.  As they say in Liberia "Thank God for life!" 

   

http://www.ketv.com/news/dr-rick-sacra-returns-for-biocontainment-units-10th-anniversary/32046142

 

It's All Grace.

Last weekend, we had the privilege of participating in the 58th Annual Missions Conference at Black Rock Congregational Church in Fairfield, Connecticut.  Black Rock has been supporters of former SIM-Liberia missionaries Jon and Pat Shea, so they were familiar with the work of ELWA in Liberia.  We were welcomed there as if we were long time friends. 

Rick preached the morning message on Sunday, which he had to do 3 times!! God gave him a challenging word to share from Philippians 1:29-30: "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have."  In the sermon, he told a very powerful story of one of the ELWA staff who contracted Ebola and spent his time in the ETU ministering to others that we haven't told in another place.  I listened to the sermon all three times and the story still got to me on the third time through it. The story starts at 18:35.

March 8 - Missions Conference: Engaged In The Conflict from Black Rock Church on Vimeo.

Thanks for tuning in.  Also, thanks for praying for us in these great opportunities that have come up-- to share God's word, to encourage the church in missions outreach and to keep the Ebola crisis in West Africa in the prayers of His people.

For the Kingdom, Debbie and Rick

Thanks to all!

It was cold outside, but warm and friendly inside at First Congregational Church of Holden on Friday night.  A big thank you to Pastor John Barber (who recounted some of our history with him) and the hospitality crew at FCCH who took care of everything with regards to the facility. I think that over 200 people attended from all over the state.  The music by Michael Borkay and the "Five Golden Rings" from Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland, MA was enjoyable and suited the theme of the occasion.  Rick shared some moving stories of his time in Liberia and gave us a glimpse of what Liberia has been through in the last year. 

You can watch the video of the entire program here:
Rick Sacra's presentation at First Congregational Church of Holden
It begins at about the 7 minute mark

The evening concluded with a fundraising appeal.  If you would like to give to the projects Rick explains in his presentation you can use this link:
 
https://web.simusa.org/Give/projects.php
enter country: Liberia, keywords: ELWA Hospital and select “All”

Choose any of the following:

Benevolence 082876-091:  this project will provide assistance to patients who cannot afford to pay their hospital bill

Family Medicine Residency 095213-091: this project will be used to start a Family Medicine Residency program to train Liberian doctors

Hospital Transition 095212-091:  this project will allow ELWA to replace lab equipment that is urgently needed.

 

Rick has set an ambitious goal of $50,000 for these three projects.  So far from Friday evening, we have received gifts of over $3000.  Thanks to all who responded so generously. God bless you!

 

Here are some photos from the evening -- we should have recruited a photographer to get more photos than we could do on our own!

Pastor John Barber of FCCH





Michael Borkay

A Capella Group from TCC -- "It is Well with my Soul"

Arthur David surprised us - another Liberia missionary, with the Church of Christ.



Joe and Jemimah Teh, co-workers from Liberia

 

You want to be there!

We have invited a special guest for Friday evening!
Michael Borkay was our neighbor in Liberia, but he lives in Charlotte, NC now.
When Rick was sick in the hospital in Omaha, this recording was a huge encouragement to him and  Michael will be here to sing it on Friday evening.

Also, Rick's brother Doug is bringing his a capella group from Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland, MA.

We hope you can be there!!
Friday, February 27, 2015
7 pm
First Congregational Church of Holden, MA
1180 Main St.  Holden, MA.


 

ELWA Hospital Fundraiser

You are invited to an evening

with Dr. Rick Sacra

7:00 PM  Friday, February 27, 2015

 

Rick will share stories and insights

from his trip back to Liberia

after his recovery from Ebola virus disease

 

First Congregational Church of Holden

1180 Main St. Holden, MA

 

 Free and open to all with an opportunity to give

to SIM projects for ELWA Hospital in Liberia

Help raise $50,000 to jump start its recovery from the Ebola Crisis

If you cannot attend, you can give through the following link: 

DONATE to ELWA HOSPITAL

enter country: Liberia, keywords: ELWA Hospital and select “All”

Choose any of the following:

Benevolence 082876-091:  this project will provide assistance to patients who cannot afford to pay their hospital bill
Family Medicine Residency 082876-091: this project will be used to start a Family Medicine Residency program to train Liberian doctors
Hospital Transition 095212-091:  this project will allow ELWA to equip their new facility which is under construction

 

P.O. Box 7900 Charlotte, NC 28241

A Team Effort

"For the body does not consist of one member but of many....God has arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose." 1 Corinthians 12:14,18

Dr. Jerry Brown thanking the ELWA Hospital staff

Monday morning, February 9, was my last morning at the hospital—in just a few hours I would be headed for the airport. We held an appreciation program with breakfast for all the ELWA Hospital staff after our morning chapel gathering, to recognize those who had served so courageously during the worst of the Ebola crisis.  Along with Dr. Brown, our Medical Director, I was asked to say a few words. As I spoke, thanking our nurses, midwives, aides, and cleaners for coming to work during the toughest times in August, September, and October, my mind went back to a meeting with health care planners from an international NGO.  They wanted to know: “What allowed ELWA to remain open when other hospitals closed?”  The health system collapse was one of the greatest unanticipated consequences of the Ebola epidemic. It led to many deaths due to malaria or obstructed labor or pneumonia—illnesses which have nothing to do with Ebola, but which went untreated because hospitals and clinics were shut down.  ELWA Hospital was one of the bright spots, remaining open and caring for the sick through the most difficult months of the crisis.

 



you know Rick loves babies

Also on Monday morning, we discharged little Noah (not his real name) from the hospital. Noah, a five week old baby, had come in about 12 days earlier with severe vomiting. He couldn’t keep anything down. He was hungry and was breastfeeding vigorously, but after every feeding he would vomit all of it up. He wasn’t making dirty diapers any more. He had lost weight and become dehydrated.  One of our doctors suggested he might have pyloric stenosis—a thickening of the muscle around the outlet of the stomach into the small intestine, which leads to blockage of the flow of nutrition. The best test for pyloric stenosis is an ultrasound exam, and I’ve developed reasonable ultrasound skills over many years of scanning and learning on the job. I went to the office and found our big two-volume ultrasound text, and read about pyloric stenosis. With the ultrasound machine, you can measure the thickness of the muscle in the pyloric canal (the outlet of the stomach) to confirm the diagnosis. As I scanned little Noah, one of my colleagues joked with me about doing the scan with the ultrasound in one hand and my textbook in the other. I told him this was not the first time I would be doing this, nor would it be the last! We got some clear images showing that little Noah did indeed have pyloric stenosis and would require surgery. 

 

God has blessed ELWA with some truly gifted staff. Dr. Jerry Brown, our medical director, is one of the few residency trained surgeons in the country. We also have some highly qualified anesthetists, one of whom is especially skilled handling infants.  So after coordinating the schedules of all the staff who were needed, the child had a successful operation about 4 days after admission. As we monitored Noah through his recovery, I realized we were one of only a few institutions in Liberia that could pull together the resources to successfully diagnose and operate on this little baby.  

 

After the surgery, little Noah improved quickly. He nursed voraciously and started gaining weight.  His mom and dad were so relieved!  Finally on my last day in country, he would be going home! 

 

This takes me back to the question that was asked by the visiting international health care coordinators:   After the reopening of the hospital on August 6^th, how did ELWA manage to stay open when other facilities were having repeated closures?   As I see it, there are two reasons. The first is that our staff are mission driven. They are motivated by the example of Jesus Christ and his call to care for their neighbors who are in need —their belief in God is no mere intellectual assent or religious ritual, but real, where-the-rubber-meets-the-road faith that strengthened  them to do this difficult  and fearful work and leave the results to God. And the second answer has to do with little Noah: when you put all the pieces of the puzzle together, you can accomplish so much more than any one of you could accomplish on your own. That synergy, the teamwork that results in the ability to give a couple their baby back who surely would have died otherwise, makes the work so satisfying. This, too, can motivate people to come to work, when they know they are a critical piece of the puzzle that saves lives.

ELWA Hospital staff at morning devotions



 



 

At the White House

Last week, Rick received an invitation to attend an event at the White House in honor of those Americans who have been a part of the battle against Ebola in West Africa.  As it happened, he was already flying through Dulles Airport, outside DC, the day before so he could simply stay there an extra day before coming home. He warned them he was coming from Liberia, but the CDC gave him a letter that said he was not at risk for Ebola, since he has antibodies against it.  No problem, they said.

So this afternoon, Rick stood on the podium with the President and many members of the US Health Corps and other volunteers who have worked in West Africa in the past few months. The President stated that the help the US gave was effective, and would continue for another 90 days.  He also recognized that ongoing help would be needed to help rebuild the fragile health care system of these countries.  This work was not charity, he noted, it was in the self-interest of the United States to help eradicate Ebola and prevent another crisis of this nature. 

You can listen to his remarks at Ebola Update Press Conference Feb. 11, 2015
The press conference begins at 39:00 and there is a shout out to Rick, specifically at around 47:55. He got to shake the President's hand at the end, but on the video it cuts for some reason.

Cool, huh?  Even cooler, I will be picking him up at the airport in just a few hours.  Won't he be surprised at the snow? 

More from Rick in a few days. Thanks for praying!!