November 5---Prayers for my Daddy and Tenwek

I ask for your prayers as my dad left this morning for a 2 week trip to Kenya to perform open heart surgery at Tenwek Hospital.
I figured my dad could tell you more accurate info about the trip than I could so from the words of Tom Klein...

"I am now getting ready to embark on another incredible opportunity that I have always wanted to do, but have never had the chance. As most of you know, children’s ministries have always held a special place in my heart, which is why I’ve chosen to specialize in pediatric perfusion. On November 5^th, I will be traveling to Kenya on a humanitarian effort sponsored by World Medical Mission, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. A group of physicians and medical staff from the pediatric cardiac surgery team at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and other clinicians from acro ss the country will travel to Tenwek Hospital in the Western Highlands of Kenya, 150 miles from Nairobi and 100 miles south of the equator.

Tenwek Hospital is one of the largest Protestant mission hospitals in Africa and provides primary health care to 600,000 Kipsigis people in the immediate and surrounding areas. Tenwek Hospital has recently built a new Medical Education/Surgical Theatre and the Chief of Surgery has requested Vanderbilt University’s assistance in bringing cardiac surgery to this region of Eastern Africa. It has taken a lot of planning over the past several months to be sure we have the supplies and personnel that are required to start this open-heart surgical program. Our cardiac team will be working with and teaching the Tenwek hospital staff as we perform 10-15 open heart procedures during our time in Kenya.

As I step outside my comfort zone to do what I do every day in a sophisticated surgical theater here in the US to do the same thing in a foreign country at a location where it has never been done before I ask for your support. Not only will our cardiac team need financial support, but more importantly we will need your prayers. The conditions will be sparse and antiquated as we have pieced together the medical equipment necessary for this endeavor. Our team will need the strength to work long hours, remain healthy, in good spirits and with positive attitudes. The support staff surrounding us at this remote location will be untrained and therefore unprepared to provide the potential life-saving back-up support we might require should our medical equipment fail. Please pray that we have adequately anticipated our equipment and supply needs for the patients that are relying on us. Please also pray that the heart-lung machine I will be operating and all other life support equipment is safe and in good working order during our time at Tenwek."