Meghan Mayhood

Greetings! My name is Meghan Mayhood, and I’m a senior at the University of Colorado, Boulder. I’m majoring in Communication, with a minor in Biochemistry, which means I’m hoping to one day be a doctor. I’ve accomplished much in the way of preparing myself for medical school, but there is one experience that will affect my view of life no matter the course it takes. Please let me share with you my three week trip to Uganda, Africa where I was able begin my training as a doctor under the care and wisdom of Dr. Scott Kellermann and to the glory of God.

This incredible opportunity was in the making when my mom accepted a secretarial job at Dr. Kellermann’s office several years ago. Through her work I was given the opportunity to “shadow” Dr. Kellermann in his practice. This was short lived, however, as he soon retired after being called by God to move to Uganda to help a small tribe of pygmies who had recently been banished from the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Dr. Kellermann and his wife, Carol, were gracious enough to allow me to accompany them in their move to this equatorial country.

The trip began with two days of travel, from San Francisco to Entebbe, Uganda, with a brief stop over in Amsterdam. Upon arrival in Entebbe, our trio was greeted by Ken and Gigi Ames, missionaries from the Truckee, California area who had lived in Kampala, Uganda, for a little over four years. The next few days, they graciously allowed us to stay at their compound, providing our meals and transportation, while we collected all necessary items before our trip to “the bush.” Perhaps our most important stop was the Joint Medical Store, where we picked up an entire year’s supply of drugs for 10 clinics – affordable, due to the fact that in all instances, drugs which would have cost $7.00 per pill were now $7.00 for a thousand pills (Does anyone else see a large discrepancy in these prices??). We also attended a service at the Anglican Church of Uganda, after which we introduced ourselves to Janet Museveni, the “First Lady” of Uganda, so to speak. Our time with the Ames’ went by slowly, but allowed me to develop close relationships with their family.

Finally the day arrived when we were to head to Kanungu in the Kinkiizi Diocese in Southwestern Uganda, where the Kellermann’s new home would be the Bishop’s guest house. Half our drive was on pavement, but the second half was on washed out dirt roads – the “real Africa” according to the Bishop. We were one of few cars, and passed many people walking on the side of the road, despite the fact that it was nighttime and the only light was that of fires on the mountains sides – part of the slash and burn method of farming. Once we reached the Bishop’s home, we received a warm welcome by Joselyn, his wife, and ate our first Ugandan meal. This meal, and all others to follow, consisted mostly of starches – sweet potatoes, white rice, and matooke (a hard green banana which grows in abundance). The only vegetable was some cooked cabbage. For protein, there was cooked chicken, and what they called G-nut sauce – a sauce of ground peanuts. That night we set up our mosquito nets and slept peacefully, unknowing of what we would encounter.

The next two weeks were ones of learning, both about medicine and the way Africa works. I learned an unbelievable amount from Dr. Kellermann. At our first clinic he sat me in front of a patient and told me to get started. “What do I do?” I asked. “Figure out what’s wrong” he told me. Thus began my training in the medical field. I stumbled quite a bit at first, unsure of what questions to ask, and where to go once I knew what the symptoms were. Most of the time the poor patient had to wait while Scott explained to me the disease, it’s processes, and appropriate treatments. By the end of my trip, however, Scott was able to go play with the pygmy children or discuss matters with the tribes elders while I spoke with patients, listened to their hearts for abnormalities, checked their lungs for congestion, and felt their abdomen for an enlarged spleen or liver (a tell-tale sign of malaria), after which I would diagnose the disease, and prescribe and hand out drugs. I loved it, sitting under a tree at a table, the sun shining down, a crowd watching and waiting for their turn with me! Most cases were routine. A fever, headache, abdominal pains? Malaria – 3 Fansidar or 10 Chloroquin. Diarrhea, vomiting, stomach aches? Worms – 5 Mebendazole. Pregnant? Folic acid tablets. Infected wound? Break out the hydrogen peroxide. But it’s those exceptional cases that stick out in my mind. The baby with a yeast infection in his eyes, which would result in blindness if left untreated.  The boy who seized for two hours after running head on into another boy. The expectant mother, 11 months pregnant. The woman delirious with advanced cerebral malaria. The child who would never walk because a shot was mistakenly given into the hip joint, resulting in an ulcer and infection. Some we could help; others couldn’t afford the necessary treatment, or it wasn’t available in Africa. At one clinic we visited a pastors wife, whose was as thin as a toothpick, but with an abdomen full of about 20 liters of fluid. Her liver had stopped functioning and was unable to process any fluids. In the US she would have had a liver transplant – in Africa, we prayed.

Most of our time was spent trying to figure out the Kellermanns’ goals for the next few years. The whole situation was very discouraging at first, but God truly provided. One night we prayed for someone we could trust, who loved the pygmies and would know how to help us. The next morning, a local woman named Dorcus dropped by: she was a nurse who had started a school, and her husband had aided the pygmies agriculturally. Another time we were visiting the clinics, finding most of them without medicines or patients, and right on the edge of needing to be shut down. We were wondering if fixing them was even feasible, when we finally arrived at a thriving clinic. The nurse was not only present, but also getting paid, and had medicines available. There were about 30 patients a day, and time was spent praying with each on a regular basis. We now had a model for the rest of the clinics.

My trip ended with a visit to Murchison National Park. There I saw giraffes, elephants, kob and hartebeasts (antelope-like creatures), wart hogs, crocodiles, and hippos – oh, those noisy hippos! I took a few boat rides up the Nile to the falls, watering rushing through a deep chasm in the rocks with incredible force. A beautiful way to end my African Adventure.

Never have I felt so fulfilled, so satisfied with what I was doing. I owe so much to the Kellermanns, for sharing their love and wisdom so freely.God willing, I will be able to return to aid them once again, as opportunities to help the pygmies are ever-expanding. I have faith that God will provide abundantly to fulfill the needs of the people – spiritually and physically – and that through this work His Love will be known.