Grand Lake Camera Club

28 April 2012
We have had 3 or 4 rains but it is as hot as ever and much more humid. One has to drink so much water to keep up with the sweat and one needs some extra salt to keep up with what is lost through the skin. One tries to sleep in the “sauna” but doesn’t get very rested.
Yes I apparently had malaria this past week and I just finished my week of quinine treatment which makes you almost deaf temporarily and decreased balance and decreased appetite and no energy. I’m feeling better today and the energy level is coming back as is the hearing and balance. Now I know what the patients go through The malaria gives you terrific aching all over besides the fever which I had 102 a week ago. Dolores has not had any problems thus far.
Olen left Tues 26 April to pick up Danae and Zane in N’DJamena. He also had some business to take care of. He was at the Ministry of Health until late last night so not coming back here until this afternoon. We have had problems with the local district medical officer trying to throw his weight around and prevent doctors from working. I had all my paper work but had not registered with some national registry in N’Jamena. He was going to ground me then he gave me 2 weeks to get it done which it is done. Dr. Greg Saunders ,a board surgeon that has also spent 10 years in Nigeria, has been here last week and this week helping do surgery but the MCD had him grounded for a day this week but Olen was able to get some special permission from higher up in N’DJamena so now he is able to work. He did not have a copy of his license and certificates with him but just a card showing his membership in the American College of Surgeons. We have a Nigerian doctor here for 2 ½ months and apparently he is cleared and a Chadian doctor or medicall student that the MCD has not cleared to do anything yet until today. Moral of the story: volunteers that come esp medical should bring copies of their license and paper work when they come to help. Actually that is true no matter what country you go to. This MCD has made a nuisance of himself in many different way. There are very few Chadian doctors that actually see patients but most are in “administrative” positions. Nurses some of which are very good are the ones that see most of the patients in the country in the local dispensaries or clinics. Sometimes they might even take vital signs like a bp on a pregnant lady but often they do not. Women do die from ecclampsia. We had one recently that was unconscious seizing. We did a C section the baby lived but she died even with the magnesium sulfate etc. She never was conscious during the time we saw her. The family took the baby. Maybe they found a relative to feed him.
Thanks for the $100 that the Grand Lake Camera Club sent. It is being used to pay for surgery on a 10 year old girl with severe contractures of elbow and wrist and hand with thumb almost against the forearm. The surgery was done today. Her mother had died and the father has no money.. Hopefully the surgery will enable her to have use at least partially of that arm and hand.
Thanks again to the Jay Seventh Day Adventist Church for the$1000+ and to the Integris Grove General Hospital Medical Staff for the $1000 that they sent with us as we left home. It seems there are always various needy projects . There is a lady with no husband but has malaria getting meds for that. She has a blind child that had both eyes removed because of retinoblastoma and another child that had malaria. Dolores has been taking her something to eat the past few days. Danae has paid for one or 2 vesicovaginal fistula repairs but it makes a woman a woman again.
Americans and Europeans always seem to be in a hurry and often do not even greet each other but Africans seem to be ahead on that point. If they go to Europe or America they notice how “inhumane” we are. Africans always have time to greet and find out how the family is etc As John wrote in the Bible “By this shall all men know if you are my disciples if you have love one for another”. Do you love someone enough to let them know that Jesus is coming soon? Or even to be their friend?
We are very glad for the safe and healthy return of Zane and Danae although they did enjoy their time back in the US getting checked over but fortunately nothing was found. Now “Nana” can spoil the grand kids again. Ha! J “Nana” has been making lots of mango sauce and dried mangoes.
We went to the river today and saw about 9 hippos about 10 miles from here. I also saw an African pied kingfisher, spur-winged lapwing plover, Reed long-tailed cormorant, cattle egrets, etc.
It was over 100 in the church today and I guess my back side is not used to sitting on those hard benches with no backs etc..
Our email is drbland@sbcglobal.net and dfbland01@gmail.com and our blogspot is www.weareamissionarybland.blogspot.com and of course link to www.missionarydoctors.blogspot.com Olen and Danae are much more gifted at writing.
Our address is Hopital Adventiste de Bere, 52 Boite Postale, Kelo, Tchad, Afrique.
Love, Rollin and Dolores

GLCC Minutes for April 17, 2012

We had 24 members.

Greg Disch did the competition judging for this month and it was done showing the changes that he would do if they where his pictures. It was a great learning lesson and very interesting.

Saturday April 28th there will be a fly in. In Fairland OK. It will be an all day fly-in and it will be with remote airplanes. Gene Buchite will be flying some of his planes and others from the club that he belongs to will be there too. It is going to be a good time for all and it will give us all practice in panning. Those in the club that know how to do this pretty good will help anyone that needs help with this.

May 5th Harbor Village is giving us a photo opportunity. They will let us in at no cost to do all the shooting our hearts desires! We will be able to go behind the scenes and will able to get some really close up shots. There will be people dressed up in vantages clothing also. In return for this all they are asking for is pics from us so they can use them for advertisement. They will open the gates for us at 9:00 am.

Our picnic will be May 15th. We will need to be there by 6:00 pm and we will eat about 7:00 pm. If your last name starts with an A-O you will bring a salad, if it starts with a P-Z you will bring a dessert. The Club will furnish the meat, paper goods, (Gloria I will let you finish putting in what needs to go here.)

Saturday June 2nd will be going to the Botonical Gardens in Springdale AR for a photo shoot. Again another wonderful photo opportunity. They will open the gates for us at 9:00 am

Our June in house competition will be Historic, I.e. Old buildings, clothing ect. The pics should be turned in by June 15th to David. This will give him more time to get them set up before our meeting which will be June 19th. In our last in house judging 1st place when to Virginia Craig, 2nd Gloria Ketcher, and 3rd Cindy Buchite.

Our bi-monthly in house judging will be due by the month before. Like June competition will be do May 15th. The size of the prints can be any where from 8X10 to 11X14 and any size in between.

Last but not lease we voted to give a donation of $50.00 to the Cornerstone Church for the use of their room for our judging competition class and we voted to send Dr. Bland a donation for $100.00 to go toward his work in Africa.

Susan C Trammell

55289 County Road 660

Colcord, OK 74338

918-906-6957

Would any of you be interested in taking pictures at the Colcord High School
Alumni Association Banquet Saturday Visitation 6-8pm,Juan Alanis took pics last
year, and was going to this year, but something came up, last year we had 170
people, can not pay anything, but will get free meal and credits for pics, and
also contact information in the next newsletter for any one who wants to
purchase photos, the newsletter goes out to over 200 alumnist.

My contact number is 918-326-0163 and Susan’s is

918-906-6957 thanks

Mike Trammell