Cystoscope for Bere Hospital, Chad!

As many of you know, I am heading off to Chad for 2 months at the end of January to do an elective obstetrics rotation and complete a public health project. The hospital I will be working at, Bere Adventist Hospital, is run by Olen and Danae Netteburg, 2 recent grads of residency programs (Emergency and OB/Gyn) here at Baystate in Springfield, MA. The blog they keep of their adventures in medicine is pretty amazing: http://missionarydoctors.blogspot.com/

They are Seventh Day Adventists, and speak often of their faith. If you are not an Evangelical Christian, please do not let this put you off, as they are by all accounts excellent doctors, and treatment is given (free of coercion) at their hospital to anyone, regardless of faith.

There are a lot of things this small hospital in Chad is in need of - from essential medications to essential equipment. When I asked Dr. Netteburg if there was anything that I could bring that would be really, really helpful the first thing she mentioned was a cystoscope. Put simply, this is an instrument used to look inside the ureters and bladder. As Dr. Netteburg wrote to me, "Yesterday I tried to use an old small laparoscope to look in the bladder. I could see, but without water in/out it was hard because I had to keep taking it in and out... I ended up opening her today. Still it was a hard case because she was 2 weeks post c-section. I seriously hope she survives. She's infected and has tons of liquid in her abdomen (ascites??....don't think it is urine, but had to look, still don't know for sure)." Without being able to make an accurate diagnosis, the right treatment is a guessing game. The laprascope she mentions is simply the wrong tool, and a cystoscope enables you to send jets of colored water in and out, so you can see structures that are difficult to visualize on x-ray (also, it is small enough that I could pack it in a carry-on!).

I am working with a Urogynecologist here at Baystate to find the right kind of cystoscope, and though new instruments of this kind run in the thousands of dollars, it turns out you can buy a pretty decent used one for around $500. This is where you all come in! I know that this time of year can be difficult, especially with the economy being what it is, but if you are able to donate even a little bit it would be so helpful. If I am able to raise more than $500, I could buy a better cystoscope.

If you do find yourself in a position to give you can either click on the button above that says "give" (please note, that if you give through the paypal widget above, I loose 3% of what you give to charges from paypal), or you can mail a check made out to me to:

Cristin O'Grady
51 Linseed Rd
West Hatfield, MA 01108



If you do give, I will make sure to send you acknowledgment of your gift. Unfortunately, I don't have the kind of status that allows me to make such a donation tax exempt - if you are looking for that and are moved to give to Bere Hospital, check out their blog for links to Adventist Health International, and instructions on how to give.

Please email with questions and please feel free to pass this on.



Thanks so much for all your support - financial and otherwise!