...another day in the office!!

Over the last couple of years we have fallen into a bit of a routine, where I do the newsletters and Facebook page updates, and Heather usually writes the blog posts. I get in on the blog too, when there is something interesting in my world that we want to share, but I was shocked when I realised the other day that I haven't written anything on the blog since my last skin cancer update back in early September last year! (Heather has posted since then, but if you follow the blog for the aviation side of things, I am very sorry!!)

Life here is as busy as always; Heather is very involved in school work just now. November & December are always busy for music teachers with Christmas programmes looming large! The kids are also busy at school and all three of them are enjoying the music lessons that they are taking after school. Abi is still doing great on the piano, and has been joined in the Swanson family pianist ranks by Matthew who is also showing lots of promise! Eilidh has been learning violin, and enjoys her Wednesday afternoon lesson very much!

Hangar life is busy too. I am very involved in a renovation project on one of our 206’s which has been looking a little down in the tooth. We are busy with preparations to repaint her in the new MAF colour scheme, something that doesn't happen all that often within the programme. We usually send planes to S Africa to a paint shop, but that can be an expensive option, so we decided to do it in house this time around. As is usually the case, when you start stripping paint off a plane, you find all sorts of other issues that need attention; right now we are busy with some repairs and major inspections that are easiest done when the plane is broken down and stripped back to bare metal.

5X-MSP part way through the paint stripping process.

Alongside our big project, we have all the usual routine work going on. The rest of this blog post is a wee report I did for someone of a routine inspection we dida few months back; hopefully it will give you an idea of what our day-to-day looks like… and it should also have enough “airplane anorak” in there to satisfy those who have been waiting since last year for a plane post!!

Engine bay inspection on 5X-LDR

So this week we have LDR in for a 200hr inspection. Every 100 hr’s of flight time, the Caravan’s come in for a routine inspection. We have two types of inspection a “minor inspection” (which we also call a 100hr inspection), and a “major inspection”, (which we call a 200hr). They alternate between minor and major every 100 hrs. These inspections give a basic (but thorough!) check of all the systems in the aircraft, to make sure they are still flying safely! On the major checks we go a bit deeper with the inspections, and also change lots of filters around the engine, and lubricate all the engine controls. As well as these regular checks, we carry out “Inspection Documents” which are part of Cessna’s Scheduled Inspection Programme. The aviation authorities have a requirement for us to check the plane thoroughly every 12 months. On smaller planes, an owner often does one big “annual inspection”, and they are then good to go for a year. On more complicated planes, or planes that are regularly used for flying commitments, taking a plane out of service for weeks at a time isn't practical, so Cessna have an approved system where they list all the required tasks in 25 “Inspection Documents”, which come around with different time intervals. These intervals could be anything from every 100 hrs, every 400 hrs, or even every 4 years. We schedule them in as tasks on the work order for our routine inspections, and do it all as one big check.

Routine inspection of pilot's door

The 200hr inspection we are doing this week includes 4 inspection documents, with some simple, quick tasks, like inspecting the oxygen masks, or checking that the fuel tank vents are clear. There are also some tasks that are simple and straightforward, but can be time consuming, especially when we are short of hands on the hangar floor. These could be jobs like inspecting the crew doors, where we strip all the trim panels off, and inspect the door frames for cracks or damage, make sure all the mechanisms are working properly and are well lubricated, and then reassemble it all. Then there are the bigger jobs like the fuel level sensing system checks, where all the fuel is drained out of the plane and we add it step by step, making sure the gauges are accurately calibrated, and the low level alarms go off when they should. (Pilots like to know that “full” means “full”… and “empty” means “empty”!!!)

Martin safety-wires the firewall fuel filter, after cleaning and inspection

As well as routine inspection work we have to fix all the defects that are raised during the wear and tear of normal operations. These are sometimes minor snags that don’t affect the airworthiness of the plane, but sometimes they are much more serious issues that would mean the plane would be grounded if we couldn’t find a solution. On this visit to the hangar, 5X-LDR is having it’s Comm2 antenna replaced. The second of 2 VHF radio antennas (used to keep in touch with ATC) had picked up some damage, and was no longer operating. It was changed for a new part during this inspection. Although it is important, it is possible to fly the plane (with some restrictions), without the Comm2 radio functioning. We also had to replace a clamping bolt on the cable that connects the engine’s fuel control unit to the propellor governor. It is part of the system that controls the pitch of the blades, and without this one little bolt, the plane would be grounded and going nowhere. It is a very specialised part, and there were none available to us in Africa, so one had to be shipped to us from USA . It arrived yesterday, and will allow us to put the plane back into service right after the inspection is completed on Friday.

It’s a busy week of work for us, but there isn’t much on a plane that is there for no reason. It’s obviously very important for the passenger’s safety that pilots know how to use all the equipment on the aircraft; it’s the hangar team’s job to make sure that it all works as it should when it is needed! Aircraft maintenance plays a huge part in the good stewardship of the resources we have in MAF-Uganda. By doing a good job in the routine line maintenance tasks, we contribute to the safe and efficient use of 5X-LDR as we look to see “isolated people physically and spiritually transformed.”

Cleaning the plane is an important part of maintenance

Pierre inspects passenger seats

Because He Lives

Anna exploring the Kampala craft markets.

Furlough seems like ages ago! We had a great time in Scotland for the month of June visiting our supporting churches and catching up with many of you. There were just too many “thank you’s” to write cards to all those who blessed us along the way.  Please accept our heartfelt thanks for all those who hosted and fed us, blessed us financially and spiritually and in many other ways. We returned to Uganda encouraged even though tired.  We had the pleasure of Anna McNeil from Dunoon fly back to Uganda with us for three weeks of her school holidays.  She came to explore the work of MAF and spend time in the hanger with Andy as well as enjoying time in Uganda. Abi was so happy to have an “older sister” about the house and we shared many happy memories including an early morning MAF flight over Africa – my first one since I arrived!  

Since returning to Uganda it has been a whirlwind of activity and emotions.  Forgive my internet silence but I have needed some time to process and withdraw and just rest.  Many of you are aware of the baby Darius who comes to our house every day with his mother Joyce.  Darius is now 8 months old and we were aware he had hearing and visual problems. Since he was three months old we have explored the medical expertise in Uganda to see how we can help him.   I had wanted to take them to Kenya to see if we could help his hearing to allow him to communicate but I had left the finances with God as we could not afford it.  God moved an anonymous donor in the UK and a dear friend to give financially to us. 

First time on a plane for these two!

Joyce wanted to go and so we flew to Kenya beginning of August.  Nothing was easy and trying to get Darius a birth certificate in time was the first challenge of many.  Gaining the travel documents went smoothly however, the yellow fever shot for Joyce was a near oversight! We still did not get the original flight planned due to traffic and queues at check-in -a little too much stress at Entebbe airport for my liking.  Instead of a one hour flight we managed to get to Kenya over two flights via Rwanda and arrived at our hotel late at night dirty, exhausted but glad to have finally made it.  The next day was a bustle of appointments and travel between hospitals in Nairobi for Audiology assessments.  An unexpected visit to the neurologist in the afternoon followed with a speedy trip to Cardiology before they closed for the day and then on to a thyroid lab test.  We did not leave the hospital till 6.30pm and we left with very heavy hearts.   The neurologist diagnosed Downs Syndrome which we had had our suspicions about anyway.  It was the cardiologist report that changed everything.  Darius has two major holes in the heart among other problems with the heart.  The high blood pressure has damaged the lungs and he was beyond surgery even in Kenya.  The nearest hospital who could perform the surgery was India however, the risks of death from sedation and surgery are of such a high risk in his situation.  The next morning we saw the ear nose throat specialist again (the main reason we had come).  He called the cardiologist from his office while we were there to get the update and we knew it was not good.  He proceeded to inform Joyce about the severity of his heart problem and the realisation that it doesn’t really matter about the ears anymore.  Darius has moderate hearing loss and could probably benefit from having tubes drained and grommets inserted, however sedation is too dangerous for him now.  Joyce seemed to be coping with the news better than I was.  She has grieved and cried for Darius for many months and I guess I was just starting to at that moment.  We flew back that night and arrived at our house in the small hours.  Darius just happened to have gone under sedation a few weeks before for an eye examination at a local hospital.  Of course if we had known this then, he would never have had the examination but it went fine.  Due to the nature of Nystagmus Darius’ eyes move continually which makes an examination very difficult unless sedated.  After four hours sleep we got up and went to the hospital now in Uganda to get the eye results.  We were there from 7am till 2.30pm emotionally drained and very tired.  Normally they would not have given him glasses for some months yet however due to the new information on his heart Darius left the hospital with his new glasses! It was a little bit of positive news after a very difficult week.

Darius enjoying the beard.....yes Andy has a beard!

                So what now?  I talked with Joyce and asked her what she wanted to do - how far was she prepared to go? Do I write to surgeons in the UK?  Do I see if a charity can support them both and the operation? I am blessed to have some “medical” friends from the UK living near me and was able to sit with them and chat about all the options once they had viewed the medical reports and scans.  We knew then that surgery was not an option.  The type of heart issues that Darius has is not a “one operation fix” but would be many and then subsequent operations each year.  It was such a blessing to be able to ask them all the questions in my mind and talk about the palliative care options now available for them.  We went to the “Mild May Clinic” originally set up for kids with HIV.  It’s a hospice for children and we met with the Ugandan palliative paediatrician there who will support Joyce and Darius when the time comes.  Another blessing was my friends were able to put Joyce in touch with a Ugandan palliative care nurse who speaks Joyce’s own language. 

First day of Grade 5, 3 and JK.

It has been hard for Joyce to explain to her mother and family what is going on with Darius as she does not know the words in her native language so this is also a great support to her.  So now we have a care network in place.  Joyce went to the village (4 hrs drive) to spent a weekend with her mother and talk everything through.  We will now work out a plan for the time when Darius starts to show symptoms of lung failure and support her the best we can.  Unless God intervenes and we pray daily for a miracle, Darius will have a short life.  It is most likely months, but Darius is not your typical heart defect baby.  He is strong and growing and eating well.  He does have a chesty cough at present and at times his erratic breathing scares me but at the moment he is relatively well and a contented happy baby.  So we walk this journey together with Joyce not knowing what each day will bring.  We do know that every day as a Christian brings us all one step closer to heaven.  Joyce is keen to stay working and myself and the kids are now getting into the new school year. 

Last Sunday I led the church in worship and we sang “Because He Lives”.  The third verse was always hard for me to sing as my dad sang this minutes before he entered glory almost three years ago.  Now, also the second verse has deep meaning for us as well as much comfort (I should mention the first verse is wonderful too :0).  Although one day Darius will be in Heaven, I grieve for Joyce and I grieve for my kids as they will experience unimaginable heartache too.  We are all relying on God’s strength daily and appreciate your prayers for Darius and Joyce.   Every day is a blessing and another opportunity to snuggle this adorable baby before he gets to see AND hear Jesus -  and for that we are all so thankful.

How sweet to hold, a new born baby

And feel the pride and joy he brings.

But greater still the calm assurance

This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Because He lives, all fear is gone

Because I know, I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He lives.   

Two weeks to go!

These last months have been so busy with the school show.  Peter Pan was a great success and the students demonstrated and amazing display of talent including back flips across the stage! We even managed to get some of the cast to "fly" with the use of purpose built see-saws!   The week after the show ended I had an International music festival where eight different international school choirs from around Kampala sang individually and then all of 240 kids sang and played instruments together.  I had the task of arranging the music and conducting them all on the day - phew! No sooner had this finished, it was time for the secondary music concert.  Unfortunately I had the flu and spent a week in bed and the concert had to be postponed for a few more days.  Now it is exam time and I have been busy preparing and modifying exams for the 80 secondary students I teach.  Exams started today and will run for a week alongside the marking and grading.  I am slowly finding my desk and classroom again after the business of life and I need to hurry to get all the show props and costumes stored as 80 students are returning all their band instruments to me for the summer holidays to be stored.    I am never bored as you can imagine!

Over these last few months a few milestones have been reached. Teeth have fallen out and Matthew turned 8 years old in April - where has the time gone!? We celebrated with a bat-man cake and a trip to a reptile museum.

It's only a few weeks till we will be flying back to Scotland for our furlough trip and yet there is still so much to do.  Leaving the house here in Uganda for a month means making sure there are enough supplies for the night guard to eat and drink, plenty of dog food left,  freezer switched off, staff employed to watch the house and keep on top of unwanted visitors - two legged kind as well as the six legged variety.  Salaries counted and left as well as money for emergency supplies like possible vets bills etc - that's just the Ugandan side!  Preparing presentations for churches, organising eye appointments and dentist trips, and transport in between Andy's hospital appointments, and Abi's Grade 1 piano exam which she will be sitting in the UK in June.   Meanwhile I am busy getting the school order together for band music and instruments that will need to be purchased very soon in order to bring them back.  I have yet to go through the children's clothes and shoes and write the lists of things they will need for the next school year. My kids haven't had their feet measured for a year and Eilidh doesn't even own a fitting pair of closed shoes so Clarks will be one of  the first shops to be visited. So much to do yet somehow with God's help it will all get done and on the 4th of June we will be sitting on the plane breathing a sigh of relief that we managed to get everything done - I hope!  

Things in the hanger have been especially busy over the last few months as the MAF chad plane has been undergoing an avionic upgrade here. Andy really enjoys working on big projects like these and will no doubt be filling in the details during our furlough trip.  There are more good byes to be said within MAF as another family is leaving in a few weeks after serving for 11 years.

It has been a challenging few weeks around our house. Rainy season has meant lovely cool temperatures however there has been a lot of sickness around including malaria.  A daughter of a British teacher at school was recently very sick with malaria in her liver and thankfully has now recovered.  I am still very tired after the flu and Eilidh is coping with flu and fever at the moment. Matthew had been off school for nearly a week with sore tummy and chesty cough and Abi was up through the night with croup as she continues to struggle with sore throat and cough! Andy is also not feeling great so the Swanson's may soon be having a family outing to the doctors to check for any underlying parasitic action happening as is often the case here.  In Uganda you can expect this to be a three to four hour long trip on a saturday morning.   Emmanuel who we employ part time for security, the garden and walking the dog, has a very sick toddler at present. . The doctors have told him its the flu and malaria so please pray for his son.  I am sure we will all be fine and healthy when we arrive back in the UK so please don't feel you have to keep your distance - lol!  I haven't even mentioned the dog and her skin issues that are involving a lot of extra time and energy as I daily have to bath her "hot spot" sores and give her antibiotics etc  I can't deny these last few weeks have felt a little overwhelming at times however God is faithfully sustaining us throughout.

Joyce our nanny has been such a blessing especially through this time.  There are very few people your sick children would be happy to be left all day with but Joyce is one of them and the kids have not complained once about being home with her. Joyce's son Darius is growing very well and he is sitting up himself for short periods.  We are pretty sure he has nystagmus in his eyes which means he can see, however his eyes will rarely stay still enough for him to focus.  His eyes will follow a very bright light such as my ipod torch.  We are still unsure if he can hear anything. One of the other MAF wives is taking Darius for a hearing screening test next week as she has some time to do this.  Another friend of Joyce has volunteered to take her to the eye clinic at a local hospital here sometime in the next few weeks as I have no more days off work  before furlough to take her.   Hopefully that will happen soon and we can then decide where to go from there.    A friend from Scotland kindly donated a baby chair and baby nest for Darius and our MAF friends brought it back from Scotland a few weeks ago.  Darius is enjoying his chair and Eilidh is enjoying being able to bounce him and have him more nearer her eye level.

Here are some of our dates and where we will be so hopefully we can catch up with you.  We can not reinforce enough how much your support and encouragement means to us.  Knowing that you are praying for us and supporting us really keeps us going especially when it gets tough.  We are looking forward to catching up with many of you and especially a few new baby's this year including my neice Zara, and my best friend's baby Aaron who I have not had a chance to cuddle yet.

Arrive in Scotland 5th June 8.30am
Dunoon Baptist Church Sunday Morning 12th June
Kirkintilloch Baptist Church  Sunday Morning 18th June
Pitlochry Baptist Church Sunday Morning 26th June
Leave Scotland on 9th of July to return to Uganda.

See you soon
love from the Swanson's.

Planes and Babies - UGANDA

Plane landing at Kajjansi

Two years ago in March, Andy arrived in Uganda to start work with MAF Uganda. In those two years, there have been so many lives impacted due to the MAF program here and we are so blessed to be a small part God's big picture here in Africa.   The last few months have flown past (couldn't resist the pun!).  Andy has been busy as usual in the hanger.  He has been attending a course for the last five days and passed his exam for that on Tuesday. He has more exams coming up in the first week of April.  Due to engineers leaving the pressure is on Andy and Geoff to get qualifications that would allow them to "sign off" aircraft ready for flight.  The timings of these exams however rely on the efficiency of the Civil Aviation Authority in Uganda to provide the exam dates and of course, they are not in a hurry!

I have been back at work in a whirlwind of teaching, preparation and show rehearsals for our upcoming musical "Peter Pan" at the end of April. This semester is definitely busy and rehearsals for the musical all take place after school so our lives at the moment are a new kind of normal.   In Uganda the presidential elections have been taking place and there have been a few extra days off school for voting and occasional rioting.  The main opposition candidate is still locked up in a place outside of the city and pretty much has been since the date of the election. There is definitely unrest in the city regarding this and when/if he is ever allowed to leave there will most likely be some demonstrations. At the moment though,  there is peace and for that we are very thankful.

Our main other news is that of Joyce our Ugandan nanny.  Joyce has looked after Eilidh three mornings a week the whole of last year along with a 3 year old boy (Sammy).  When the Levesque family left last Summer we employed Joyce full time so she would have a job and I could go back to work -  Eilidh is very happy to have her :0) She gave birth to Darius in December and brings him everyday to work.  Eilidh just loves having a little "brother" to cuddle as are we all.  I approached Joyce a few weeks ago about my concern with his eyes not focusing and the fact he wasn't smiling and as suspected Darius is blind. We then discovered as I did some tests with musical toys and flashing lights that he was also not hearing.  This was a huge shock especially to Joyce.  Even in the UK this is hard news but here in Uganda children with special needs are the poorest of the poor, often abandoned. I have been reading about deaf (and blind) schools in Kenya ( I don't know of any in Uganda) and my heart breaks for the kids there who are never visited by anyone including their family, and have no home to go to in the holidays.  If the family has money it is spend on feeding the hearing children.  Darius has low muscle tone on the back of his neck but apart from these things he is growing well and healthy and his brain is normal therefore he is trapped in a world of silence and darkness.   The doctor has ruled out downs syndrome and we thought the blind/deafness was due to rubella in the pregnancy.  After he had an MRI brain scan last week,  his brain is completely normal and it is not matching up with Rubella either so at present there is no syndrome or name for his condition.  The doctor can really do no more for him here, there isn't the audiology equipment here to screen a baby's hearing.  The doctor commented on his referral of an older boy to the audiology center at the age of 16 - he had some hearing.  Due to the fact this boy had never had any stimulation and basically been shut indoors for the best part of 16 years there was nothing they could do for him here in Uganda. I am trying to help Joyce realize the importance of stimulation for Darius especially at this young age.

Joyce, Abi and Darius

 Basically, we have come as far as we can here in Uganda in terms of helping Darius medically, minus some physio for his neck.  My hope for him is that if we can help restore all/part of one sense then he would be able to have speech to communicate with the world.  He was dedicated and prayed for at our church a few weeks ago.  She is about to embark on visits to "healing churches" in Africa. While I and anyone can understand her reason for this (and we are praying for him also)  there is a lot of false teaching in Africa such as money = healing which is not what the bible teaches. As well as praying for his healing we pray Joyce would not succumb to pressure.

I have been in touch with Nairobi hospital in Kenya ENT department where they can do cochlear implants  but he would have to go for assessment first and looking at the costs of the surgery etc.  is overwhelming - BUT we serve a great God and I know if this is his plan for Darius then He will open the doors and provide. The first cochlear implant ever done in Uganda I believe, was in 2014 in an adult who had previously had hearing. The implants were were donated by the cochlear company  and switched on remotely via a clinic in New York. There is not the facilities to do this in Uganda with a child, especially pre-lingual. If any of you know of any visiting eye/ear pediatric specialists coming to Uganda in the near future please let me know.

MAF staff have also helped us with the medical costs so far as Joyce bakes bread at the weekends for a lot of them and she is well known and loved among the MAF community here.  The father of Darius (in the village) has yet to find out about his son.  The pregnancy and alleged "marriage" to the father is a result of pressure from her family as to be 41 years old, unmarried and without a child is more of a disgrace for her in her family's eyes.  Joyce is basically a single mum also supporting a 9 year old nephew through schooling, who lives in a tiny two roomed house and now has a deaf and blind son to care for. Joyce never got passed primary three in school as her father re-married and the step mum would not let him pay for her school fees. Her step-sister got the money instead and  graduated through university.  Joyce when she was 13 years was instead sent to care for a baby in the city and so her journey to our house began.   The husbands family know about Darius and have been supportive of Joyce although they still think he will go to school and I get the feeling they are not really aware of the extent of his needs at all. The father will return from a journey in a few weeks and the family are going to sit him down and tell him then. The village is around four hours drive from the city and the plan is Joyce will return there with Darius for the first time to see her family and his for the month of July this year.  This will be a particularly hard time for Joyce who has not yet even told her own family. She is worried her older mother will faint from the news! Even now she is struggling to sleep so please pray that she will have hope in her heart and see the blessing in her arms.

At the moment,  I am working with Joyce regarding communication with Darius and using "hello" signals and basically wonderful helpful ideas I have found on the internet!  Darius is getting to know Eilidh's little toys like the battery operated hairdryer and some of my musical instruments however I am going to have to factor in playtime with Darius into Joyce's working schedule to ensure he gets some stimulative play through the day as its easy for her to just work all day and neglect the play time with him.  If any of you have ideas or medical contacts you can put me in touch with who can help or support Joyce then please do.  In my last year at college age 22, my research project was on music education for the deaf . I was fascinated from the age of 15  how music can benefit deaf children when I met baby Anna McNeil in Dunoon who was deaf. She has since had two cochlear implants and can speak and is doing very well.  I even spent time in the Donaldson Deaf school in Edinburgh.    I then went on to work in a special needs school for two and a half years and isn't it great when you can look back and see how God was shaping your live for this very moment?

Wow this has become a mammoth blog post (three months news in one sitting!) I am sure there will be many more blog posts regarding Darius to come so at least you know the background and can walk the journey with us and Joyce where ever it may lead.

Abi and Matthew and Eilidh are all doing very well. In the next few months, as missionary kids have to do regularly,  they will each be saying good bye to very close friends.  The weekends lately have been taken up with farewell gatherings.  Mel,  an retired lady from England has been in Uganda for the last ten years and is leaving next week.  She has been our kids adopted Granny figure here in Africa as well as a good friend and we will all miss her greatly.  The Newnham family who are also English and have been in Uganda over ten years, are leaving in a few weeks also.  They will continue to serve in the MAF Liberia program - their three year old daughter was a good friend of Eilidh.  In a few months there are several other MAF families leaving.  At my school there are many staff also leaving and possibly more than half of the teaching staff will all be new in August! Lots of changes happening!

Furlough for us will be staring the 5th of June.  We will be in Scotland till the 9th of July and once our dates are finalized we will let you know where we will be.  Last year I arrived in the UK with Giardia ( a lovely African parasite which alerted the Scottish environmental health department!)  At present I am off work recovering from Amoebas (another common eh, lovely African parasite!) however it is giving me the chance to actually write this blog!  Hoping to bring nothing back in June except ourselves this year!

The power has been out for two days and the generator is buzzing in the background to keep our fridge/freezer, internet working but there is plenty rain water in the tank after the massive thunderstorm the other night so we are blessed!  It's another day in Africa!


Thanks again for your support and prayers.

lots of love
Heather, Andy, Abi, Matthew and Eilidh.