October 13, 2005

  • Feeling Helpless

    October 11, 2005

     

     

     

    I should never have asked the question, “Lord what will you put before me tomorrow?”  because I soon found out. The new doorbell Sal installed rang at 1:30am….our first emergency call.  The baby, whose delivery we had assisted at on Saturday, was having trouble breathing.  Armed with some equipment in hand and a battery powered lantern, Sal proceeded to walk the fifteen minutes on stony paths to the grass hut.  When he arrived, the baby was definitely having difficulty breathing and muscle tone was deteriorating.  He brought the baby back to the clinic with the family for a better look and a determination of intervention.  After examining her and finding out she had nothing to eat for over 12 hours, Sal syringe fed her ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution).  She perked up, was breathing normally and was resting comfortably.  It was decided that they would stay overnight in the clinic for closer observation.  At 7am, the baby was sleeping soundly with normal respirations, but her color did not look very good. When Sal tried to arouse her, she began to cry and immediately her color improved.  At 7:30am when checking on her again, Sal found her in distress and this time when he picked her up, she stopped breathing and he had to resuscitate.  We decided to take her to the mini hospital in town.  I held the baby in the back seat with the resuscitation equipment in hand just in case as Sal drove the 25 kilometers to Livingstone.  The parents and a female friend came along.  When we got to the mini hospital and the doctor put the baby on the exam table she again stopped breathing….this time however we were not able to get her back.  She died at two days old.  Her mother just sat there, tears silently coming down her cheeks.  The dad carried the baby out and the woman who came with them held the baby in the car on the drive back.  The father and some male friends took the baby that same day to the cemetery and buried her.  We were left with the thoughts of what else could we have done…what if we had the ability to do testing...was it the result of RH factor…..was there HIV….did the mom have malaria during pregnancy???  All questions left unanswered….all we are sure of is that a two day old baby died with a very enlarged liver….it was the mom’s fourth child that she had lost out of six deliveries. 

     

    When the doctor at the mini hospital was showing us how to fill out the death certificate, I noticed the name of one of the babies from the orphanage that Joanne had brought in……I came to find out that little Hilpher also died that morning.  He was the baby we suspected had Cerebral Palsy and he had been sick for about two weeks with fevers that just would not break.  He was being treated by this physician in town who has been taking care of the children and knows their histories.   

     

                Upon arriving back at the farm still a little numb, we found the outdoor waiting room overflowing with people.  Forty-five patients later, we finished at 8:00pm.  I think God kept our hands and minds busy so as not to dwell on the losses.

     

                Unfortunately, the story does not end there….at 5pm today, a mother and her neighbor brought a four month old to our door with breathing problems.  We were treating this baby aggressively for malaria and he was improving, but mom said he started having trouble breathing this afternoon.  We took him over to the clinic and as soon as Sal laid him on the exam table, he stopped breathing.  Sal and I tried to resuscitate him with no success while his mother stood there and watched.  Little Andrew died also with a very enlarged liver that hadn’t been there on prior exams.   The baby’s father arrived on a bicycle just in time to see his four month old son’s limp body being wrapped up.  After talking with Sal, he placed his baby’s body on the back of his bicycle and drove off to bury him in his village.  The baby’s mother and her friend walked home empty-handed.

     

                I cannot even begin to tell you what we are feeling or how much it hurts to be so helpless.  I can only trust that God is in control….and only hope that we were able to show the love of Jesus to people that would otherwise not have had any hope at all.