The Lord keeps confirming to us the need for this hospital - which is good and necessary for those days when it gets hard and the work seems overwhelming. We got a call about two weeks ago from an indigenous family who had a 3 week old baby. He wouldn't stop crying and although it was late and pouring down rain, they brought him. Dr. Sherwood and I saw him and knew that he probably had meningitis. There was nothing that we could do - he needed tests and treatment that we do not have. So we prayed and sent him off to Quiche (21/2 hours away, on really bad and muddy roads). They went the next morning and was immediately whisked away from his parents and placed in their "ICU." Pedro (the baby's dad) called us the next day, crying and saying that they could not find their son. We could hear screaming and sirens in the background and he said that there was a gas leak and that they were evacuating the hospital. It actually turned out to be chlorine gas that had been stored for many years and had begun to leak...they did evacuate the entire hospital! Pedro's son was taken to another facility there in the same town but still his parents were unable to see him and had no idea what was happening to him. Finally they told Pedro that his son had an infection but that there was nothing that they could do. So they sent him home and within a few hours he died. Now we know that even with the best, most up-to-date care children still die with meningitis. But we could have started his treatment earlier and hopefully cared for them in a more compassionate manner. Please help us Lord....
The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
