Last night I decided to open the door and windows to cool down the temperature in the room. Of course, those mosquitoes would not give up the feasting opportunity. Well, I would not let them be satisfied so easily. I sprayed mosquito spray all over my body. I could hear their hungry humming sounds, but they could not get near me. Finally, I could sleep! And I slept till dawn. When I opened my eyes, the east already turned red. I got up quickly. Wow! What a spectacular sky! And the colors reflected on this small village with tints of red, yellow, orange! Cars passing, roosters crowing, people walking, the village was awakened!
Today would be the last day of our operation. We planted to do 40 cases of hydrocelectomy altogether during our mission, and today we would have 10 cases. Among thousands of Haitians who suffer filarial hydroceles, 40 cases of hydrocelectomy were like drops of water on a dry cracked land. There was simply not enough time and resource to cure all the filarial hydroceles in Haiti. One operation was insignificant to the whole country, yet it meant everything for a patient and his family.
Dr. Yu prayed for the Haiti mission before our trip. While she was praying, suddenly a verse was clear to her, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Jesus said to his disciples. (Matthew 25:40) We knew that our service for the Haitian patients was also a service to our Lord Jesus.
I thought of our patients, their stories, and the good time we shared in the operation room. I wished
them quick recovery, since I might not see them again.
There were things we could not do for the patients. Yesterday we had to turn away a boy who had chronic infection on his leg. The boy was 12 years old. Ten months ago, his house collapsed, and he fell under. His leg was injured. The family did not have money to take him to a hospital. They just wrapped up his leg with clothes. He could hardly walk on his own now. Knowing there was a medical team from the US that offered free surgery, his mom brought him to us and begged Dr. Yu to help him.
Upon closer examination, the cloth wrapping on the boy’s feet was dirty and smelly. When the wrapping was removed, some areas of the skin were pale, other areas black, there were pus and bloody liquid oozing. The leg was severely deformed. The boy might have had an open fracture when he was injured, and developed chronic osteomyelitis.
Obviously, the boy could not be treated with antibiotics alone. He would need orthopedic surgery and a long course of antibiotic treatment. There was no orthopedic service in this surgical center, and he had to go to a nearby hospital in Port Au Prince.
Would he go to a hospital? We would not know. It was likely that he and his mom just went home instead. With an open wound, chronic infection, poor hygiene and malnutrition, he might soon develop sepsis and die. So unfortunate.
The medical system in Haiti can be divided into three types: government-own hospitals, private hospitals, and hospitals funded by churches and Christian missions. I was told that the government-own hospitals were poorly funded. If a patient needed an operation there, the family had to buy all the materials and medications needed for the operation. How would they know which medications and equipment to buy? Private hospitals were very expensive, not affordable to ordinary people. The hospitals, clinics or surgical centers funded by churches were more accessible to the public. They usually charged much less, and sometimes offered free medical services and surgeries.
This surgical center was built and managed by Dr. Higgins, a vascular surgeon from Kansas City in the US. It provided general surgery, Obstetric surgeries and emergency service.
Our patients often had high tolerance to pain. None of them requested to be put to sleep or sedation for the operation. None of them received narcotics for post-op pain. They were given a few doses of Tylenol or Ibuprofen as needed instead.
Our patients were also grateful people too. They seldom complained. My first patient today had been waiting for surgery since yesterday. His surgery was scheduled yesterday initially, but it was getting too late that his case had to be postponed. He had been NPO (nothing by mouth) the whole day! After I learned of this situation, I apologized to him but he did not mind. He was happy that he got to have the surgery done today.
Most of our patients could not speak English. But they all learned just one sentence: “Thank you.”
The operations finished up early today. Our hostess Claudette prepared a sumptuous dinner for us. When we thanked her, she would say “you are welcome,” with a big smile.
After dinner, I went to the balcony. The moon already rose high, and shined a bright moonlight on Lake Azuei. The cool breeze blew my hairs and stirred up my thoughts. I gave thanks to God for the opportunity to serve the Haitian patients, to experience His power and protection. Thanks to the Lord, all operations went well without any complications from anesthesia and surgery.
This was our fifth day in Haiti.
