We were all bone tired at the end of the second day of the clinic. I was talking with the dentist who has been pulling teeth nonstop for two days and his feet and back were hurting as badly as mine. His right hand is red and nearly blistered from grasping tools and yanking from morning to evening. He finally had to stop or else he wouldn't have been any good for today. It is his first experience down here too, and I am relating well with his own struggle to take it all in. It's a struggle for me as well. He and his brother are doing a great job and they both speak Spanish so they are able to communicate with many of the people here in Rus Rus.
Working With Patients Again!
I plugged-in with the medical team today and was truly doing some nursing again for the first time in 10 years. We had a woman come in that we thought may be having a heart attack. I helped with blood pressures, compiled notes, assisted the doctor as she assessed her, and so forth. It was nice to get my hands on a patient again but rather intimidating as well. In the end, the woman was able to rest and eventually return home.
Teamwork On The Ground And In The Air
Remember the man on the stretcher (broken leg) that Wes flew out Tuesday? George Goff, who flies for Alas de Socorro, our partner ministry in Ahaus, flew the man back today. You can see him walking with crutches, his lower right leg in cast, surrounded by family and friends in the picture below. George's airplane is in the background. That's another airplane that was restored for service by MMS Aviation.
A patient returns to Rus Rus after being flow out the day before with a broken leg.
Twenty People Lost In The Jungle
We knew that 20 people had left a distant village on Sunday to come to the Rus Rus Hospital but only one of them arrived by 1:00AM Wednesday. The rest were lost somewhere in the jungle. So once the sun came up, they sent someone out (on a motorcycle I think) to seriously search for them and they finally did find them and lead them back to Rus Rus for medical care.
A Soldier Treated After An Accident Escorting Truck Loads of People to Rus Rus
Several truck loads of people came from a village near the river which boarders Nicaragua. This is a village with drug mafia and they war against another village in the region so they came with many soldiers as their protective escort. Unfortunately it was one of the soldiers who needed to be seen first when they arrived. It seems they wrecked and rolled their vehicle and he seriously injured his thigh. For you medical folks he has compartment syndrome and a possible fracture. For you "non-medical" folks, his injury is serious enough that if he didn't receive timely treatment, he'd lose the use of his main thigh muscle through a painful and debilitating degenerative process.
Working To Schedule Surgery And Another Emergency Flight
We had a young man arrive at the clinic on Day 1 with complicated, infected drainage from a past surgery that needed to be opened and repaired. Calls were made to the IHS surgical team in Puerta Limpira but they said they couldn't take him until today (Thursday). Calls are still being made to try and get him on the surgery schedule. There is no guarantee this is going to happen. If Wes does get the go ahead I will try and fly with him for this trip so I can see the IHS surgery team's location as well as see the town where Wes and Denise get many of their basic supplies for home.
Prayers, Prayers, Prayers
Continue to pray for the team here and especially for Wes and Denise as they get pulled in so many directions working to meet the aviation, medical, and hospitality demands. It is exhausting but rewarding to see the folks Wes and Denise live with and care for, receive the medical care they so desperately need while experiencing the love and compassion of Christ for maybe the very first time.
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