It was our first day of clinic work, before we teamed up with the group from Michigan, before we set up shop in Peti Goave, before we had ample local anesthesia.
I have been amazed at how my patients acted. How would Americans act under the same situation? How would I respond to someone debriding my open wounds without even a drop of lidocaine?!
Very few people just murmur... it's usually either shrieks of pain or an impermeable facade of stoicism. The lady I remembered today was the former.
She had a wound that needed debridement. It was a 4 cm lower leg area of necrotic tissue that had to be cleaned up to prevent further spread... cleaned and cut away and dressed without even a dash of lidocaine.
And she sobbed. And howled. And jerked. I focused on just working as fast as humanly possible to make her suffering end quickly. Dr. Kris, our awesome missionary doctor working with us, encouraged her with, "Kenbe kouraj, madam! Kouraj!" (Keep courage, lady! Courage!)
Dr. Kris then asked if she was a Christian, which the woman replied that she was. She was then encouraged to act like one! I'm not sure where that is in Scripture, but I agreed... and she was so brave after that! She quieted down and attempted to hold still.
When I had finally finished sloughing off dried blood and dirt, removing nonviable tissue, and covering the now 8cm gaping wound with neosporin and gauze, I apologized profusely. My sweet, noisy patient grabbed my hand, pressed it to her cheek, and thanked me repeatedly.
Wow.
She lost so much-- members of her family, her home, and a few centimeters off her calf without anesthesia-- and her response was gratitude. I had so little to offer her in the face of such loss. I am humbled by her faith and her attitude.
1 comment:
So, I am not a Bible scholar but I was reading Joshua 1 and I think that it DOES tell us to "Kenbe kouraj, madam! Kouraj!" Moses had just died and it was Joshua's job to take over. So, like this lady he had lost a lot... but needed to move forward with God's help. God new this would be hard so God spends most of this chapter telling Joshua to be strong and courageous. In verse nine God says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." That sounds an awful lot like Dr. Kris' advice to act like a Christian to me! Thanks for encouraging me (even though I do live in LUXURY compared to the people you are helping) that I need to KEEP COURAGE! Thanks again!
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