Lavi Se Yon Gwo Kado

“Petet ou ka mouri. Lavi se yon gwo kado.”

“Perhaps you could die. Life is a big gift.”

Such goes conversations that we hear on the street and in our mission station. Such is life post-earthquake.

This had been a week of the trauma of a major earthquake resulting in over 300,000 deaths superimposed on already harsh living conditions. And yet the perspective is still that of appreciating the gift of life. Every moment is a surprise present from God, wrapped up in the vibrancy of colors and smells and touch. Life truly is the present.

This week began with trauma. A motorcycle crashed violently early Sunday morning, leaving 3 critical patients in its wake.  Doctors and nurses worked valiantly to save them in the predawn hours.

Later that morning, I made a trip down to the airstrip to greet a small medical team. A married couple (an OB/GYN and a pediatrician/internist) and a pediatric nurse wanted to spend a few days with us. I enjoyed visiting with them. They were so nice and interested in doing some education in the hospital. They had been in Leogone, just up the road from where I served in the relief clinic. While memories flooded my mind from my time there, it was still neat to compare notes and see how things are progressing in the area now. I was encouraged to hear that Leogone had an orthopedic team pulling 14 hour days. Right after the earthquake, we were desperate for orthopods. The group put their stuff in the guest house and we went over to the hospital for a quick tour. The hospital staff pointed out 3 very sick children that they wanted the pediatrician to see. One was a severely malnourished 7 month old, her poor eyes sunken in and skin plastered to her bald skull. As we wrapped up the tour, I got a phone call from their director... with horrible news.

There was a guy with the rest of their group from Seattle that had come down for a few weeks with them. He was a believer and so excited to be there. He was an ER nurse, married with a 3 year old and a 6 year old. Last night, he didn't feel very well. He took 2 Benadryl, hoping to sleep. The OB doc had been up several times in the night with diarrhea, and she thought his breathing was a little funny, but she was so sick that she didn't pay him much attention. He aspired. A few hours later, he arrested. The director is a trauma nurse and tried to revive him, but to no avail. 

We were able to secure transportation back to Port for the doctor group so that they could be united as a group. While I was arranging that, they asked our missionaries to pray with them. That was neat coming from a couple of non-believers. Please pray for his family!!!! While our group was praying with them, a loud wailing noise permeated the air. The hospital is across the street from our missions station, and one of the critical patients from the motorcycle accident died. 

I was informed two hours after they left that the very sick, malnourished baby died. The pediatrician never had a chance to see her. I’m not sure that he could have done much else for her, but it was still another tragic death added to the day.

The Lord sent an amazing group of men to us later that evening. Two pastors and a doctor from the States spent an evening with us, and what a blessing they were! It’s neat to get to share life with people like that, even if the things you share are from a bleeding heart.

Tuesday was also a rather eventful day… There was a small malfunction of our new boat (a retrofitted lobster boat that arrived providentially in December! What a blessing it’s been since the quake!!). It involved a leak in the fuel line and a lot of smoke inhalation for the brave guys that acted as honorary fire fighters. Thankfully, everyone is okay and the repairs are minor!

Just as someone was telling me about the boat fire, a large group of people (probably about 50-75) paraded down the street in quite an agitated manner. A large boat had arrived in our port from the States full of food and lacking the appropriate paperwork. Sadly, the port authorities had to turn them away leading to demonstrations from the hungry people of my town. We are safe and sound, but it has been a difficult week. Please keep us in your prayers! 

Perhaps you could die. Life is a big gift.