“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” – John 8:12
For the past two months we had been praying for God to bring the light to the darkness of Romania. My mission had not changed, just the location. Looking back at my stay in Hospital Floreasca, these are just a few of the times that I saw God’s light shining.
First of all, I was honored to be in a place where God would allow me to come into contact with so many doctors who needed Him. Whether God led me to pray for them or say a simple “God bless you”, the darkness was being pushed away.
Second, I was placed in a room with a beautiful elderly woman named Doima who we had a chance to love on, pray for, and comfort.
Third, I was playing Romanian Christian music when a woman named Dee Dee walked in to my room saying she loved the music. She held my hand and we developed a relationship. We then discovered that her husband , Pastor George, was recovering from a car accident and had just completed his 4th surgery. This had kept him in the hospital for the past two months. Dan went to minister to him and he invited us to his nearby church of nearly 200 members.
It’s amazing how in a situation that could have been stressful and discouraging, God gave us peace, love, and laughter. These are my top ten most humorous moments in Hospital Floreasca. (For those of you who are worried, we have since moved to another hospital)
- Hydrogen Peroxide Hunt.. My second night in the hospital, I realized there was pus coming from the wounds in my hands, so Becky went to get the nurse to clean the wounds. The nurse came back but refused to do anything (we were to find out the reason later), so Becky set out for hydrogen peroxide. This sent her on a mission throughout the hospital. She chased a doctor down the hall, who sent her to the Cardiac Unit on the 5th floor, where she finally got the peroxide. This was after being told that she should not be on the 5th floor, that the American was on the 2nd floor.
- Praying for potty. In walks “Miss Trunchbull”, a formidable grim-faced nurse who could have played football for the Dallas Cowboys, catheter in hand. “Helga” yells something in Romanian and the girls and I frantically looked at each other. Using hand motions, she explained that with all the fluids going in to me, they had to come out. I said, “no catheter.” and she angrily shoved the bed pan at me. The girls spent the next several minutes fervently praying for potty to come out. Heather said that she had never prayed for someone to go to the bathroom before.
- Hospital food. Thankfully food was brought to me three times a day. It consisted of mush and mysterious meat that were placed just out of reach with no silverware.
- It is Forbidden. As I lay in my hospital bed, surrounded by many doctors and friends, I realized I had to go to the bathroom. Their talking continued, and I finally admitted that I needed to go. The doctor quickly scolded me and said, “It is forbidden that you touch your foot to the ground.” I quickly motioned for the bed pan.
- Leave Now. Dan and Becky, not wanting to leave me alone in the hospital for one minute, spent night two in my room in the next bed. The three of us were awakened to bright lights and some nurses. They yelled something in Romanian and, half asleep, Dan and Becky stared blankly at them. After Dan and Becky’s “deer in the headlights” look, I explained they didn’t understand a word of Romanian. The nurses continued to yell; finally, Dan and Becky got the message and left.
- Bathroom “Duty”. Shortly after being admitted, we realized the bathroom attached to my room was not just for my room. It seemed it was the community bathroom for the entire 2nd floor. And what a beautiful atmosphere it was. Not only was there no toilet paper, towels or soap in the bathroom, but a neighboring patient was kind enough to leave a small “gift” next to the toilet. After repeated attempts of asking the nursing staff to clean the bathroom and remove the “gift”, Becky chased a cleaning lady down the hall at midnight, and the mission was finally accomplished.
- Old man with a knife. Dan had to step out of the room when some Doctors came to check on me. When he was out near the doorway, he noticed our 80 year old resident patient/visitor shuffling towards our bathroom with dress slacks on but no shirt. This was a common occurrence, as he averaged half a dozen trips to our bathroom every day. But this time seemed a little odd, as he held a paring knife in his hand. Dan went to inform a nurse that there was a man with a knife who had just gone into my bathroom. The nurse knocked on the door, opened it and asked the man something. She then came out, smiling cheerfully, indicating to me that everything was ok. Several minutes later, the man came out, still shirtless but unharmed.
- No Girls Allowed. We had been having a great ministry with my roommate, Doima, and had been able to talk and pray with her. Dan had even tried to make her more comfortable by fanning her. One day without explanation, the staff members came in and began packing her belongings and then moved her out. Shortly after this, they informed me that my room was now a man’s room and I needed to move. Moments later, Nancy’s Romanian family, whom I had just met, was removing my clothes and wiping me down with baby-wipes, to ready me for my move. Just in time, my new male roommate arrived. I departed shortly after.
- Mom’s Ice Field Trip. I woke up suddenly at 2:00 a.m. with intense pain and swelling on my thighs. This was a job for “super mother”. Her mission: to go find ice. She first tried the nurses room where she found a nurse watching t.v.. After asking the nurse for ice, she was yelled at in no uncertain terms in Romanian, after which the nurse turned back to her television. Mom set out on a Field trip in the hospital. There were no doctors or nurses on the 2nd floor and it was eerily quiet, so mom decided to try to go to the Emergency Room. When she got there, she found a room with a dozen doctors and nurses, and asked for ice. They all stared at the crazy American woman in pajamas, and proceeded to find an English speaking Doctor to tell her that the hospital didn’t have ice. She tried the hospital snack shop, but no ice, so she went back to the room with the possibility of using cold water bottles. God provided in a most unusual way, for somehow in the freezer section of the small refrigerator in my room was an IV. It was soft and flexible, so she wrapped it in a sheet and put it on the swelling. Relief at last!
- Tipping in a Romania Hospital. One day Becky and I were hanging out in my hospital room waiting on pain medication after numerous requests. Some nurses came in with pain medication for my roommate, Doima. Doima handed the nurse $20.00. We had noticed her wallet always near her on her bed and that she had given the nurses money before, but thought it was for snacks. We later found out, through other Romanian, that bribing was a common practice to get pain meds and assistance from the nurses. That would have been useful information earlier.
The hospital is known to have good Emergency and Trauma, as well as good doctors, it is the aftercare that is the problem. We have found that people in Romania know to bring needed items and to give money to the nurses because the pay is so low. Although the hospital was crazy at times, we realized that God had answered our prayers to bring light to the darkness.
“This old commandment – to love one another – is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you are also living it. For the darkness is disappearing and the true light is already shining.” –I John 2:7b-8
Miracles are happening everyday. I’ll be sharing more tomorrow on my new hospital, my progress and how God is moving.
