Before the World Race I worked as
an Oncology nurse for four years. I have
seen plenty of crazy things. I have seen
a lot of people suffer and a lot of people die before their time. But nothing I have seen in the states could
prepare me for the realities of an African hospital.
We set
foot in Ward 1 which turned out to be the pediatric ward. There were little babies and children
malnourished and suffering from malaria.
Their bones sticking out everywhere and sunken eyes were staring at me,
sweat pouring from their foreheads. The
most basic form of traction for the little ones with broken legs (a weight
draped of the end of the bed pulling the affected leg). A cat roamed under a bed and a chicken
scurried away as we walked through. This
was definitely not the environment I am used to.
As a
nurse back home pain is taken care of quickly with a shot of a narcotic. It is not that pain doesn’t exist but every
attempt is made to relieve it as quickly as possible. But for these little babes that comfort is a
far off reality. My first instinct as I
walked the halls was to call out for pain medicine as the tiny little bodies
cried out and tears filled their eyes.
We
weaved our way through beds listening to parents tell us what was wrong, how
long they had been there, how old the children were. We prayed for healing, comfort and peace for
both child an parent. God was pouring
out His spirit. One little boy, Chris
woke up after not having woken up in days.
His body was still listless when we left, but his mother was hopeful as
he was opening his eyes now. The next
day we returned and went to visit other wards. People from my team came looking
for Jennifer, Jonathan and I saying that there were parents from ward 1 looking
for us and that the children were better.
I entered excited to see what the Lord had done. Violet bouncing on her mother’s lap had been
lifeless the day before barely able to breathe from pneumonia. Julius, suffering from low Hgb from sickle
cell didn’t even wake up when we prayed for him but as we walked down the hall he
yelled out “Muzungu How are you?” Chris
was still lifeless on the bed as I walked up but his mother grabbed me and
hugged me and told me he had woke up in the morning and spoke a few words,
which he hasn’t done in days.
Despite
the good news I still had such a difficult time in this ministry. The hospital is my element and I love seeing
the Lord work through healing but there is such a lack of resources. On our second day at the hospital a young
woman passed away. In my previous
position as a nurse I worked with many hospice patients and death is not
something new to me. But as they roughly
transferred her to the morgue cart and wheeled this young woman passed me I
wondered what had caused her death. Most
likely it was something minor that could be easily treated. Was it because the power was out and they
couldn’t run an X-ray, did they not have the money to pay or did they not have
the right antibiotics? I am finding that
faith runs high in Kenya and as I walked the halls of the hospital I realized the
only hope that the people had was a miracle.
I
struggled with the fact that in the states we are so entitled to any test,
procedure, or drug to preserve life but here the most minor thing can take a life. I am frustrated when I hear people say people
that don’t have anything are more joyous or happy people. It is something I believed before I came and
in reality appears to be true. But even
if people have a hopeful spirit as they suffer it does not make the suffering
people experience due to lack of resources just or fair. I really do not have an answer to the problem
but my heart aches for the woman who died most likely needlessly, the child
wasted away to bones, and the family begging for us to send our old medical
equipment so they could have something to help treat their loved one.
Despite
all of this I am finding God is still good.
I feel like it is our responsibility to pursue justice on behalf of the
Lord here on earth. So please pray that
God give you a vision into where He wants you to bring justice for His
children.
Learn to do right!
Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17
