Update on rock injury patients

Just a shot of our head pharmacist at work!

The man who had the rock injury on his head is doing very well! When he returned for his check-up, we were happy to see that the injury didn't affect him mentally as it could have from the magnitude of the hit.

The little girl who was also injured from a rock is doing well too! She was back several times this week. From the force of the rock hitting her, it was a bruise as well as a cut, but it's looking great!

It's also been interesting because we realized that the girl's parents were both through our cholera treatment center. We made so many friends at the CTC, and it's fun to see them come back through the clinic.

Still hungry for more????

Here the little guy is all stitched up! Better be careful now!

It was a back breaking job--getting the dirt out and, numbing him without exciting him too much and then stitching. Seeing it was that deep and to the bone I wanted to be extra careful to have it clean. There were little bits of what appeared to be gravel that I suppose he picked up when he landed. He can be thankful that he wasn't hurt worse!

Zaboka, Anyone???

"Zaboka" is the Creole word for avocado, and this young man was way up in a tree picking this delicious fruit when he lost his footing and took the shortest path down! He ended up with this rather nasty memento of the event on his face; it was such a deep split, one could easily see all around his jawbone. Very interesting, but it sure looked ouchy!!!

In the cleaning- up process...

Ouch.

Poor little guy, he was pretty scared. But other than this wound, he was
in pretty good shape- considering...!

T

The longest process in a stitch job, is generally all the cleaning and
preparation... Here Anita is giving Lidocaine...

Oops, another piece of dirt or gravel in there!!!

Jared helping to hold the little guy down as Anita gets started...

Tumble on the Way Home From Church...

Uh-oh- another tumble!!! Not as serious as sometimes though;
this one merely resulted in a small slice on the head of the
young chap involved.

The nurses decided it was a good idea to stitch it though, just
to be on the safe side...

Anita and Virginia Rudolph tackling the project.... He showed up
just after church on Sunday...

All better, careful on those trails sonny!!!!

We Don't Treat Only Haitians Here...

It was a bad night... We had gotten a late start, and were
leaving Ailegue to attempt hauling 16 batteries and a drum
of diesel fuel up to Terre Rouge. Everyone was going along
up for supper, the road was muddy, we had to pull the
dump truck with the gator just to get to the foot of Jack
Rabbit... And when we got there, a tire went flat on
the gator, and we had no repair kit... So Andrew
and I hoofed it back to the mission shop, where a
piece of steel fell out of the rafters
onto my head... :(

Attempting to pull the dump truck up Jack Rabbit with the gator AND 4-wheeler...
(It didn't work, in case you wondered. We ended up shuttling the batteries and
fuel with the gator and the orphanage's Husky... Finishing the project around
midnight and just in time for supper!! :) )

After the damages in the shop... Head wounds really bleed
like crazy!! I put on a towel and stocking cap, kept things
under control for the next 4 or 5 hours till we had time
to stitch it up..........

Anita and Thea began their repair job at around 1:30 A.M. The longest
stretch of time is always cleanup; picking out dirt and hair that may be
in the wound and can cause infection if you don't get it all out
before it's stitched up....

Only took 7 stitches, not too bad....

At this hour, sometimes things are funny....

Sometimes scary.....!

And sometimes just downright painful!!!! :)

But I was fortunate- at least I had a sweet comforter
with me!!!!! :)

As usual, the girls did a great job. One week later the stitches
came out, and now (2 1/2 weeks down the road) I can't
even feel where it was repaired!!! We sure are wonderfully
made, thank God for His kindness in healing our bodies.
It was a good experience for me to judge firsthand the
kind of work our nurses are performing, and also it
seems to be useful in this medical care business to
be subjected to a little yourself from time to time,
just so you don't lose sympathy for those
who suffer all around you everyday!
Think of THEM- the suffering in
Haiti- next time you sit
in a hospital
waiting
room.

Physician, Heal Thyself...

Apparently, a rock throwing incident caused this young gentleman to seek
refuge on the front porch. It wasn't too serious, just a little bandage job.

Andrew Klewin from WA is staying down here for a little over a month...
He's not here to work with the clinic, but does happen to be an EMT
so he enjoys getting in and helping with the medical stuff every now
and then.........

Unfortunately for Andy, his thumbnail got smashed by a piece of steel,
and that really "put the pressure on!!!!" He finally sought relief....

...With a needle heated on our propane stove. A very effective
pressure relief system for fingernails....

....Obviously! That's gross Andy, but glad you feel better!!! :)