Abdirs

 Friday we visited an area I had been to only once before and I did not really know any of the people. Initially we went to attend a church service that some of the kids there have a few times a week. The service was fantastic, but it was what happened afterward that stood out for me. During the service I was introduced as a nurse and as we were leaving one of the girls came and got me, telling me her brother was sick at home.  I have been wrestling with if and how to write about this for a couple of days now, but I believe this story helps illustrate why the medical part of my heart is here, so I am going to attempt recounting it. 

 The sick boy’s name was Abdirs and he is eleven. On the way to see him, his sister told us that that he has had breathing problems his whole life. When I assessed him, he had a 102.9 degree fever, rapid heart rate and labored breathing with a wheeze that was audible without a stethoscope. I was pretty worried about the whole picture, but especially about his breathing. Abdirs’ mom said he used to have some kind of inhaler but he did not have it any more. I gave him Tylenol for the fever, hoping that if his temperature came down the workload on his heart and lungs would decrease too, easing his breathing. We talked about a few other simple measures to get his fever down and I recommended his family take him to the doctor as soon as possible, preferably that night.

  Life being what it is here, I was told there was no medical care available until the morning. Although we were close to a city with a hospital, there would be no one to see him until the next day. (It was around 5:00 PM). Let me repeat that. There is no option for medical care here after hours. There are no doctors at the hospital or any other options for people who need it.

  I want to take a moment to clarify why I am sharing all of this because I have heard so many people criticize Haiti as a country, criticize the systems, the people, and how life works here. I agree, things are broken, incredibly broken. However I absolutely do not want this to be one more story bemoaning how wrong things are here, and tearing down the country as a whole. I think the consistent negativity tears down the Haitian people and causes them harm. That, however, is a post for another day. My goal here is to help illustrate the daily challenges the people I am getting to know face to survive, challenges that we as Americans cannot conceive of. We could no more imagine having no medical option available for our sick children than we could imagine living in a mud hut.

 All that being said, friends, this is why I went to nursing school, why I am here. Adbirs matters. His siblings and his mom and all the other people in the surrounding areas matter. Jesus took on human form for them, as much as for us, to heal them as much as us, and I cannot accept the inequity in their lives. I really believe that part of loving our neighbors as ourselves is fighting to help these precious people meet their daily needs whether they are medical, physical, spiritual and emotional. So, will you join with me in praying for Abdirs and his family and for the people in their villages and those like them who face challenges we cannot even wrap our brains around? Thank you. Or in Creole, mesi.

Note: I went and checked on Abdirs yesterday. His fever was down and his lungs were clear and he said he was feeling much better. Those were good moments J