Tuesday 1/26/10: Even in the storm, be Glorified.

I have never slept so well. That's the beauty of being so physically exhausted by the end of the day...your sleep is sweet :). We were up and moving at 0630, and at the clinic by 0730. Since word had spread we had a full surgical team from the day before, our patient load had dramatically increased. The surgeons did a phenomenal job with managing the myriad of procedures they took on.

One of the beautiful ladies who'd had an amputation from the night before, was showing multiple signs of weakening. She had labored breathing, was not oriented, and was severely anemic. We attempted to transport her to the general hospital in Haiti via our paramedic team. She coded once on the way was resuscitated, but coded again once arriving to the hospital and did not recover. When I heard, my (and I know others) heart was devastated.

I spent most all day working in the PACU (recovery from anesthesia, post-op). One patient in particular gripped my heart. She was 18 years old, and had a 1 1/2 year old sweet baby girl. I cared for the sweet baby girl, while her Mom recovered from anesthesia. While the patient was still coming off of her anesthesia (somewhat loopy), she began saying she was not going to survive (in Creole). While in her bed, she began grabbing my arm and telling the translator through her tears, for me to take her baby. I grabbed her and kept reminding her she was going to survive, and she would be taking her baby home once she was better. I fought back tears as I kept holding her arms and repeating this. It was such an intense moment, and finally she grew calm and rested. She had suffered a dislocated shoulder and had several abscesses drained. Several hours later, once she was alert and oriented, we fed her, I clothed her sweet baby girl, and she was on her way. Before she left she grabbed my arm and said, "Thank you (in English). Je t'aime (I love you)." They bless me so much more than I bless them.

I ended my 16 hour shift in the post-op ward. It was the perfect way to end a somewhat hectic morning. The patients in the ward were recovering from surgery, and needed to stay overnight for monitoring. Outside of the ward, I began hearing worship that was coming from a church on the MOH compound. The songs echoed through the ward, and in that moment I remembered, "This is all about Jesus. His Kingdom. His people. His redemption. Praise Him that He uses us."

Currently Playing: "You are the Moon" - The Hush Sound