Mending Bodies and Healing Hearts

     It's been a really rough couple of weeks. Honduras was hit not by one but TWO hurricanes in TWO WEEKS! Hurricane Eta passed south of the hospital flooding the city of San Pedro Sula and displacing hundreds of families. The airport that I normally fly into is completely under water. A notice was sent out saying that the airport will be closed for at least a month. This week Hurricane Iota followed in Eta's tracks re-flooding San Pedro Sula and displacing the same hundreds of families.        Hospital Loma de Luz was hit by it's own personal hurricane the weekend between Eta and Iota that we are still recovering from. It all started on Saturday evening in the middle of a beautiful little wedding on our hospital's beach in front of a gorgeous Honduran sunset. Right after Pastor Rony told the groom, "You may now kiss the bride" ... it happened... Dr Anthony's radio crackled, "SQ Balfate Code Blue in the emergency room!" A patient was in trouble

After six months of being in the States, I have finally made it back into Hondura s! I was rather concerned about traveling because of flights into Honduras continuing to prove to be unreliable but thankfully everything went really smoothly! Honduras now requires those entering the country to have a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before flying which means that I didn't have to end up quarantining for two weeks after  all.   In some ways  it is really weird to be back but yet feels like I never left in others. It looks the same and sm ells the  same.  The beach is still here and my  dog, Paisley, definitel y remembers me. We still communicate b y radio and there is still an endless number of patients to tend to. The only thing that's really different is that the kids have all grown at least 6 inches this su mmer alone and then ... there is COVID ...    Who knew that a virus would unexpectedly turn my few week trip to see my family into a six month hiatus?? God knew. It was so c

"Quiet" ... My mere utterance of this taboo word in the hospital brings scolding from who ever hears it.  The thought being that the word being spoken aloud will bring a return of the craziness. The hospital is QUIET! For several weeks now, the hospital has been in a tranquil state. Clinic has been running as usual every week day with the emergency room and labor ward being open around the clock. But it has been quiet! No traumas, critically ill patients, or babies on ventilators for weeks now.  We are so thankful that God has given us some time of tranquility to rest. To rest physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually and to recover from six really difficult months. The tranquility has brought time to slow down, to enjoy time in the Word, to make cookies, to spend time with friends in the village, to get away for the weekend, to paddle out to the reef and enjoy the beauty of God's creation. Time to stop and watch in the hospital hallway as a young amputee walked

The other day, I was reading through my blog posts realizing how depressing the last few have been. It think they reflect how difficult it has been this year especially in the past few months. There has been so much tragedy lately. So many losses from dengue and other culprits. Yesterday we lost a 20 yo otherwise healthy young man to complications of a brain injury from a car accident. He is the third young guy we have lost this year due to such accidents. Life is so fragile. We take life for granted when in reality we need to be ready to face eternity at any moment. I vowed to not talk about depressing things this month, but here I am! Let's change topics. I am going to tell you a funny and yet quite embarrassing story. Those of you who know me well might actually find it surprising that I had not done this sooner.  One of my many jobs here at the hospital is "Volunteers Logistics Coordinator". Once a potential volunteer has submitted their application and been proved

Dengue Fever.... just hearing someone say it sends chills up my spine. So many people I know have had it. I have watched it steal the lives of several otherwise healthy people and of three unborn babies. A four year old boy is currently admitted in our hospital fighting for his life.  Dengue is typically found in tropical climates and is spread by mosquitos. A female mosquito becomes infected with the virus when it bites an infected person. After about a week incubation period, it then bites a healthy person transferring the virus to them. Incubation in a healthy person takes about four to ten days after the inicial bite. The infected person develops an extremely high fever often reaching as high as 104F with shaking chills, severe bone and joint pain, headaches, vomiting, a red rash, and swollen glands along with the classic low white blood cell count (usually illnesses cause the white blood cell count to go up) and a low platelet count. The fever usually breaks after about a wee

One of our new moms died this week leaving behind a beautiful premature baby girl. It was the first maternal death I have experienced in the three years that I have been here and quite possibly the first in the 20 year existence of the the hospital. It was tragic for all of those involved. The culprit .... acute fatty liver of pregnancy. It used to be that this condition was 100% fatal but with so many incredible advances in technology it has lowered to 18% in the United States. That is still pretty high. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is a very rare condition that can happen toward the end of pregnancy or even up to a few days after delivery.  It happens when the expectant mother has a genetic disorder that causes the "cell's powerhouse, the mitochondira, are not breaking down fatty acids that help the body process proteins, carbohydrates, or lipids(fat). This causes fat molecules to build up in the essential organs such as the liver, kidneys, and even the placenta res