Skip to main content

When a Child Dies

      It has been a rough week for all of us here at Hospital Loma as we have had three deaths in this week alone. All of them being completely unexpected, one of which was a beautiful 18 month old little girl and another that was horribly traumatic for us all.  We attempt to resuscitate almost everyone who goes into cardiac arrest because we believe that everyone is worth a second chance at life in God's eyes. A second chance to believe in the God who saves. Although we try, it is seldom that we are successful at reviving someone due to our lack of resources and inability to provide effective post-cardiac arrest care. It doesn't keep us from trying. 
      One of the major issues that effects patient care is the mindset of the population of the people who we care for on a daily basis. They are poor. Very poor. Just providing for their daily needs is a constant struggle. Although Hospital Loma de Luz is a mission hospital, the government requires that we charge patients for our services. Healthcare in Honduras costs only a fraction of what healthcare in the States costs and we only charge our patient's even a fraction of that. For example: we only charge $123 for a normal childbirth. Even that is a lot of money for someone who only makes $8-10 a day. In light of that, they will often opt for the cheaper way of resolving a situation. Why pay $15 to fix a tooth when they can pay $10 to pull it? In the States, we will fight for the life of someone no matter how much money we are putting in to attempting to save them. Here in Honduras, it becomes a family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings) decision to determine whether the outcome of the medical care will out way the financial burden on the family unit. Sometimes, in situations where there is not a good prognosis for the patient even with medical treatment, the family will decide to let that patient go rather than "waste" money trying to save them.
     Such was the problem with our precious 18 month old girl, Madelin who died this week.  She was hospitalized for a very severe diarrheal illness that worsened into it's rare complication of hemolytic uremic syndrome which can be fatal. For days, our doctors were not sure wether or not little Madelin would survive. Madelin's mother was very attentive to her but the father was insistent that he was going to take Madelin home. If there was a good probability that she would die, why pay money for her to die in the hospital? It would be cheaper to take her home. We had many, many conversations with the father attempting to change his mind. There was a possibility of her surviving if she stayed in the hospital but she would most certainly die if she was taken home. Little Madelin did die in her father's arms very early one morning as I was working the night shift. The father became very angry and aggressive towards me as I attempted to start resuscitating her because he wanted to let her go. 
Some days are so very hard but this baby girl is dancing in the streets of glory right now. 

Prayer requests:
1) For peace for the families of these three patients who passed away so unexpectedly this week
2) For all of the missionaries here as we recover from a very difficult week

Praise:
Jasmine went home about a month ago and is doing awesome! She is still not eating well but she is slowly growing stronger. God is good!
Labels:
Location: Balfate, Honduras

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Five Letter Word

"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...
1 comment
Read more

Stranger Things Have Happened

 As several other single missionary women and I were sitting at the hospital bus stop waiting for the church van to pick us up this morning, we started talking about culture. I am not entirely sure of what started the conversation but Julie said, "Sometimes I feel like as an American I don't really have culture." "Sure you have culture!" exclaimed Annie, "You have a very mixed culture. An American culture. Americans are very independent, value their individuality and privacy, have high expectations, and very success driven."   We went on to talk about the difference in American versus Honduran culture. Hondurans are very dependent on each other as a family unit and there is no such thing as privacy. Everyone knows everything about everyone even without Facebook. As a Honduran, if you are admitted in the hospital, everyone in your community knows you are there and what is wrong with you even if they don't personally know you. You might  even get...
Post a Comment
Read more

Brutus and Tiny Tim

  "CQ Balfate! We need help in the labor room NOW!" Visiting midwife Abigail's normally calm, nothing-phases-me voice came calling on the radio in complete panic one evening in June.  I jumped over the mattress that a friend and I were trying to pull up my apartment stairs tripping the rest of the way down and ran out the door. "I'm not wearing shoes! Where are my shoes?" I run back inside, grab the nearest pair of flip flops I could find, run back out the door and across the two suspension bridges to the hospital. If Abigail was panicking, then something had to be really wrong.  The baby was being resuscitated by Dr Isaac on the baby warmer when several other of the doctors and I entered the room. He was massive. This was no baby. He was a full grown todddler! "Brutus" (affectionately nicknamed by Dr Ryan) weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 1oz. He was so big, compared to the average 6lb Honduran baby, that his shoulder was stuck behind his littl...
Post a Comment
Read more