Screening Day
Yesterday was the day we chose our patients for the next five months, except our eye patients who we will screen at a later date. Some of us arrived at six in the morning, while others arrived much earlier in order to start going through the line and telling people from the beginning that they would not be a candidate for surgery. This way they wouldn't waste their time waiting in line for hours in the hot sun.
As we started getting closer we saw just how long the line was and how many people were waiting hoping they would just maybe be a candidate to get help medically. Some people started waiting in line days ago. The line just kept going and then we finally reached the end and arrived at the building where the screening process took place.
In the beginning I was to help escort patients inside from the general surgery screening room to the data entry area or help bring them out if there wasn't anything we could do for them. One particular younger man kept trying to leave the room b/c I think he was getting tired and was possibly mentally handicapped. His sister appeared to be very nervous that he wouldn't be able to complete the screening process as he was starting to act up and was told several times that he needed to sit down. I did my best to help keep him calm and escorted him to the bathroom several times and gave him water, while his sister saved his spot in the line of chairs. One of our day workers who speaks French and English also helped keep him from acting up and running off while he was in the bathroom. Finally when it reached his turn for him to be seen by the doctor I was very curious if we were going to be able to help him. It turned out we were and I was to escort him to data entry:) His sister had tears in her eyes and kept saying merci. I'm not sure what his condition was, but this would likely be one of the first times he would be helped medically. The average income in Togo is $2 a day and those that receive medical care have to pay for it out of pocket.
I was then assigned to go outside and help escort people to the gate or under the tree to be prayed for. These people would have been waiting in line for hours in the hot sun, but we obviously don't have the capacity to help everyone during the five months being here. After talking w/ many of the alumnis who have been through many screenings they said it was obvious that this screening day had been prayed for heavily. There was a sense of peace throughout the whole day. Most of the Togo people were very gracious and most agreed to be prayed for under the tree even though we said we couldn't help them. However, there were those who said they were tired and just wanted to leave and were not happy w/ us. Some were just angry and kept showing me their physical problem. It was a very strange feeling though watching these people leave through the gate knowing that it would take a miracle to fix their physical problem. Mercy Ships won't be back for a couple more years and many were asking when we would return. There were a group of patients with simple painful hernias that would quickly be fixed in the US, but we only had a certain number of surgery slots for hernias so we took them out of the line so they wouldn't keep waiting.
The hardest people I escorted out however were the children. Every single parent who had a child escorted out wanted their child to be prayed for. One particular man was holding a two year old and asked if I could hold him. The child did not look well at all and did not cry or do anything like a normal kid would do. He was practically limp and I almost felt a sense of guilt that I wasn't able to do anything, but there were just too many people. The man asked me so there is no hope for him? I quickly responded well can I take him under the tree for prayer? I then handed the child to one of our other volunteers w/ Mercy Ships who was in the prayer group. The man who was caring for the child then told me he was a pastor and was just gracious that we were holding his child and praying for him.
James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
This verse makes me realize that all of our lives are very short and we really don't know what will happen tomorrow. Its really sad that we couldn't physically with our hands help many of these people, but we could pray for all of them. I was told we screened 1, 660 people yesterday and all had the option to receive prayer. We really do just have to trust that they are all in Gods hands and he loves all of them more than we ever could and sees the much bigger picture.
On the bright side at the end of the day I was assigned to take some histories on patients who had made it half way through the screening process and were possibly a candidate for surgery. Two of the children I did histories on had a cleft palate and another a cleft lip. The one with with the cleft palate had actually been at a Mercy Ships screening several years prior, but likely didn't make it through because there weren't enough spots. The uncle who brought her kept making me look at the whole in the roof of her mouth to make sure I knew how much she needed surgery. I'm guessing she probably got assigned surgery:)
This morning all the nurses got together and discussed how everything went. They kept saying how smoothly everything went and how God's hands were definitely at work yesterday. One of the alumni nurses who was one of the screeners to determine the yes's and no's at the first gate said she couldn't sleep at all the previous night afraid she would say no to someone she should have said yes to. She remembers originally saying no to someone and then got an overwhelming sense that she should say yes. She felt God's presence guiding her the whole day w/ this extremely emotional and burdensome task.
We start surgeries on Monday. My first shift is Sunday evening to help admit the first patients we receive and prep them for surgery in the morning.
Yesterday was the day we chose our patients for the next five months, except our eye patients who we will screen at a later date. Some of us arrived at six in the morning, while others arrived much earlier in order to start going through the line and telling people from the beginning that they would not be a candidate for surgery. This way they wouldn't waste their time waiting in line for hours in the hot sun.
As we started getting closer we saw just how long the line was and how many people were waiting hoping they would just maybe be a candidate to get help medically. Some people started waiting in line days ago. The line just kept going and then we finally reached the end and arrived at the building where the screening process took place.
In the beginning I was to help escort patients inside from the general surgery screening room to the data entry area or help bring them out if there wasn't anything we could do for them. One particular younger man kept trying to leave the room b/c I think he was getting tired and was possibly mentally handicapped. His sister appeared to be very nervous that he wouldn't be able to complete the screening process as he was starting to act up and was told several times that he needed to sit down. I did my best to help keep him calm and escorted him to the bathroom several times and gave him water, while his sister saved his spot in the line of chairs. One of our day workers who speaks French and English also helped keep him from acting up and running off while he was in the bathroom. Finally when it reached his turn for him to be seen by the doctor I was very curious if we were going to be able to help him. It turned out we were and I was to escort him to data entry:) His sister had tears in her eyes and kept saying merci. I'm not sure what his condition was, but this would likely be one of the first times he would be helped medically. The average income in Togo is $2 a day and those that receive medical care have to pay for it out of pocket.
I was then assigned to go outside and help escort people to the gate or under the tree to be prayed for. These people would have been waiting in line for hours in the hot sun, but we obviously don't have the capacity to help everyone during the five months being here. After talking w/ many of the alumnis who have been through many screenings they said it was obvious that this screening day had been prayed for heavily. There was a sense of peace throughout the whole day. Most of the Togo people were very gracious and most agreed to be prayed for under the tree even though we said we couldn't help them. However, there were those who said they were tired and just wanted to leave and were not happy w/ us. Some were just angry and kept showing me their physical problem. It was a very strange feeling though watching these people leave through the gate knowing that it would take a miracle to fix their physical problem. Mercy Ships won't be back for a couple more years and many were asking when we would return. There were a group of patients with simple painful hernias that would quickly be fixed in the US, but we only had a certain number of surgery slots for hernias so we took them out of the line so they wouldn't keep waiting.
The hardest people I escorted out however were the children. Every single parent who had a child escorted out wanted their child to be prayed for. One particular man was holding a two year old and asked if I could hold him. The child did not look well at all and did not cry or do anything like a normal kid would do. He was practically limp and I almost felt a sense of guilt that I wasn't able to do anything, but there were just too many people. The man asked me so there is no hope for him? I quickly responded well can I take him under the tree for prayer? I then handed the child to one of our other volunteers w/ Mercy Ships who was in the prayer group. The man who was caring for the child then told me he was a pastor and was just gracious that we were holding his child and praying for him.
James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
This verse makes me realize that all of our lives are very short and we really don't know what will happen tomorrow. Its really sad that we couldn't physically with our hands help many of these people, but we could pray for all of them. I was told we screened 1, 660 people yesterday and all had the option to receive prayer. We really do just have to trust that they are all in Gods hands and he loves all of them more than we ever could and sees the much bigger picture.
On the bright side at the end of the day I was assigned to take some histories on patients who had made it half way through the screening process and were possibly a candidate for surgery. Two of the children I did histories on had a cleft palate and another a cleft lip. The one with with the cleft palate had actually been at a Mercy Ships screening several years prior, but likely didn't make it through because there weren't enough spots. The uncle who brought her kept making me look at the whole in the roof of her mouth to make sure I knew how much she needed surgery. I'm guessing she probably got assigned surgery:)
This morning all the nurses got together and discussed how everything went. They kept saying how smoothly everything went and how God's hands were definitely at work yesterday. One of the alumni nurses who was one of the screeners to determine the yes's and no's at the first gate said she couldn't sleep at all the previous night afraid she would say no to someone she should have said yes to. She remembers originally saying no to someone and then got an overwhelming sense that she should say yes. She felt God's presence guiding her the whole day w/ this extremely emotional and burdensome task.
We start surgeries on Monday. My first shift is Sunday evening to help admit the first patients we receive and prep them for surgery in the morning.
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful heart you have for this work. I will continue to pray for you, your co-workers and patients.