I was in the middle of my story when the power went out and I lost the rest of it! Let me see if I can reconstruct it. After watching surgery for quite awhile, I asked my doctor/student friend if I could go over to the burn unit and get an update on the women we had visited a few days ago. He went with me and I was impressed with his level of compassion for the women. We both gowned up and went into the ward to find one woman walking around (the one whose 17 year-old daughter was burned to death trying to rescue her). Another young girl who was 6 months pregnant was breathing her last breaths. Her baby had already died and she was not far behind. The fire had not only burned her on the outside but completely destroyed her lungs and internal organs. It was so sad to see her family standing outside her window waiting and weeping. While we were there, they wheeled in the woman who had just undergone surgery for skin grafts and she was writhing and screaming in pain. A very ironic note is that this woman's name is "happy heart". Nothing could be further from reality! It took me a couple hours to get rid of the sick feeling in my stomach. There's nothing more difficult than to observe human suffering and not be able to do anything about it. One thing is for sure, it made me more determined than ever to learn this language so that I can share the love of Jesus with these women.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
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3 comments:
Oh my goodness. I can't imagine anything so sobering as working in a burn unit. That doc does truly deserve praise. That poor woman. I would love to hear if she survives and you are able to talk to her later. I think that would be a great experience, to share Christ's love with her. She obviously needs it.
What an unbelievable experience. Just the fact that you have a plastic surgeon as a student is something! You certainly have an inside track on this horrible problem. Truly Christ's love is the only thing that can stop it.
It's hard to read about these situations and not feel so powerless but I also feel compelled to read on so that I can know in more depth what life is like for these women and that these stories will hit my heart so I can passionately pray for them, for you. Thank you for watching and telling us about it.
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