This is Wadlene whom I remember well from our first visit to Haiti. She arrived at Baptist Haiti Mission nine days after the earthquake. During this time she was at another facility with little or no care. As things began to slow a bit here after the first week, we sent word out that we could accept other earthquake victims from outlying facilities. She arrived, like many others, in the back of a truck that bumped up the hill to the hospital. When I first met Wadlene, she was one of many who had been filing through the O.R. where we were racing too care for as many people as possible. I immediately started in with the usual pre-anesthesia interview questions in a mechanical, tired-after-all-this-work type way. Her answers were difficult to sort out and not linear or direct. A simple question like, "do you have any medicine allergies," for example, was just not registering. My medical student translator interjected that he had seen AIDS patients in his (limited) experience act this way and he was sure she was infected with HIV.
Looking back now I see that it was the Lord who, at that moment, helped me to do something a bit uncharacteristic for me and especially in this setting. I slowed down and considered where and from what she had just come. All I knew at this point was that, indeed, nine days had past and this woman who lay before me was still untreated and had been waiting all this time for any type of help. So, through my interpreter, I asked her what her experience had been up to this point. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and I could see it clearly in her face. She recounted that she been in her kitchen cooking when her building crumbled around her. Her children where in another room and perished in the quake. Incredible! It all made since at this moment. Here she was, suffering for over a week with limited or no care like pain medicine or basic hygiene with a broken arm and leg caring for herself in utter despair at the loss of all of her family!
I started again with the doctor stuff emphasizing that she was important and that we wanted to help her feel better and begin the healing process. Still terrified, physically hurting, and emotionally spent we moved to the O.R. where she underwent the first stages of repair for her injuries. Shortly after this our team left and, though her memory remained, I didn't expect to see her again. Well, upon our arrival, one of the first people I saw was Wadlene! She had remained nameless to me up to this point. We again met in the O.R. again to further care for her left femur fracture. I have since learned that, during her time at the hospital, she has put her trust in Christ as her Savior and Lord and continues to heal from her injuries. Several days ago she went outside for the first time since the earthquake and enjoyed some rays. We even gave her one of the "sonset" radios to encourage her to get out of bed and outside to charge the thing with its solar cells while listening! Please pray for continued healing both physically and emotionally for Wadlene. Further, we have heard rumors that one of her daughters may still be alive. Pray for their reunion!
Here is another picture of Tilisier today. He is the young man who suffered a fracture of the front of his skull then underwent a surgical closure. He continues to heal and you can see that some of the swelling has left his eye. We hope to get him out of bed tomorrow and outside where we will also give him a radio. Please pray for his continued healing.
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