This week I have been working with someone in consultation. His job is somewhat similar to a nurse practitioner. He listens and examines the patients then follows protocols on writing the needed prescriptions. It is very interesting, and I enjoy trying to figure out what is going on. It has also helped me learn a lot of French medical terms. We have seen different respiratory infections, anemia, malaria, typhoid, amoebas, and much more. Many of the children come in with severe anemia due to the malaria. There are different types of malaria and ranges of severity. There was a little girl today who had a severe type of anemia that affects the brain.
We were done with the consultations today, so I went over to the injection room to see if there was something I could do. I saw Doté, whom I work with in consultation, in the injection room next to the little girl we had seen only 30 minutes before with malaria. I came up and realized he was pushing on her chest trying to revive her. I was so shocked and saddened. I had seen many with this type of malaria treated, but this little girl was gone. There was nothing else to do. It was the first time I had ever seen a patient or anyone for that matter die right in front of me. Doté then wrapped a cloth around the little girl. The family was not in the room, but a few minutes later I saw the mom come in crying with another girl in her arms that needed a shot. I wish I could have said something to her, but I did not know how or what, so I just prayed for her and her family. The woman that works in the injection room kept saying “jumelé.” I had to look it up, but I realized she was saying the girls were twins. Hearing this and seeing the mother crying made me so sad. I feel like having twins in your family for some reason makes you interested in twins everywhere. I do not know God’s plan, but I just prayed that through this situation that they might come to know Him.
There are many times I am not certain why things happen or why I was meant to see them. I just know that God has a reason for everything. Death is a part of life. If nothing else this experience reminds me that I have a limited time here on earth. I want every moment to be glorifying God. That means that daily I have to die to myself, so that I can live with Christ (Romans 6:8) and have a fruitful life (John 12:24).
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