Vomit, and earthquakes, and bleach OH MY!!!

Man!!! Being a doctor is tough. I know what yall are thinking…”He isn’t a doctor!” Well I can tell you that I am……I have the two pages of notes to prove it.

About a week ago a team of doctors and nurses came to Respire. They wanted to run a medical clinic for our school, our community, and a local Tent City. Before they could get all that going some of the staff here needed to be trained a little bit. So after about 3 hours and two pages a notes………I got my white coat. Its a little too hot in Haiti for it. I left it on the back of my doctors chair in my plush corner office on the top floor of our hospital.

Well Friday morning rolls around and its time  to begin. My station was the deworming pills and Vitamin A. Myself, along with my fellow colleague and doctor, Sharon, fought through the first day with a success. I quickly realized that I am not just a doctor but also a translator. At some points I had to leave my office to help translate for the other Doctors. So Im sure there are people I translated for using the anti fungal cream as toothpaste and are totally confused about what they should use vitamins for.

This goes on for about 3 days…….and then Tuesday rolls around. The medical clinic was closed for only special cases. One little boy came in and couldn’t even walk. He had to be carried into the clinic. His mother said he has had a serious case of diarrhea for 9 days. The doctors put him on an IV and diagnosed it at Cholera. Well when it was time to go we made the decision to bring him and his mother to Megan and Josh’s house. He would stay on an IV until he was well enough to go home. We made a little bed for him on the floor on the front porch where it was the coolest and had the most air flow. For some reason I felt the need to lay beside him and comfort him anyway I could. His stomach was very hard and uncomfortable. He kept telling me how bad it hurt. So I started rubbing his tummy and applying a little pressure to help ease the pain. About 20 minutes pass and he leans up a little and looks at me………..all of a sudden he beings to vomit. Projectile vomit all over me and the floor.

Now those who know me are probably thinking I freaked out and started to throw up too. In all honesty I was pretty sure that was going to happen. But it didn’t. I reached my hand over and patted his back until his was finished. In my mind, I was thinking he already feels terrible, he is surrounded by 30 white people, if I jump and freak out he will probably feel even more uncomfortable and embarrassed. So I let him throw up on me. He then said he needed to use the bathroom. The doctors took him to the bathroom and I just sat in the vomit. Not really knowing what to do. I eventually stood up ran to the house and showered and disinfected myself. I also realized that I was going to need some medication….not because I was traumatized but because some of the throw up landed on my lip. So need to worry I prescribed myself some Cyphro……remember I am a doctor.

I come back to the house and not even 3 minutes later the earth shakes a little. Some people noticed and some people didn’t. People were running outside and others just standing not sure what was going on. It was maybe for about .03 seconds but some of us felt it. Just wonderful…vomit and a baby earthquake. What a day……but it didn’t end there.

Kameryn had been mixing bleach with water to clean up the vomit and to kill all the cholera. The mix fell and splashed directly into her eyes. Thank the Lord for the people there. We rushed her to the sink and started pouring clean water straight into her eyes. Two or three things of water and a couple bottles of eye drops later she was at work again.

What on earth!? I boy with cholera, a little earthquake and bleach in someone’s eye. At the end of that day I looked back and reflected. How awesome is our God. He was present in every moment. He placed the right people at the right time and allowed for His Glory to be shown. So cool. First, with the little boy with cholera. He completely calmed me and allowed me to be still while the kid threw up on me. He allowed me to overcome something of my own for the better of someone else. I realize that when people are in need, my phobias and fears are gone. Only by the Grace of God. Second, the Lord allowed us to recognize His presence with an earthquake. Who can shake the earth but God? So amazing. Lastly, Kameryn’s eyes are good. The doctors knew what to do, the staff knew what to do, and people just saw a need and responded.

Now I need to do some bragging. Not on me but on two people in particular. Sharon is a friggin champ. She helped Kameryn in her time of need without hesitation but she did it with a very calming and composed manner. she didn’t react out of fear but out of love. Pretty awesome that I get to serve alongside someone like that. Kameryn is just as awesome. Full of courage and hard work. She loves to help and lend a hand, not matter the cost. After her eye incident, she got back to work. She doesn’t quit and she wont let some eye scare get into her way. I live and work alongside a lot of awesome people. I could write and write and write about amazing these people are. So to even I work and live with…………YALL ARE AWESOME!!! AN INSPIRATION THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU!!! TRULY YALL CARRY THE LIGHT OF THE LORD WITHNI YOU!!

I am in awe of our Creator. So good in all His ways. He does nothing wrong. He is present in every situation. Everywhere I look I see Him, and even when I don’t I know He is there. I see Him in the faces of the Haitian people. I see Him in their determination. I see in the beauty of the day. I see Him in the mountains, in the sky, and along the coast. I see Him in the hearts of the people I live with. What a God we serve. What a God we worship. And He deserves it all. Every ounce of our being belongs to Him.

WE GIVE YOU ALL THE GLORY!!!