Helicopter excitement; training new nurses
Dwayne: God has been good to us these past weeks. I finally got our flat-bed trailer finished and made a back bumper for our pickup so we can pull the trailer. Wendy has been training the new student missionaries into the clinic.
I had an interesting Sunday a week ago. I had to take a seriously ill patient out to the hospital. He had Typhoid and was completely out of it. His whole body was completely rigid and his jaw was clenched. I covered him with his blanket and strapped him into the stretcher. Everything seemed secure to me so I took off for the hospital and headed down the river.
As we were flying along I felt a slight tug in the power. About 30 seconds later I started smelling smoke so I set down in a field that we were flying over and jumped out to see what was burning. I found the blanket that was covering the patient has somehow gotten loose and one end was wrapped around the engine coupling shaft and the other end was still under one of the straps on the patient. I shut the helicopter down and pulled the blanket out. I got things cleaned up and took off again for the hospital and delivered the patient with no more problems. He was very near death when we got him to the hospital and likely would not have made it if we did not have the helicopter. I learned some valuable things from this experience for future safety.
Wendy: We are in Puerto now. It's so nice to have a short break from the busy clinic. We had so much fun with Jason and Mollie Canfield who came for a week from AIIAS to visit us. They seemed to have a great time and didn't want to leave (except that they missed their kids). Dwayne did most of the hosting since I was so busy in the clinic, but thankfully I was able to eat almost all meals with them and enjoy evenings as well.
Friday, Dwayne and I had to make some medical visits across the river in the helicopter. One case was especially sad. It was a brand new baby with cleft lip/palate and possible Spina Bifida also. The father had come to us the day before asking if we would keep the baby. We went to check out the situation since we were visiting another patient in the area anyway. We are looking into what can be done for the baby.
We are very thankful for the new SMs. They are all great. We have two Nurses! This is the first time we've had any other nurses besides myself since I've been here. They are young but fast learners and have good hearts to serve. There are also two SM's working at the school, but one will only be here a couple of months.
Sunday, Dwayne and Molly and Jason hiked out early and spent the day in Brooke's Point out on a boat with some church members snorkeling. Then I hiked out after our busiest clinic day (Sundays) just as it was getting dark. They met me at the trail-head in the truck and we headed for the one decent hole-in-the wall restaurant in town for some pizza.
We headed out early in the morning for Puerto for a day at the Crocodile Farm and Butterfly Garden, neither of which we had been to yet. It was fun to have one last fun day with them. Now we are getting supplies and running errands (and doing email when it works) and waiting for Dwayne's little brother, Eric to arrive tomorrow. He will be here for 6 months to help out wherever he can. He will stay in Brooke's Point.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support. We ask you to pray with us that God will awaken His people and that all will put to use the gifts and talents God has given them to finish spreading the gospel before it is too late. Please continue to pray for God's provisions for our work here.
God Bless, Dwayne & Wendy
Updates and thanks:
-Some donations came in for the clinic and we were able to get some much needed medicine. Praise God!
-Helicopter fuel is getting harder to get and more expensive. Please pray for this growing need.
-Thanks for your prayers on Land for a base and helicopter hanger in the lowlands. Things are moving slowly but they are moving! We have some possibilities for how to pay for a specific piece of land we've been looking at.
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