#136a Shanksteps- followup

#136a Shanksteps- followup
I sit here at 2AM unable to sleep.  I was called into the hospital to see Baldina as they said he had a low blood pressure.  On the way in I hear the wailing.  He has died.  I go through all we have done on him, all for naught.  He tried to kill himself and then there was hope, now he is dead.  He succeeded.  I hope his last few days were ones he used to ask forgiveness of his family and God, otherwise there is NO HOPE.
At the same time they call me to see another elderly woman who is unconscious.  I had admitted her this morning with epigastric pain and what I suspect is typhoid or malaria.  Tests have no been done yet.  I check her glucose and find it 41.  We start replacing her sugar with the IV but within 5 minutes she is gone also.  Too much death!
I sit here hoping for the day when Jesus will come back to get us all.  Rev 21:4 says: “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; for these things have passed away.”
One day, when Christ comes, we will not have pain, sorrow, or death.  I pray that day come soon.  I’m tired of all the death and sorrow of this planet.
Greg

136b
Audrey here.  After Greg came home (and wrote the above follow-up) we prayed for the families of those who had just died. We reflected on the day, and prayed for sleep to come for us.  Two hours later I was called back in because Baldina’s wife was convulsing.  Apparently she hadn’t slept for about 5 days and had been crying hard for the past 2 hours. If finally took it’s toll on her. I gave her something to calm her and allow her a long sleep.  I too was unable to sleep after returning home. I reflected on the day.  Earlier that day, three children had died almost immediately upon arriving to the ER.  They were brought in about 4 days too late (which unfortunately is not unusual).  Five deaths within 12 hours.  Too much!
The following day was Friday. We had a lot of patients to see, both in clinic and in the hospital. After seeing them all and finally getting ready to go home, I started hearing someone crying outside the window of the ER. I looked outside and heard more wailing coming from the Adult Ward.  I ran over to find out what had happened.  The nurse said that Sali, an old man that had come in that morning with pneumonia, was taking his last breath. The family was wailing even before he was dead.  I examined him as he breathed his last.  I helped the family get his things together and return unused medication. As I was leaving the ward, another nurse asked if I had gotten all of Tize’s things together. I asked what had happened to Tize.  She said that was the man who died and his family was wailing.  He was a young man, around 36, who came in with abdominal pain but was getting better as of about two hours before.   Two deaths within five minutes of each other.  Two hours earlier, ne
ither looked like that day would be his last.  That brings the death count to seven within 24 hours.  Too much death and illness!!!  Greg and I finished up work (which at that point felt like it was never going to end) and walked home in a daze.  We got on the motorcycle and drove into the mountains to clear our heads.
Please pray for the families of these seven patients. Please pray for the emotional state of our workers who have had to deal with all of these deaths in addition to working overtime and covering for co-workers who are sick. Please pray for us to be able to hang in despite the grief, guilt, frustration, and fatigue.  Only God is able to sustain us during times like these. – Audrey