Bangladesh

Rohingya

I did not fully realize the magnitude of the Rohingya crisis until I arrived in Bangladesh. Click here to learn more. We are told that although the Rohingya have arrived to Bangladesh life will not be all rainbows and butterflies. Essentially, they are in a detainment camp here as they are not allowed to leave the camp without documentation of medical necessity, unable to get or create jobs, etc.. I can’t imagine being discriminated against to the point of being driven out of my country and into another where I’m confined to a camp simply because of my race and/or religion. This is such a tragedy, and the Rohingya need our prayers and to be shown the love of Jesus.

RCU

Rohingya Care Unit is an extension built onto Memorial Christian Hospital to treat Rohingya refugees. Memorial Christian Hospital has been in operation since the 1960s; you can read more here. We have seen various injuries and illnesses from elephant attacks and motor vehicle accidents to Hirschsprung’s (5 patients so far!) and cancer.

So much has happened in the past month inside this unit built of rolls of white plastic and bamboo with a tin roof. The unit is divided into two wards: male and female. Heat quickly fills both wards as the day begins and termites fall from the bamboo onto the patients, beds, floor, staff, etc throughout the day. I often cannot tell if sweat is rolling down my back or a termite or both. Prayers blare from speakers at a nearby mosque; these were once unfamiliar but are now rarely noticed. It is funny how quickly our “normal” changes when we’re in a new environment.

This week has been especially tough for our team. On Thursday we sent home an 11 year old girl who was such a ray of sunshine in the RCU. Unfortunately, she was discharged from care as there were no other treatment options available for her here or anywhere else in country. She came to us approximately a month ago with an osteosarcoma on her right knee the size of a soccer ball. The doctors here amputated her right leg above the knee. She was recovering so well and had just started getting around on crutches like a pro. Then she began to complain of shoulder pain, so they took a chest X-ray. The results showed metastasis to the lungs with one large tumor (larger than her heart) and three small tumors. We took some family photos and had them printed out for the family. Thursday we gathered around in a corner of the RCU with the family; we shared the Gospel, prayed with this precious family and gave the photos to them as a gift. There was not a dry eye that day; I will never understand these types of situations this side of heaven. Truly heartbreaking.

We have also witnessed miracles in the RCU. We have a little 2 year old boy who aspirated on a palm seed a few weeks ago. Initially, the doctors were unable to retrieve the seed, and it was lodged into the right lower lobe of his lungs. The day after he arrived on the unit he had to have emergency surgery to have a tracheotomy as his airway had swollen up due to the trauma from the aspiration and attempt of retrieval of the seed. A few days later on the night shift the baby had a right pneumothorax and had to have a chest tube placed. He started recovering well, and we thought he would soon be discharged. A week or so later as we were leaving our shift in the evening, he went into respiratory distress, and his oxygen saturation dropped really low and stayed low for at least 30 minutes as we bagged him until we could get him to the operating room. We cleaned up the area around his bed and put fresh sheets on it. As we were walking home we thought there was no way he would make it and had the discussion that we made his bed to help ease the father’s anxiety in hopes that his son would return to it. As we were eating dinner the surgeon sent a message to our charge nurse with a picture of the palm seed and the numbers on the pulse oximeter; great oxygen saturation and great heart rate! Needless to say we were shocked and so excited! The doctor explained to us that the original palm seed he aspirated had made its way to the left main stem bronchus of the lungs (causing the respiratory distress), and the doctor was able to retrieve it. He was monitored for a few more days, and his tracheotomy was decannulated. As I type this, the boy’s father is packing their belongings to be discharged back to the refugee camp. Such a miracle!

We are praying and believing for complete healing for two boys. One is a 14 year old with multiple medical issues and is severely emaciated; he has literally deteriorated before our eyes. The social worker, which is like a chaplain has been talking to him about Jesus, and he prayed last week that Jesus would forgive him of his sins and heal him; this is what it’s all about, Jesus. Since that day he has been eating again and has a whole new demeanor. The other boy is a 5 year that has been in the RCU for approximately 80 days, and as you can imagine we are all really attached to him. He is scheduled to have a major surgery this week. This will be his second surgery since coming to the unit, and he came close to death the first time. Please pray for him; we are praying for healing in his body and that God would give the surgeons wisdom as they perform this complicated surgery. We are believing for more miracles.

Life on the Compound

Our team (Samaritan’s Purse) is staying on AOB’s 43 acre compound here in Malumghat, Bangladesh in the home of a missionary family that is on furlough; what a treat to have such a nice place to stay! Each nurse works 12 hour shifts 4-5 days in a row with one day off in between; we also rotate day and night shifts every couple of weeks. There is a pool on the compound for everyone to enjoy, which is where we usually spend our days off. There are rice paddy fields around the compounds with estuaries where boats come and go when the tide is high. It is such a beautiful place and so peaceful.

Prayer

• Rohingya crisis
• Safety of the Rohingya refugees in the camp and no cholera outbreak with monsoon season coming
• Healing of our patients
• Our team as it has been a tough week
• The MCH staff
• AOB staff