About Rachel in Camp 4

About Rachel…

Today, I traveled with the Mobile Medical Team to a village called Camp 4. Camp 4 lies on the outskirts of Yekepa and is home to an orphanage called The Betty Jonah Orphanage. Our Doctors and Nurses will be providing a clinic for all 50 of the orphans later in the week. The Medical Team is comprised of 2 doctors, 3 nurses, 1 dedicated assistant, 3 medical field workers from African Bible College, and a couple of volunteer helpers. Let me say that this group of medical professionals is incredible. In what amounted to about 30 minutes, they set up a functioning medical clinic in the middle of the jungle. It was an open-air structure with concrete/dirt floors, no electricity, and a waiting room of hundreds of eager patients. Over the course of about 7 hours, they examined, treated, and loved about 400 people. I helped a little, but my main function was to film and photograph the Doctors and Nurses working with the people in Camp 4.

I’d like to continue by introducing you to Rachel. Rachel is a beautiful 9 year-old girl who was brought to the clinic by her dad. Rachel didn’t say much, so her dad described her symptoms. He was well-spoken, and seemed to care intensely about his daughter’s illness. She had diarrhea, couldn’t keep any food or water down, and had a slight fever. Doctor Haynes diagnosed her with dehydration (possibly from mal-nutrition or consuming parasitic water). Rachel was also missing a couple of fingernails. I asked about that. Doctor Haynes and Karen Stevenson explained to me that untreated dehydration and mal-nutrition will cause blood density to increase, therefore the heart works harder and the blood quits flowing to the most distal parts of the body. Basically, the tips of her fingers were dying and couldn’t sustain the fingernail. This isn’t a broken arm, or a virus from a classmate. This is simply not having enough food to eat or enough water to drink. The problem is that her dad can’t afford to buy food for the family, and her village doesn’t have clean, drinkable water. If she does drink, it is most likely from a well that has parasitic water.

Annie, a Liberian medical worker, inserted an IV in Rachel’s arm and treated her to “500 of lactating rings”. A little bit of rehydration, some pills to calm the fever, something for the diarrhea and Rachel was on her way back to the village…back to the empty table…back to the dirty well. Her dad loves her, and I pray he finds a way to provide her life’s essentials. For now, she will sleep well tonight because God blessed her today with Doctor Haynes, Karen Stevenson, Annie, and the rest of the Medical Team.

There is rampant sickness here. I saw illness, mal-nutrition, dehydration, infection, and disease today like I couldn’t have previously imagined. I chose to tell you about Rachel because her story is real, but not gruesome. There is gruesome here.

There is also joy here. I witnessed patients paying in hugs, handshakes, thank you-s, and tears. About 400 patients left the clinic today with more wellness and comfort than they have felt in weeks or months. Some will sleep without a fever. Others will sleep without pain. All will sleep as blessed children of God. Thank God for the Medical Team. Thank God for Grace, Ken, Karen, Sandy, Brandy, Cassandra, Geekor, Annie, Jamima, and Tim.