The sun was shining beautifully this morning as I finished my big mug of coffee and headed to clinic to start on my usual row of bandage patients. I love the cheerful banter of morning greetings… the glow of the sun on the mountain after the rain… the beautiful smiles of the children along the trail.
Halfway through the morning I noticed a commotion outside. A group of worried folk gathered around a young man who was slumped over a bench. A quick assessment showed a very swollen, bloody, face wrapped in a thick layer of gauze. I stooped to look into his face and ask a question and was met with a myriad of answers from the onlookers. ” No, No, Li Bebe! ( He cannot talk.)”
Indeed he could not. I found out quickly that he was deaf and ‘dumb’. We helped him shuffle into the exam table and apon investigation found his left side covered in nasty brush burns…with a gash above his eye. They told us he was in a car in Ti Guave and tried to catch his hat when it flew off…and somehow ended up flying off WITH his hat.
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This poor man could not cry out in pain as we dumped peroxide over stinging wounds. He could not tell us about his discomfort or how we could help him. He only lay there, writhing in pain, as I cleaned the dirt out of all the abrasions. I tried to look into his swollen eyes, and saw that he was crying. I couldn’t tell him I was sorry, or that the stinging peroxide would prevent infection. All I could do is wipe his tear stained face with cool water, and stick a lollie pop in his mouth. After I cleaned and bandaged him, I helped him to a bench where he slumped down on his ‘un-wounded’ side. Though it felt hopeless to even try to communicate, I pray that this man felt the love of Jesus through us today…maybe just through a gentle touch or a kind smile.
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Posted by: Miss Katie