A Pleasant Surprise: PART 3

Family and Friends,

Day 122 of our Haiti Adventure!

NOTE:  This blog is part 3 of 3...

Over the past month I’ve (Cory) been battling an array of physical symptoms and wondering what in the world was wrong with me. Actually, I normally don’t think about it on any conscious level but just tend to ignore symptoms until I find myself pawing through the medicine cabinet and collapsing on the bed. With all problems, however, there comes a point when you can’t ignore the situation anymore. As mentioned in part one it was a pleasant surprise to have Marlon and Cora here as surprise guests with the team. They were able to help Lynn and the kids as I battled through a tough week.


The strangest symptom was this severe pain in my lungs (almost like being stabbed) which prevented me from breathing all the way in or exhaling all the way out. Our friend Adrien called a doctor who suggested antibiotics to treat pneumonia. That made sense because I was getting over a bad cold. However, then the whole thing kind of migrated through my back, up my neck, and into my brain. I spent one night in unbelievable pain. At one point I took a very strong pill given to us for just such an occasion, and it only dulled the pain slightly for a couple of hours.

I could tell by the looks I was getting from the team that I didn’t look too good. Sometimes it is nice to not have a full-length mirror. What you don’t know can’t hurt you, though I guess in this case that might not be true exactly. Finally Sue treated me with some really strong medication to kill any parasites I might have had. That also would make sense because over the past year I have lost fifty pounds or so, and lately I have found myself a lot less energized and sick a lot more frequently. Those are the two big warning signs of parasites.

One of the great things about being sick, though, is a chance to just lay there and pray and reconnect with God. You also get to see the people around you rally together and take care of everything you might have thought only you alone could do. It is both humbling and encouraging when that happens.

The team really did a lot this past week. As one member said, “Even though we were scattered all over the community doing so many different projects, there was a sense of complete unity and partnership in everything we were doing.” Pam agreed. She really got a good vibe from this team and felt the impact they were making was very positive.

Now I need to finish out some of the thoughts in the first paragraph of the first post of this series. First of all, little John, one of our kids in the orphanage, finally left with his mother (see post "Dear John" for more info). He was very happy to go. We had planned to send him after the school term, but in the end that was too long to wait. He left with his famous smile on his face, and I think everyone here was at peace with the whole thing. When you think about it, there’s no better place for a kid than with his mom, and we feel confident that she is a good mom. As Pam said, “He might not be smiling when he wakes up tomorrow to no food on the table.” But we pray God will protect him and give him a great future, and one day he will return and visit.

Another wild turn of events on the group’s final day involved Lynn’s sister Cora. Someone came into the yard and said, “So and so is delivering a baby up in the mountain.” So Cora hiked up there and played catcher. She was able to help with delivery, just like she does at the hospital back at home, and that was a nice memory for her to take from the trip. Healthy baby boy enters the world.

Not long after that Sue came running in from the clinic yelling, “A man is dying and we need to get him to the hospital in Les Cayes.” I was in bed resting, though on the upswing at this point, and I quickly got ready to drive a group to the city. Cora asked to go along. We went down to a house at the end of our drive, and a 60ish man was in there gasping for air. I recognized him as one of our neighbors (named Marin Damas), and we all quickly wrapped him in his blanket and carried him to the car. It was Sue, myself, Cora, Chelo, and the patient’s sister.

I drove pretty fast and did a lot of honking over the 40-minute drive, but in the end that doesn’t really distinguish you much from the rest of the traffic. We could tell he was fading as we were getting closer, so we got ready to rush him into the emergency room. We did just that and discovered a room completely packed with your typical crowd of motorcycle accident victims, dehydrated and/or starving individuals, and any number of other desperate souls begging for help and lying in their own filth.

We laid him on the ground in front of the nurse station and were met with cold, unconcerned glares. As Cora later described it, “The nurses just stood there, casually shifting through stacks of paper.” Finally one nurse walks up and asks (in Creole) “Does he have a cold?” Sue replies with unabashed sarcasm, “I think it’s a little more than that, honey!”

Meanwhile the ER doctor is over there performing CPR on some lady and then declares her gone. Our man is not doing well at this point. His sounds like he is trying to breathe underwater. His pulse is not strong. The Doctor comes over and takes a look. He says, “I don’t have any beds.” Again Sue (gotta love her) retorts, “Well, that lady over there just died.”

At this point Cora says to the rest of us, “I don’t think we’re going to need a bed.” Our man breathes his final, labored breath. The Doctor works hard to try to revive him, right there in the middle of the room in front of the nurse’s station, but he has nothing for tools but the hands God gave him…no oxygen, no defibrillator, no nothing.

After this we load him back in the car, take him home, and lay him back on his bed. I will never forget the sound of the neighborhood women wailing when we opened the back of the car and everyone could see that he was laid in there on a tarp. That night he had a wake and the next morning he was buried. No money in this family for embalming or fancy coffin or anything like that.

The contruction crew, with the help of Marlon and others, were able to stay late and finish a big chunk of the house that final evening.  They were pleased when they returned late that night.  All that was left after that was to get some supper, pack, talk through the next day's travel plans, reflect a bit on what God had done during this week, and grab a few hours of sleep before departing at 3AM for Port-au-Prince.  We woke in the night to the familiar sounds of suitcases being dragged over gravel, and then they were gone.

As always it was an adventurous week, especially with this big and talented team here, and especially with our special guests, our pleasant surprise. Now we look forward to a long stretch of quiet, but of course even the quiet times can be interrupted by adventure at any moment!

A special thanks to everyone who made it possible for this team to come, especially Lynn's parents who watched Marlon and Cora's kids all week. 

May your adventure for the Lord be filled with pleasant surprises!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers