Saturday November 24, 2018
Saturday was supposed to be a low key morning at Hope for
Korah. Meron was supposed to get her
hair braided after I did a quick check on the elderly man (Ato, a word for
Mister) that we helped yesterday. Then
we planned an afternoon meeting with Meron and Hermela’s birth relatives.
When we arrived to check on Ato, our plan went right out the
window. He needed to see a doctor right
away for a procedure. So, we loaded him
in our driver’s van and affectionately named it the “ambulance” and took him to
a nearby clinic. He was in tremendous
pain which made the trip a bit difficult.
Thankfully, we were able to get him the procedure he needed, but he would
require daily follow up and skilled nursing care, so the doctor referred him to
the hospital to be admitted.
I was relieved that he would be in the hospital because it
would mean that he would receive the care he needed. However, when we arrived, we were told that
the hospital only admits patients Monday through Friday, and today was
Saturday. Surely this could not be the
case.
We went into the emergency ward (a room about as large as an
average classroom) and the said they could not accept him because he had a previous
surgery. They sent us over to the
surgical ward instead where we were told again that they do not admit patients
on the weekends. We were a bit baffled
by this and asked where else we could take him.
Well, because he has previously had leprosy, this was the only hospital
in the city that would treat him, even if it was an emergency. We were told to return on Monday to wait in
line and see if he could be admitted. They
would weigh the needs of those who showed up and possibly admit him if there weren’t
other patients needier than him.
We stood there and tried to work out an alternate plan. In my opinion, he needed IV fluids and
antibiotics, pain management and close supervision until he was out of the
woods. There weren’t any staff members at the Hope for Korah compound trained
to provide the care needed to help Ato.
At this point, we were out of options. We made the decision to return to the clinic
that had sent us to the hospital and get the prescriptions and supplies to care
for him the best that we could at the compound. I would visit in the morning and
evening until Monday to provide the necessary care. You have to marvel at God’s timing to have
our team in Korah for these past three days to be able to care for Ato.
Of course I want to provide the best medical care possible,
so it was hard for me to realize that although we had done everything we could
do to get him proper care, we couldn’t provide it for him. We had to move on to
plan B, knowing it may not be the best treatment plan, but it was the best we
could do in these circumstances. We went
to the pharmacy and then returned Ato, who was exhausted and in pain, to his bed. I was finally able to give him some pain medicine
but would have to return to complete his care later as we were supposed to meet
with Meron’s birth family that afternoon.
While we were away, Meron had her hair braided and she and
Caroline played games and soccer with the kids at Korah. We headed to the soccer field to pick up Meron
and head to the birth family meeting.
Because of the way our morning went, we had to push back our
meeting with Meron’s family. This turned
out to be a blessing because it allowed Hermela to join us on facetime. Had we not been delayed by our morning tasks,
it would have been 4 am at home and Hermela would have missed the chance to see
and talk to her brother and extended family.
Meron has long anticipated a trip to Ethiopia and reunion
with her remaining birth relatives. We
knew we would be meeting with her older brother but didn’t know if any other
relatives were close enough to also come.
As we drove towards our meeting place, Meron was visibly nervous with
anticipation. It’s understandably
stressful to meet up with people who are your family, but who you do not know,
do not speak the same language as and that you haven’t seen for nearly 9
years. Will you laugh? Will you cry?
Will it be totally awkward? Probably all of the above. I’m sure she has played out
this moment again and again in her mind over the years. I think children that have been adopted often
fantasize about such a meeting and I was just hoping that it would answers some
questions for her, meet her expectations and satisfy that deep longing that she
has had to know them.
We had been notified that her brother had been hit by a car
while walking across the street two months ago and had surgery to place pins
and repair a broken leg. So, when he
arrived, he was assisted in on crutches and looked to be in pretty bad shape
compared to the last time we had seen him.
I know that our girls worry about their families, so it was hard to see
him unwell.
While we were greeting him, an uncle of their mother arrived
as well as three cousins. This helped to
break the ice a little bit and even better was the fact that one of their
cousins spoke English.
We were thankfully
able to get Hermela on facetime so that she could be a part of the
meeting. It was a bit overwhelming at
times, but everyone was so happy to see each other, and the girls got many of
their question answered. It was fun to
see Meron pick out features in her relatives that looked like her. It provided
that long awaited feeling of connection that she has so desperately wanted for
so many years. We were also able to work out a plan to help their brother with
his situation and we plan to see him again Thursday before we leave.
We returned home emotionally and physically exhausted, but
with a sense of peace about what God had done in our interactions with Ato as
well as the kids at Korah and with the family that we were able to connect
with. We thank God for going before us
to so graciously align all of the events of this day.
And
we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
