Whose Shoes I Am Unworthy to Unlatch....

It has taken me a couple of days to think about sitting down to post this entry. What I hope to share is a very emotion filled experience which has changed me and my family forever. It is difficult to put into words the experiences that we are having here in India, especially those where we get to go and interact with people in the colonies. I share these things in hopes to show you a part of what we are feeling and experiencing here but also am trying to do so with great respect for those we are serving. We had no idea what we would be getting into as we left the campus to go to the first colony. We had a general understanding of what we would

be doing and because of where we have gone in life--we had an idea on what the living conditions might be like. What we didn't expect was the emotion that we would feel as we worked with these incredible people. We felt a great reverence and love for them as we came eye to eye with them and saw what they live with on a daily basis.

This is how this woman gets around.....

Last week, we drove into Chennai and went to Ramachandra Hospital. There we saw first hand how those with leprosy are treated. It was very fresh in our minds as we pulled into the Bethelnagar Colony. To go from seeing how they were treated to seeing where they live, the conditions that they face on a daily basis and most impacting--the wounds that they live with was staggering for us to take in. The injustice was overwhelming. I just kept wondering why some are born with so much and others are born--not only with less, but monumental challenges on top of it. I know the Lord doesn't have favorites and no one is above another but it just seems so out of balance. I can't begin to comprehend it. Unless, that is all there is to understand--that we just can't understand and merely need to accept it for what it is.

We left campus about 9:30 in the morning and it took us almost an hour to get out there to the colony. We pulled in and started to set up shop, per se, in a pavilion type of building. There was nothing clean or sanitary about it. Just an open building with things stacked along the back wall. The floor may have been swept in preparation for us coming, but it still felt dusty with cobwebs.

We set up different stations. They would first come in and get their medical folder from our drivers. Their next stop was to see the doctor and get recommendations on what they needed done while we were there. From there, they would go to Doug's station. He would take their blood pressure, heart rate and sometimes a blood test.

From that station, they would come over the the boys. The boys would help them take off their shoes and remove their bandages. Most of the wounds were on their feet. We all had to wear a mask and two sets of gloves. We always kept the first pair of gloves on and and then changed the second set from patient to patient. This was sometimes difficult for the boys because the gloves were adult sizes. They were so cute about being careful with the changing of the gloves. I was so grateful that they recognized the need to be careful about doing that. I really prayed that morning that the boys especially would understand the significance of being careful in their interactions and would feel the gravity of what was transpiring. I was so proud of them and the girls, as well. They all did awesome--even when at times, I felt my own stomach turn.

The boys would pull the knot on the side of the wrappings and cut off the knot. Then, they would unwind the wrappings and put them in the trash. They would have to sterilize the scissors between each patient. Cole especially got into this and Munchie did pretty good until one particular man--which I will share more about later. After that one man, he was ready to change stations and went to work with Doug. Sometimes, the wound would have oozing stuff stuck to it and they would have to pull it away--that didn't seem to bother them at all. It probably did me more than them. They really were amazing.

The next station was where Emily and I were working. We would have to clean the wound. Some were much easier than others. We would put some water in a bowl with some antiseptic and soak the wound. We would use a small little rag about the size of 4" x 4" to try to clean the wound. Then we would towel dry the wound and put a little sterilized bootie on them as they moved to the next station, which is where Jillian was working. She had to oil down their feet and ankles. They would be so dry and calloused.

The next station was where the nurse was working with Jocelynn. I sent Jocelynn down to that station for a couple of reasons. First, I thought it might be good for her to see firsthand that procedure since she is wanting to go into nursing and second, I thought she would have the stomach for it. She did awesome! The nurse came up to me afterwards and really complimented her--that was a tough spot to work.

The last stop they go to is to check out and get any medicines that they might need. It is all a very simple procedure and I kept having to remind myself that I was in a third world country. It was a little shocking to think that a nurse was cutting away dead skin and digging out maggots in sores on a dusty concrete floor with primitive working tools.

With leprosy, the disease attacks the skin and nerve endings. For most of the time, the patients don't feel anything with their treatments because the nerve endings are all dead. Others, the nerve endings are still alive and well and they obviously
could feel the procedures. For those that have dead nerve endings--that is why their wounds are so bad. They don't feel anything. So, they might get a cut or scratch on their foot and not realize it until it is seriously infected. Then because of their situation, they might not have the means to clean or treat it properly. The infection just continues to fester. Rising Star goes out to each colony twice a month--but a lot can happen in that amount of time between visits.

There was one man in particular that really touched our hearts. Derek, who is our fearless leader for the volunteers here, told us that a couple of years ago--this man needed cardiac surgery on his eyes. The doctors told him that he was too old and had leprosy, and they weren't interested in doing the surgery. He might not survive it anyway. I guess that Rising Star went to bat for him and told the doctors

that the surgery would be a win/win situation for this man. If he survived and it worked--win. If he didn't and died, he would be relieved from the leprosy and will have gone on--win. So, the doctors consented and he saw his daughter for the first time in 20 years and got to see his grandchildren for the first time.

Caring for this man was especially difficult for us. His wound was

so deep that it went to the bone. As we removed his shoe, infected liquid dripped onto the ground. Flies were coming out of the wound. It was pretty horrific. As I tried to scrub and clean the wound, he had tears just rolling down his cheeks. I would look up to him and just keep telling him I was sorry. Tears were rolling down my cheeks as well and it was very difficult to keep my composure. It was obvious that he was in excruciating pain. It was all I could do to keep going. It broke my heart. He continually would raise his hands to the heavens to plead for help and again at the end to praise God that he made it through it!

 

As he walked away, we all just stood and watched him go.