This past week we were blessed and reminded of the scarcity and sanctity of life.
As I previously mentioned our daughter was diagnosed with a Heart arrhythmia, but they had no idea how severe or mild it was. But knowing how worried we were Chris & Junior did an amazing job squeezing us into the Cardiologist before we flew out on Monday morning (despite the torrential downpours and the 2-3 feet of rivers blasting through the streets).
So, I can tell you that doctors in Haiti work much differently than in the U.S. The doctors there keep open hours, even with 3 million some odd people – you don’t make an appointment, you just show up.
We showed up, and waited about 5 minutes, the doctors brought us in, got a little bit of the background story, talked to Christella in French (I didn’t know she knew French too) – and then placed her up on the table.
He at first said “Oh, yes, I can hear it, it’s very distinguished”, then as tears welled up in my eyes he stated “There is nothing congenital, she has a slight murmur probably do to her severe malnutrition or anemia”. He video taped it, wrote a report and handed it to us all in 20 minutes, costing $75 U.S. The tears of joy that even now fall thinking how blessed we and she are that there was nothing seriously wrong.
And that very weekend, at home, my father had a stroke, which we didn’t find out until we returned home. He seems to be doing ok, a lot of weakness, some confusion, but otherwise, nothing to serious (we think). They’ve done MRIs, brain scans, chest xRays, echo Cardiograms, taking hours at a time, and days to get in, costing thousands and thousands of dollars… but we really haven’t heard the results of everything yet.
Apart from the reflection of the differences in the medicine (even though it is scarce) in Haiti, with the U.S. – it all just reminds me of how little holds us within the embrace of life from the clutches of death.
One thing that I LOVE about going to Haiti is through the vast array of business, the University, Leadership development, house chores, work; it really forces you to come back and realize that as short as life really is on this earth, everything should funnel to a point. Everything I do, everything, should be to support and love and care for mankind rising up to an ultimate love and responsibility to my family, and all I do for my family should be to God’s glory.
If at any time, I find that the all the support mechanisms I have for that triad (People, Family, God) are getting in the way, I need to step back and take a breather. In the end, it doesn’t matter how smart I become, how many degrees I have, how much money I can make, or how much respect in my field I can earn: People: that is where the true investment is.
Senyè a bay! Senyè a pran! Lwanj pou Senyè a!