Stitches

The sun was sinking towards the horizon out the truck's window to my left as it bumped and jostled us down the road to the government hospital in Hili. Rebecca had been playing a game at the picnic when she ran into Hannah and their heads collided. Hannah's teeth had sunk into Rebecca's head just above her right eyebrow. She had a gash about 2 inches long. Bani grabbed the pastor and I and we climbed into the truck and headed to the emergency room. I was interested to see what a government hospital would look like in such a country as this. Rounding a corner and passing under an archway we arrived at the hospital. To be honest, this building looked more like the remains of a building bombed by WWII planes.

Walking into a dimly lit room just off the entrance that was about 9 by 15 feet in area where a large table sat in the center with three skinnier tables along the perimeter we waited for the doctor. Even though Rebecca hadn't said hardly a word since we left Bangla Hope I could tell she was scared by the way her hand sweated while holding mine tightly. An older lady lay sick on a table across the room while an elderly man sat with his arm resting on the large table. His arm looked like someone had melted ducktape to it. The older man explained to Bani that he had been burned by oil. Ouch! Apparently HIPPA doesn't exist in this country's medical system.

A man came out of the next room and told Rebecca to lay down on the table by the window. Outside men were peering in the window asking questions and staring at me. I always seem to forget that I am the only white person around for miles until I go to town and everyone stares. All I have to say is the doctor didn't really keep his medical tools out of eyesight from Rebecca. When he grabbed a razor to cut her eyebrow hair off, she started to squirm and move away, so I held onto both of her shoulders so she couldn't move and tried to explain to her what he was doing and that he was going to make her head feel better and I told her to try not to look at what he was doing, but to look at me instead. Poor girl, I would be pretty scared to be in her position as well in such circumstances. The doctor numbed the area then took the thickest piece of string I have ever seen used for sutchers and threaded it through the biggest sutcher needle I had ever seen and sewed her 2 inch gash with one big fat stitch. All of a sudden we heard a crash and about 4 feet away a man had collapsed face first on the floor from the sight of Rebecca's blood. Bani and I looked at each other and smirked.

After wrapping her head in a bandage she climbed off the table and we waited for the doctor to give Bani a prescription. Wrapping my arms around her 10 year-old shoulders, I could feel Rebecca's heart beating hard! We followed Bani to a pharmacy then left for home. Later, when I went to say goodnight to the older girls, I found the usually reserved Rebecca chattering away to Devin with a big smile on her face about the man who had collapsed in the hospital. I guess the painkillers are working!