Caring for the sick, reloaded

You might have notice a total lack of activity here after Monday, and that’s for a reason.

I’ve been swamped with work on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Rev. S. was to go on a trip to La Plata (Argentina) despite his health, and I had to commute between office and his home to do some work, preparing a lot of documents, files, and related materials for his trip. Additionally, Rev. A. wanted me to write a piece on the philosophy of our Christian School. I don’t blame him, since I am both a trained philosopher and a member of the school Board of Trustees; but I was utterly unable to come up with something. I had to tell him that I couldn’t do anything. You can’t even begin to comprehend how humiliating this could be.

Because of all the hoopla, I was unable to prepare this week’s Prayer Bulletin and that’s why there’s no Devotional for this week.

Now, on Wednesday morning, sometime after my wife and I finished dinner (that’s Paraguayan dinner for you Americans; we dine late at night, 9pm being a good time for that) and we were preparing for crash the bed after a stressful day’s work, we got a phone call. It was my sister-in-law, and it was meant for my wife.

Oh dear. My father in law had apparently suffered a minor stroke. They called an ambulance which was due to arrive at the house anytime soon. Of course this caused my wife to go ballistic; she understandably wanted to be right there with her beloved dad. I had to instill some sense in her, telling her that she was in medical care with a particularly strong variety of flu, and her presence would do her dad more harm than good right now.

The ambulance took my dad to the Institute of Social Security hospital (IPS, after its Spanish name). He couldn’t afford a private hospital. He was admitted into Emergency Room at around 11pm that Wednesday, so you think that took care of it, right? Wrong!

My father in law was left in E.R. for hours. He was given oxygen and nothing else. Meanwhile, the whole family was frantically trying to get him inspected by a specialist who could determine his condition and to which sector of the hospital he should go. Meanwhile, his dossier was misplaced and almost lost; his diagnosis was lost; his tests were lost. An order to move him up to regular hospital care came two times, and two times the hospital beds were took by other folks. Another order was issued, to take him to Cardiology, but the E.R. droids were raising a stink because the doctor who signed the order was not a cardiologist. It was 6pm Thursday, and my father in law was still stranded in E.R., without receiving anything that remotely resembled proper care.

My wife was desperate. She went into the hospital to see what she could do, despite her health. She called me and asked me for help. After praying, I got an idea. I called Dr. MP, which is the new medical director of the Baptist Medical Center. He also happens to be member of our church and my student in Sunday School. Well, I called him and asked him if he please would call one of his colleagues working at the IPS Hospital, asking him or her to take some interest in my father in law’s ordeal?

It turned out that one of Dr. MP’s buddies back in medical school was the very Medical Director of the IPS Hospital. After some calls, Dr. MP called me telling me that the IPS Medical Director was looking into the matter, and he would see that my father in law receives proper care. Soon after that, my wife told me that he was being moved into the intensive care and coronary unit.

My wife came back home in dire need of some serious rest. I bought a junk-food dinner, we ate, and after hugging her, we crashed the bed. She really slept like a stone ;).

Please keep praying for my father in law’s health, and my wife’s too.