Another clinic

It's been a while since I've posted... I spent a week on a gorgeous beach, soaking up the rays and doing lots of relaxing: massages, dirt-biking, scuba diving, frisbee, good food, shopping, long walks, night swims... total bliss.
Today I went up by my alma mater to help out at a free medical clinic run by two missionary doctors. I spent most of the day taking vital signs and initial assessments, but have a couple of interesting stories.

I called in a lady who looked to be very full term...and too old to be pregnant: 49. She weighed quite a bit for her stature and physical appearance. All of her vital signs were normal except for her blood pressure which was about 190/150!!! VERY high. I followed her over to the doctor because I wanted to know what was the issue with this lady. She was so sweet and didn't act like she felt ill...but her stomach was very hard and she said she wasn't pregnant. Turns out she'd been to the clinic 6 months prior with minor hemorrhage. She appeared at that time to be 5 months pregnant. When she went to the restroom to give a urine sample, she started hemorrhaging all over the floor! She was rushed to the hospital and was given 6 units of blood with orders to get a ultrasound. Of course she is very poor and couldn't afford an ultrasound. Now she's back with what appears to be a huge tumor. So very sad. The doctor said we can treat the hypertension, but the tumor will probably kill her before the hypertension does. However, they are going to get her an ultrasound and see what exactly the mass is. It might not be malignant, but in all likelihood it is.

The second story is sad also. It was a 35 y/o mother who brought in two of her seven kids. One has rubella and the other has TB. Those can be treated. But the mother cannot. She doesn't appear to be sick...and physically may not be so, but her heart is very sick. She lives with a married man and keeps getting herself pregnant because her cramps are so bad. She prefers to be pregnant. I'm sure there's also the thought that as long as she's having this guy's babies, she has some sense of security. The clinic has given her free birth control pills, but she refuses because she wants to have more babies. The kids are then sent to beg in the streets because the married man spends all his money on alcohol. The abject poverty is so sad and yet there is only so much we can do. All the medical services and medications are free and paid for by the missionary doctors' US financial donors or actual donations of products (as in a centrifuge, ultrasound machine, meds, etc...).

Each patient is prayed for before they are sent home...the lives touched are countless. The people who go to the clinic have an obvious, genuine love and affection for the doctors. It's not just a matter of gratefulness for the freebies. God is faithful, God is good.