Snapshot of Jay's Work

  

ER

Hospital Vozandes del Oriente (HVO) has 28 beds, 3 surgeons, 3 family practice docs, a midwife, a physical therapist and a pastor. The waiting room handles 80-120 clinic patients a day which are seen by the FP docs and the six resident doctors who are doing their rotations here.

Clinic

HVO is a regional hospital like Avera St. Anthony’s in O’Neill but many of the more complex cases here are not sent on to a bigger hospital like the Ne Med Center in Omaha or McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. They stay at HVO and are managed by the doctors. 

Burn victim

Here’s a sample of cases Jay has seen or managed:  snake bites, 8-yr-old with severe burns, 2-yr-old with meningitis, c-sections, 2-month-old with pneumonia on the ventilator (using the ventilator is a regular occurrence here), extremely advanced case of lymphoma (a hospice situation), a man who cut through half his fore-arm with a circular saw (it severed all the muscles, nerves and arteries subsequently disabling that hand), and two cases of patients getting hands caught in sugarcane grinders (one partial amputation, one full amputation). 

Yikes. Acutely ill people, often with very severe injuries. These patients are a level above what Jay managed in O’Neill.

Why do the very sick come here and stay here? Several reasons. HVO has a very good reputation and often patients seek care here first although they also come here after being at other hospitals. Also, area hospitals staff their emergency rooms with resident interns on weekends and after 5 pm on weeknights. Subsequently, most trauma, OB and surgical cases are transferred here during those times. That can make ER call pretty intense.  Here’s what came through the ER one night last week: 8-10 minor cases, two c-sections and a trauma needing to be stabilized with a chest tube and intubation.

Nurses' Station

As far as sending patients on to larger facilities: The oil companies have medical helicopters available to bring patients from the jungle but the hospitals do not own helicopters. Patients are only sent on to larger hospitals by ambulance if they can’t be managed here and if they will survive the long mountain drives.

Jay continues to adjust to the intensity of his practice here. He spends a lot more time on call and in scrubs.

We appreciate your prayers for

-wisdom in learning the different medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and processes here

-wisdom in caring for the patients and opportunities to pray with them

- the patients’ health and faith.

It rained and rained yesterday. Wish we could send you a few inches. I’ve heard that harvest is pretty good on the irrigated quarters. Hope it is going well for everyone.

Thank you for your prayers.

Sincerely,

Lynnelle for the Allisons

International Huskers

         You know you’re a Nebraska Husker when… you listen to the game on the Internet. And, to share the experience with a fellow long-distance Husker, you Skype your buddy in China who is actually watching the game live which is two plays ahead of the audio feed you get. Therefore, he can type you play by play and add some color commentary:

Brad G. in China       6:26 left in game

Run to about 20

Pass to 45 of NU

5 yd run

Pass to 25

Allisons in Shell        Ughhh!

Brad                             Not good… sack at 29

Allisons                       : (   :(

Jay and Dane tuned in.

Later…

Brad                             So NU on 19

Incomplete

Blocked by def lineman

Intercepted

Allisons                       rats!

Brad                             UCLA ball on the 17

Stopped no gain

Allisons                       oh no

Brad                             Yep, doesn't look good

2:26 left

And on it went, not a good night. Glad the Huskers won on Saturday, however.

We’ll be cheering from the southern hemisphere:
Go Big Red!

Dead Boy Walking

I love to hear God stories… little and big examples of God moving here, now, in my family, at your job, in their marriage, in your-town USA, or in Shell, Ecuador.

This is a God story.

More than a week ago a helicopter brought a small boy to the Emergency Room door. He had a quiet face and was thin but healthy, dark hair, dark eyes, maybe three and a half feet tall. A bloody stick as thick as my index finger was embedded his head. Was he at death’s door? His father thought so.

A CAT SCAN showed the full, hard-to-absorb truth. The stick penetrated at least three+ inches into the brain. The doctors and residents shook their heads in shocked amazement. The OR staff hurriedly prepared.  Prayers were said. The surgeons removed the stick. All the staff marveled at it sitting in a jar full of crystal clear saline solution. It was hard NOT to look at. Everyone marveled. End day one.

Bruce, his father, and the stick floating in the jar at the foot of the bed.

Day 2 – ICU. Induced coma. All quiet. Wait.

Day 3 – Coma continues. Wait.

Day 4 – Awake. Arms and legs move.

Day 5 – Eating very small amounts. Trouble swallowing.

Day 6 – Walking. Speaking. Trouble with some words.

Day 8 – Bruce’s father speaks at the chapel service.

Day 12 – Bruce and his family leave the hospital but stay nearby for physical therapy.

This past Sunday at the hospital chapel service the young father of this boy shared his faith story and the impact of this unexpected turn of events.  Bruce stood quietly in his hospital gown and listened -- half of his head shaved; his stapled scar showing. 

When Bruce's father was a young boy, he had given his life to the Lord, but as an adult he fell away from his faith when he became involved in local jungle politics which involved drinking at the meetings and soon he found himself on a downward spiral. As his faith diminished, his wife’s grew stronger. He knew God longed for him to change, but he continued to turn away.

Then last week, minutes after he arrived at work, a runner informed him that his son had fallen 6-7 meters (18-20 feet) while gathering fruit from a tree and had landed on a stick. Upon seeing the boy, he thought he was as good as dead.

Aeromed was called and it flew Bruce to our hospital for surgery, then an induced coma in the ICU and many days of waiting, praying, and waiting.

During this process the father realized that the Lord had been trying to get his attention for a long time and he had ignored it. In his translated words, “I have heard the Lord very clearly twice in my life. This was the second time. I repented and gave my heart back to Him.” 

A lost sheep rescued by the Good Shepherd -- that's one happy chapter in this story. Another is the odds Bruce has overcome. Surviving the fall. Surviving the block of time involved from the jungle to the OR. Then the successful surgery. And how about the many days Bruce has had with his family since he awoke from his coma -- what a gift. So many similar situations have ended in the ambulance on the way to the hospital or in the ER with tears and final goodbyes.

Bruce isn't out of the woods yet. Two days after he left the hospital, he started having seizures. He has been transferred to the Quito hospital and your prayers will follow him there.

Bruce with his parents, Jay and I, and a fellow patient
 who joined us for the picture. Her son was recovering form pneumonia.

A dad's heart turned back to his family and his Heavenly Father. A boy given two more precious weeks with his family and, hopefully, more.

That’s a God story.

Witnessing HIStory in Ecuador,

~ The Allisons

This Week: baby in box, no payroll

Wow.  What a week. Lots of life packed in.

Last week I told you about the boy who fell from the tree and impaled a stick into his brain. He leaves the hospital today walking and talking slowly. Amazing. His father spoke in church on Sunday and I will share that in a separate post.

Our week was tipico (typical)…busy with school, the first week of soccer practice (M,W,F – games Sat) through a community program, two call days and the endless but often enjoyable walks to the panadaria (bakery), supermercado (grocery – although it’s about as big as Casey’s),  and other tiendas (shops) for meat, veggies and fruit. Life is simpler here in some ways but in a unique way fuller and often almost as busy in the States.

Yesterday, prayer requests seemed to explode from ministries here. 

Casa de Fe (House of Faith) – Pattie Sue, the orphanage director, was preparing to leave for a three-week fundraising trip to the States. She had planned to do payroll for the orphanage employees before she left but the monthly money transfer from the States did not come through the local banking system as scheduled. God knows but your prayers are appreciated. Please pray for her trip home as she visits churches that help the orphanage. Also, the orphanage has received several new children all at once…can’t quite remember the number, perhaps five… including an infant left in a box in the park with the umbilical cord still attached. The facility and staff are being stretched as they adjust.

Hospital Vozandes del Oriente –

Pray for…

----a 2 month old baby with pneumonia on the ventilator. The baby has coded two times… both on Jay during the night last night. 

----a woman with 2 masses in her abdomen. She came in very ill last night and Jay will be doing further tests today.

-----a pregnant mother who was in a car accident.

-----the jungle boy to continue to recover well without getting an infection from any minute stick fragments remaining in his brain. It’s quite a sight to see the 6” wound with shiny silver staples like a crude zipper on his shaved head. He is out of the hospital but will stay nearby for a month for speech therapy.

Thanks for praying,

Lynnelle for the Allisons

Angelyn's Artwork for You

Team Work

Nice weather on Sunday afternoons in Shell means Ultimate Frisbee. A large portion of the missionary community turns out for two hours of pounding down the local soccer field, laughter, sweat, good-natured competition and, hopefully, only a pulled muscle or two when it’s all over.

After last week’s battle, Jay was moving a bit slower Monday morning but he and Dane were back in the mix again this Sunday.

Meet the a few members of the team…

Taylor, formerly of Texas, is a computer programmer able to work from anywhere there's an Internet connection. So his family chose Ecuador where they play Frisbee and shine His light in their neighborhood. 

Jenny J., pictured here with her daughter and teammates from the orphanage, moved from California to become the principal at the school our children attend

             Dwight, former military man, came to help at the orphanage for a year. Now he and his wife are in year four. They helped design and build the new orphanage building and adjoining school which work teams are now completing.

 

Gabriella, from Sweden, uses her midwife skills to teach residents

at the Hospital Vozandes del Oriente,

Jeff, formerly a plumber from Mississippi,

brought his family to work

at the orphanage.

            Jayson J., construction contractor from California, now doing construction at the orphanage.

Plumber, doctor, teacher or mom.

American, Swedish or Ecuadorian.

We are all on God’s Team Ecuador.

Walking among His people.

Sharing His story.

Shining His love.

Giving His gift.

Glad to be on His team.

Hope you are on it, too.

Lynnelle Allison

Rear Guard, Team Ecuador 

A Week in Shell                                                                            

At the end of week two, we are thankful for a day of rest. A day to pause and sit and process all the new, all the slightly different, seemingly upside down ways things are done in a different hemisphere. I’ll let the pictures tell you a 1000 words.

Church in Spanish



Main Street - the fruit vendor on the right is where we
get fruit and vegetables. All produce must be soaked in a light
bleach or other wash solution to kill the germs.



Jayson and a whole pork waiting to become lunch at a
local restaurant. No McDonalds here. (Sorry I haven't figured out how to
rotate pictures on the blog yet.)

 

Luke reloads the water dispenser in the pantry.
We carry our water from the hospital which has a
water filter.

A visitor in the shower... Luke had a great time
catching this little guy.

But so many things are the same. We are thankful for the familiar. Like...



Baking dessert for a staff potluck…

 mora (raspberry) cobbler with fresh raspberries

 from the fruit and veggy “store”.



Potluck! A truly American meal. The word potluck doesn't have
an Ecuadorian translation. They do not have an equivalent
shared meal in their culture.
 Sloppy joes - yum! - and lots of side dishes.
- 30+ adults, 30+ kids

So many chocolate desserts... the veteran missionaries
commented that they could tell people had been back
to the states and had stocked up on these goodies.

 

Jayson swinging with a new buddy, Isaac.
Our home is in the background.

A birthday party for Lilly, next door.

NSM School open house on Friday night.
This is Luke's teacher, Sherry, sharing with the parents.
Jayson and I are sitting in Luke's desk with
Jay standing next to us.

It's been a big week, but a blessed week. We all stayed healthy. Jay feels the progress he's making in Spanish. He says the hardest word he's run into thus far is syringe ( jyrenguilla ). Shopping for groceries by foot and from several different store-fronts is becoming more routine for me. The milk still tastes different... probably always will... but we are adjusting a little each day.

Taking it one step at a time.

Thank you for walking with us.

Lynnelle for the Allisons