Hospital Escuela

You have all heard me speak of Hospital Escuela. It is the free government hospital in Tegucigalpa. It is lacking at best and yet is overflowing with need. Too often you see patients with an IV secured to their arm by a simply piece of string instead of the typical tape you would find elsewhere. More often than that they don't have proper medicine or equipment necessary to take care of the most simple needs. They use supplies that are out of date or out of style and they reuse equipment that should NEVER be reused. Being a free hospital there is no money for things like blankets, food, and basic luxuries that we take for granted when we enter a hospital in the states. My handful of experiences in Hospital Escuela have all left me aching for the patients and families that find themselves entering the Hospital's doors .... no matter what reason brought them there. 

However, today as I stood in the hospital's rooms I could barely contain the emotion that swirled within me. Maybe it is the fact that my past experiences have soured me to the mere building that holds the name "Hospital Escuela." Maybe it is the fact that walking through its doors evokes more heart wrenching memories than any other doorway in this country. or... maybe it is because I stood at the bedsides of babies who would likely not see their first birthday. I hugged Mothers who have spent countless days praying that the little ones they just gave life to wouldn't have life taken from them so quickly. 

Whatever the cause this heart found the hospital more than I could handle this day. I wanted to shield those poor mommas from the pain that had taken up residence in their lives. I wanted to pour my strength into those little babies that had so little strength of their own. I wanted to hold up nurses who were working around the clock to care for each and every patient in that hospital. 

I ask that you pray for that hospital. Pray for the people that seek its care more because it is the only hope they have... not because it is really something to be trusted in or hoped for. Be grateful for the securities, blessings, luxuries, and peace of mind that come with simply having good health care. 

Gabriela 14 years old.... has had cancer all her life. Yet she smiles brighter than most healthy people I know! 

Jose Miguel 3 months old.... has been in the hospital since birth with problems with his respiratory system. 

Gracie 1 month old... bad case of pneumonia. 

No Name... 19 days old. The momma hadn't named the baby yet but she was a little girl. She was fighting for life harder than I would ever have expected her little body was capable of. 

I can't remember the name of this little one. She was born with a form of cancer in her stomach. She has a twin sister who also has cancer and is being treated at that same hospital. Her momma worked hard to be there for them both.