Bryan´s Journal

Here are some of the journal entries from Bryan. He picked a few of the best of our time in Honduras.


7/16/08
Laura Eodyn Cooper died today after running a code for her for 2 hours. She had surgery to repair a large ventral hernia last week. After surgery she went into flash pulmonary edema and was coded, intubated and ventilated by hand overnight. She recovered and from that experience and the witness of the staff, she realized she almost went to hell so she called Penny to come quickly and pray with her to give her life to Christ. Today we think she had a pulmonary embolus (blood clot in her lungs). We used the ICU monitor, suction device and IV pumps that Raquel and I brought to run a code for about 2 hours. She kept losing her pulse and then with more fluids and medications she would regain her pulse temporarily. During the code I was not sure if we should be continuing when we could not fix the underlying problem of the pulmonary embolus. Then I realized why God is in control and I am not. After 30 minutes Penny walked in and told us Laura's husband Dimas had just become a Christian. It shows me that God is still chasing after his lost sheep and sometimes has to allow severe calamity and even death to bring us stubborn humans into a relationship with him. I wish the suffering in the U.S. hospitals could lead people to God! Maybe God can use me some day to help that happen more!
7/26/08
We went on a Honduran jungle adventure today. I checked on the hospital patients who are all doing well. Then Renae picked up our family around 9:30 AM and we drove about 15 minutes on the main road toward La Ceiba and then turned left before the big bridge to head up into the mountains. We drove for about 45 minutes in her Land Cruiser to a village named Las Flores. The road was steep in places but was actually graded and no problem for the Land Cruiser and 4 wheel drive. The views of the mountains, jungle and beach were breath taking. The road ended at a beautiful river where we met two Honduran kids catching crayfish mith a metal stick. We took some pictures and we asked the kids about the two paths on each side of the river which they said led to more villages but only on foot. The kids told us about a beautiful waterfall further down the river. So we stopped at a very nice house with beautiful tile floors that were just being placed and the boys played soccer with some Honduran kids. The family there told us the waterfall was up another road from their house so we decided to try to find it. We drove about 5 minutes and then walked another hour. We walked past a damn right away then after about 15 minutes came to a place in the river with huge 20 foot boulders and a small sand filled water hole that was just like a post card of the jungle. Then we walked another 30 minutes along the road but never saw a waterfall. You could tell where there was a large change in water elevation so I crawled down a rock slide to the river and found a small water fall flowing through beautiful white rock. There was water going on either side of a very large white boulder and falling about 5 feet into a deep pool. The water then goes out the side and down about a 30 foot white rock channel that looks like a water slide and goes into another deep pool. I took a lot of pictures and then caught the boys, Raquel and Renee at the beautiful sandy beach in the pristine river just after the dam. There were many little gold flecks in the sand but they would snap when bent so they probably weren't real gold. It was an awesome trip. At the end we stopped back at the house with the Honduran boys and would you believe they had a fridge full of soda. We bought a 3 liter of Coke for 36 limperas and a 20 ounce orange fanta for 13 limperas. The exchange rate is 18.5 limerpas to 1 dollar. Who would think they would have Coke way out here in the middle of the jungle? What an amazing adventure!

7/28/08
Honduras is hot! I am sweating just lying in bed. Today was a busy day at work. I saw 14 complicated patients at clinic, sewed 7 stitches into a kid´s arm after he hit it with a machette, called Jeff off his tractor to sew on the tip of a 19 month old boy's finger that was almost completely cut off, discharged the lady with acute angle glaucoma, and arranged for Mr. Ortiz to get daily INR's in La Ceiba for the next week to treat the blood clot in his leg while we try to find a way to fix his hip. I am still trying to figure out how to x-ray Mr. Ortiz's fracture hip now that it is in retraction. A man I saw last week with a whited out right lower lung came back with a chest CT today and has a 13 x 14 cm mass that is probably cancer. His pain got much worse after I told him what we thought it was and they he needed a biopsy. It is wonderul to be able to take him right to the pastor and to explain to the pastor and pray with them for his cancer right after having to tell him the bad news. He needs God right now more than he needs any of us and I pray that he would feel God's presence tonight and God would ease his pain. On a good note a mechanic fixed the microwave we brought and put in a new glass plate so the employees in the cafeteria can use it to heat up there food now. All the monitors and IV pumps are up and running too and the staff is very excited to be using the new equipment.
7/29/08
Today was busy and hot. Clinic was busy but went well. The kid with the hand infection is getting better in the hospital and will probably go home tomorrow. Mr. Ortiz is doing well but it is going to be difficult to repair his hip. I admitted a very sick kid that probably has typhoid fever. I met my first hypochondriac today that wanted medicine for diabetes and arthritis that he didn't have. After clinic the family and I got to see a whole family of black faced howler monkeys including 4 or 5 babies. Raquel continues to make us awesome meals! I love being here together as a family. We only have one week left here and the time is going fast. We are almost ready to give our talk about how to have a better marriage on Thursday for missionary fellowship and I think it should go well. God has really been helping our talk come together. A big prayer tonight is for Josua who is the son of a nurse living in staff housing named Nelsy. He is sick in La Ceiba and they may need to hospitalize him tomorrow. May God heal Josua and comfort Nelsy.