The Miracle We Were Waiting For

Friday
I was standing in the ER today wrapping things up, when I heard all of this singing going on outside among the tents. It was loud and I was curious about what was going on, so I stepped out from the ER for a bit. In the middle of the "courtyard" was a huge circle of people all dressed in white. They were singing up a storm, smiling, and had their arms all up waving in the air. In the middle of the circle was a group of guys dressed in these beige choir robe/ pocahontas looking outfits. They were running around shouting out words of praise, some of them were kind of shaking, and another guy was crowing like a rooster. I was a little bit confused. Then, they started inviting the patients to the center of the circle. A slow herd of wheelchairs and walkers made their way to the center, carried by the hymns of the people. Some of these patients are people who I've never even seen get out of bed, so it was profound that they were finding their way to the center. I looked up and saw that someone had placed our little boy Joshua in the center and he was sitting on the floor not able to see what was going on. I went to the center, picked him up, held him, and just rocked him to the music.

To see patients with their arms in the air, eyes closed, and so full of hope that maybe... just maybe... they would be touched by something greater than themselves was beautiful. I looked over the man with the amputated leg, singing to the music. The little girl in the red wheelchair was waving her arms hoping for a miracle too. Then, I looked over and saw one of our patients with a pelvic fracture encased in a steel fixator walking to the center. My jaw dropped. She was using a walker, but it was still the first time she had walked. Her mom was standing behind so excited and crying. I realized at that moment that I was experiencing the miracle I had been praying for. The best part of it all was that none of us had to pick who was going to get their miracle- everyone there was experiencing one. This was the big miracle that Mel and I had been praying for last night. Tears... tears from many started to flow. The man dressed in the choir robe came over to Joshua and I, grabbed my hand and Joshua's and started to pray in French. He pulled out this bottle of oil and rubbed it into our little boy's crippled legs. Joshua threw back his head in joy. Oil was placed on his forhead and mine. By the end of the music, all the sick and injured in the center had received a moment with God. It was a very emotional for everyone and full of beauty. Then, just as gracefully as the group came into the courtyard, their circle peacefully slinked back out the courtyard gates. The girl with the pelvic fracture had her mom bring her a cake that night to celebrate.

Two other things I wanted to mention today was that we started using honey in the ER today to pack wounds. Apparently, honey has some incredible healing properties that have been shown to increase healing time and reduce the occurance of infection. It's pretty interesting how something so simple can help save lives and limbs. The second thing that was big news today was the news that came in over dinner. Just after finishing up we found out that 2 of the security guards at the Port had been shot and brought into the hospital. There was only 1 night nurse on duty. We were 20 minutes away, so we paid the bill quickly and scooted out the door for what was expected to be a long night. On the way, we found out the guys had been transported to General Hospital downtown. The adrenaline could drop a notch.