C’est la vie (au Chad)

They pulled her out of a rusty old pickup truck. She was clearly of the more well to do class given she didn’t come in on an ox cart or motorcycle like the majority of our patients unable to walk. The family carried her out of the vehicle using a blanket as a stretcher and deposited her on the gurney. Since she looked only half cognizant, we brought her straight to the OR. I started barraging the sister with questions and leafing through the carnet as the nurses started IV lines. She was supposedly 8 months pregnant and was transferred from a hospital at least 4 hours away. The reason for referral was, according to the sister, that they did not have a cesarean kit available for the patient.

As I looked through the carnet I saw she was admitted 17 days previous with a blood pressure of 210/120. And there she stayed for 17 days being treated with oral antihypertensives, some of which are known to be contraindicated in pregnancy. Then two days prior to her transfer, she was given Magnesium sulfate for the next two days because she started seizing repetitively. I nearly banged my head against the OR concrete wall. This is just one example of the care at several of our peer hospitals in the country. I’m sure there must be some good souls out there giving good care, but all that comes to us from other places is BAD. The oxytocin boluses prior to delivery resulting in uterine ruptures, the infections left to fester and become septic, the botched surgeries, etc.

As for our eclamptic lady semi-cognizant, her baby was dead at this point, her blood pressure was still 210/120 and her cervix was only one centimeter. So, we performed a c section and tubal ligation (since she already had 8 living children) and prayed for her unknown renal function and coagulation ability.

The other status that was unknown to me was of the pregnancy status of our sheep. I thought Sandwich and Butter looked a little full around the middle and joked about busting out an ultrasound to take a peek, but always laughed it off as them being well fed. Surprisingly, though, Sandwich the sheep, delivered a healthy gangly baby the other day, bringing our total of animals higher than I will count out for you all. Let’s just say that there’s a few more stray kittens in our lives as well as two stocky and sweet German Shepherd puppies we got from a missionary family leaving the country.  Between work/ministry and animals, we have little time to sit and lament the lack of reliable internet, tasty food or outdoors activities. Though to feed all these mouths everyday we either need to start a chicken and fish farm to produce eggs and fish, or start consistently sharing our vegan fare with everyone. By now most everyone knows we are vegetarian (a very uncommon thing here in Chad) and try to be accommodating. We never feel bad because it is always cheaper and healthier for them. 

Occasionally we eat meals with locals, usually a hearty boule (various grains cooked to a playdough-like consistency) and some kind of sauce with whatever vegetables, weeds or meats are available. We also would eat in front of the hospital at a “restaurant” beneath the mango trees. The “restaurant” has no menu as it cooks only the same white rice and sauce every single day. However, we, especially Gabriel, would eat out there to talk with and sometimes pay for locals to eat with us. This unfortunately went sour one weekend. 

That particular weekend was a few weeks ago when we went to a town that took us about 8 hours to get to. Our global church was holding a series of meetings in this town named Koumra. The hospital sent us and a few other hospital staff to support the meetings, especially the health expos that took place every night. The voyage to the town was uneventful and we arrived late at night to camp out with the group of teenagers supporting the meetings for the weekend. We are in the height of hot season now with triple digit temperatures every day and only a slight cool off at night. The beginning nights we used the rainfly of the tent for privacy, but soon threw modesty to the wind to be able to catch a few slight night breezes. 

Gabriel caught what we think was Giardia. I didn’t recognize it at first, but a few foul-smelling diarrhea’s and a vomit into the illness, I figured the putridity seemed most likely to be that particular parasite. Without running water, a fan, cool water or anti-emetics, Gabriel was very strong despite feeling so wretched. Illnesses are always waiting for us around every corner here, especially parasites and bacteria. 

Besides its host of infectious diseases, Chad is also subject to the numerous particularities of corrupt, developing nations. For example, our stove is powered by propane, which is a blessing when the generator is not functioning and we have no electricity, but now is biting us in the behind. The price of propane became regulated in country recently, and now the price is lower than most people care to supply for and sell. So we sent our two propane tanks several times to the town which normally has propane without getting them refilled. Thus, each time we opened the propane tank, we held our breaths to see if there were still a few fumes left.

But one day, there were not. And so, in typical resilient Gabriel fashion, he promptly went outside and lit a fire. In the triple digit temperatures, he goes outside to cook over the open fire. He put a few cement blocks together to form a sort of stove top and heats the food and himself in this manner. Albeit the food is tasty over the fire, but it sure is more work. 

Coming back from the evangelistic meetings in Koumra was also more work. Sunday morning we arrived at the bus station to find that the only morning bus had already left and the next wasn’t for around 4 hours. I was dismayed, but Gabriel started asking around for car taxis and started making a deal. Soon he had made a deal to get to the next town from us around an hour away and from there was promised another car to be waiting for us for pickup. I tried to get inside the rusty old Toyota Corolla, but there was no door handle. The driver finagled a way to get it open and slammed the rickety door closed. The odometer was not working and I didn’t even bother to pay attention to the other dashboard items. However, soon we were off. 

One hour later, we arrived at the next town, and were dropped off with the next driver in another equally rusty, rickety Toyota Corolla. And thus, in this manner, we hopped our way up the country, arriving in Bere with the help of 6 different Corolla taxis and 6 different drivers. No driver wanted to leave far from the vicinity near to where he inhabited, which made sense to me when regarding the dilapidated state of their vehicles. But somehow, praise God, each vehicle worked long enough to deposit us with the next driver.

And so, “C’est la vie au Chad,” but “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.