"La Cucaracha"--More Than Just a Song

Have you ever been riding a bike or walking outside and a bug flies into your mouth, nose, or even worse, your ear?  Many of you have had this happen before.  I'll bet a few of you have had the misfortune of having the bug decide that it doesn't want to fly out of your ear, at which point you had to turn to your doc.  But I'll bet that none of you have had the misfortune that this young guy had: A cockroach in the right ear and in the left, a seed and another cockroach.  The roaches were both dead, because the patient's brother had tried to get the bugs out and had split the bodies in half.

After the Extraction

A Bug, a Bug, a Seed, and the Tools Used to Extract Them

You all know what a UFO is.  How about a FUO?  It means "Fever of Unknown Origin".  When a patient presents himself to a doctor practicing in the US, there is a nice specific protocol to follow to find out what is causing the FUO.  However, out here in the jungle we have a few more illnesses to worry about, and, even though our lab is pretty well-equipped, less ways of trying to diagnose them.  This sweet girl from the deep jungle presented with two weeks of fevers and headaches. 

We ruled out all the major sources of infection: meningitis, urinary tract infection, neumonia, osteomyelitis, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria.  She still had a fever.  A few years ago a study was done in our part of the jungle, trying to find the cause of the FUOs here.  The results: many illnesses that I've never seen.  They include leptospirosis, brucellosis, Q fever, and various viral encephalitis.  The authors of the study recommended that, for patients with FUOs, we give a course of antibiotics that would cover the majority of these illnesses.  We did give her a course of antibiotics and she perked right up!

The schedule's been a little more relaxed here lately, as we've had some visitors coming to help out at the hospital.  Thank you!  We've enjoyed great time with the family and some great times in worship and personal Bible study.  I've even played some basketball games with some guys from the church.  They've never really been taught how to play defense, so I guess it doesn't really matter that my shot is extremely rusty and I still can't jump.  Last week we had a Bible study with the Ecuadorian residents.  We've been using a great DVD series put out by Rob Bell.  He was talking about how God commanded the Israelites to leave a corner of their crops unharvested during harvest time.  This was to provide for the needy people of the land (the widows, orphans, and foreigners).  The Israelites were to do this in remembrance of how God had provided for them by rescuing them from slavery in Egypt.  Do you have a "corner" of your life that could be used to provide for someone else, or to aleviate their suffering?  As representatives of Jesus, it is our job to use what He's given to us to share His love with others.  When we do this with a thankful heart, we'll find ourselves truly fulfilled.