*name changed
One of the delights of working at Hopitaly Vaovao Mahafaly is seeing God answer prayers. It is a privilege to pray at the start of each day as a team of doctors, to pray with our nursing colleagues before the ward round, to pray with a patient before an operation or to lie in bed at night lifting up those patients who weigh most heavily on our hearts. And it is a special joy to be able to come to a patient’s bedside and testify to our Father’s goodness in answering those prayers. That is something we were able to do this morning – to tell Bernadette’s mother of God’s great mercy in saving her life.
Bernadette* was born here at the hospital just under two weeks ago. We saw God’s grace even in the timely referral by a village midwife who recognised that something was not right – there was too much fluid surrounding the baby. Bernadette was born safely in our maternity unit weighing just under 2 kilograms, and as she was carefully observed it became clear that all was not well. She had persistent vomiting and an x-ray showed a complete blockage of the duodenum, the part of the intestine that leaves the stomach. Without an operation, she would not survive. But being so small, the risks were high. It is difficult to imagine what her mother must have felt as we explained this to her.
However, God continued to show his mercy to Bernadette and her family. Despite the challenges of her size, the team were able to safely anaesthetise her. The surgeons were able to identify the problem inside her tiny tummy – her pancreas had malformed in a ring shape around the duodenum – and perform the operation to correct it. They were also able to place a feeding tube that went beyond the join in the bowel, meaning that Bernadette was able to receive her mum’s milk from just 24 hours after the operation. This proved crucial to her recovery – in many hospitals in the west, babies would receive nutrition into a vein prepared by specialist pharmacists and delivered via a special drip until able to tolerate milk into the stomach. This was not a possibility here in Mandritsara.
Thankfully though, we did now have the option of caring for her on our surgical high dependency unit. Here she was able to receive the close observation and meticulous nursing care she needed. Two electric syringe pumps delivered fluids into her vein and then her mother’s milk into the feeding tube at just the right volume. Accurate electronic scales enabled the team to monitor her weight carefully and adjust her fluids. A monitor allowed us to continuously see her vital signs and react if, for example, she needed oxygen, which we could provide using an oxygen concentrator. Equipment like this is standard in western hospitals but less commonly available in hospitals here – but it made all the difference. Bernadette grew gradually stronger and tolerated her milk feeds, meaning the operation had been a success.
Bernadette has now been transferred back to our maternity ward to monitor her breastfeeding and weigh gain before she is discharged. It was such a joy to see God’s mercy upon her and be able to share that with her mother, who is a believer but without a church in her village. It was wonderful to see the difference made by simple but high-quality equipment and careful nursing care. This is something we really hope to replicate in our new mother and baby high dependency area which will form part of the new maternity building – this kind of care can make such a big difference to small and sick babies. And it was so encouraging to reflect on all the different people who God used to answer our prayers for Bernadette. Nurses, midwives, anaesthetists, surgeons – even our cleaners who keep the wards safe for patients vulnerable to infection – all played a key role in helping Bernadette survive, under the sovereign mercy of our Father, the “Mpamaly vavaka” (in Malagasy, the Answerer of prayers).
Thank God for his mercy towards Bernadette and her family, and for the way he is with us each day as we work at the hospital.
Pray for Bernadette to continue to thrive and to grow into a young woman who knows and trusts in the Lord Jesus.
Pray for Bernadette’s family, that they might grow in faith as they reflect on God’s goodness to them and the teaching they have heard here at the hospital.
Pray for Bernadette’s village, that a Bible-teaching church may be established there.
Pray for the maternity project – that the new unit would be a place where small and sick babies can thrive.