Health Care in Honduras

Also on a tuesday as I was working in my municipality, someone came up to me asking me to donate money to a 16 year old boy who had just gotten home from the hospital. He had been goofing around with his friends, drinking and trying to jump from a moving car as i understand it when he fell and apparently was run over. His name is Augustine. He lost his right leg. He is 16 years old and had it amputated from the top of his hip, at his waist.

This is an account from a nurse from the USA who saw him right after he was brought home from the hospital "I was shocked to see how they sent him home. No supplies to change the dressing, no medicines for pain or infection, nothing. He had a soiled dressing on and i opened it to change it with things I had brought. it was stuck to the open wound that was closed with only 6 staples. The incision is about 16 inches long so with just a few staples there are many gaping holes in his incision. I went to get him antibiotics and pain medicines and a lot more dressing supplies. Hope he doesn't get an infection as he heals. I was back Monday and today. I asked when he was supposed to return to the Dr and they seemed surprised and said " he never told us to come back". His wound is really draining and his home is very dirty. it is a 2 room house with no furniture. His mattress is on the floor. I attached a photo of a "wheel chair" someone made for him with an old frame and a broken plastic chair. I gave him a Bible, but can't talk to him about Jesus yet until Miguel returns from working with a team in San Pedro Sula this week. I can only imagine the depression he is probably in, knowing he will be spending the rest of his life with only one leg. That means there is little hope for work for him without education and mental skills."

The bad thing is that this story is told over and over again here in Honduras.




The good news is that this nurse is building a hospital right near where this boy lives to serve any and all Hondurans with better medical care. Its amazing how one person can really make a difference, and be that light for someone, one person at a time.