A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I might not be able to post this photo one day due to the graphic details, but I can explain for your prayers. Astrid, the visiting Belgian nursing student who is only here with us one more night, used my camera yesterday to take a picture of a man who had a severe burn injury on both of his hands. Basically, he burned them off. I was so sad to see the picture and my next question was how did it happen? Here's where I am so attuned....

Astrid said it happened when the man had a seizure while cooking at the fire stove. Wow. Back at home we actually do warn patients with seizures, or at new onset when the medicine is not completely adjusted, to be careful and not to drive, cook alone, swim alone, etc. At any one second if someone loses consciousness with a seizure, hot water or cooking could cause a serious burn or even a fire. This man's hands are in His hands. The patient is doing well, but imagine the excruciating pain he endured yesterday while trying to change his dressings on his hands to keep them clean from infection. That is a daily routine of pain that he has to endure. I keep thinking about Jesus being stricken on his back with those tails of stones and how beyond painful it was when they yanked off His own flesh as well as the torture of His crown of thorns. We will truly be able to reflect on that this Good Friday in Ghana. Today, every attempt will be made to restore some skin to what is left of the man's hands. We will assist with the surgery on his hands, which is scheduled this afternoon. I wanted to blog this for you and ask you to lift him up in prayer.

By the way, I understand the man was off his seizure medicines, because he ran out. Wow.