This aint the Oregon Trail

*full disclosure, it's nasty.

I am going to attempt to paint a picture for you. First, remember the sickest you have ever felt in your entire life. For most of us, that memory is from the middle of the night, hugging a toilet after eating suspicious Chinese food. Now rewind, and instead of crawling to the bathroom, walk 5 miles down a mountain in the dark. With your sick child in your arm. Picture yourself in a large house laying on a military cot. Take away the toilet and replace it with a 5 gallon bucket that you spend lots of time sitting on. Then add 50 more people to the room. Add the sounds of the other 40 people getting sick (something like a faucet of water being turned on). Add very intense muscle cramps from the depletion of all your electrolytes. And in the worst cases, a ringing in your ears. Imagine having to wear a diaper and have people constantly cleaning up after you.

There is no pride and no dignity in having Cholera here in Haiti. I am so thankful we have the resources to care for these people, and honestly it is probably some of the better care they have ever received. But it's still awful.

Moseline is one of the many patients being treated now. She is a young girl who was admitted 3 nights ago. She and her mother were coming down from the mountain and her mom died on the way. She was in very bad shape, physically and emotionally. She initially did okay but when I checked on her in the middle of the night last night she didn't look great. I bumped up her fluids but by the time the sun came up I could hardly arouse her. Sure enough, her sugar was 29. I fed her jelly and peanut butter and we started some IV dextrose. Her sugar came up pretty quickly but she has been pretty puny all day. She has a low body temperature as seems to be common with the other patients and I just heard that her sugar bottomed out again so I am asking that you please pray for little Moseline tonight. She is not only extremely ill but has just witnessed her own mother's death. God, I trust your Sovereignty and pray that you comfort sweet Moseline tonight and heal her little body.

Please pray for all these patients. Pray for the staff who is caring for them around the clock. Thank you God for providing supplies and medication and clean water!