The Simplicity of an Everyday Miracle

There is no question that the under-resourced countries of the world have shortages and disadvantages about which we can only imagine. The recent and ongoing Ebola virus epidemic is being blamed, at least partially, on an inadequate health care infrastructure unable to control the disease and provide care for those sickened by the virus.   Those problems, and others involving health care, are daily ordeals for the people living in these countries. Obtaining basic health care can be a daunting task and, if found, affording the care may be impossible. During my travels and work in these under-resourced countries, I never cease to be amazed at the spirit of the people and their ability to accept the realities of these shortcomings. At one clinic, there was a sign that said, “Don’t give up. Your miracle is on the way.” The two parts to this saying tell us all we need to know about these people.

  First, they do not give up despite obstacles and hardships. I know patients who walked all day to get to the hospital for care. They had no other means of transportation. People have come carrying their belongings and, many times, the patient. Once they get to the hospital, they have no assured place to stay or eat. Many just sleep on the hospital grounds until they can be seen. Many of the hospitals have outdoor kitchens for the people to prepare their food during their stay. Would you go to those lengths to get medical care?

  I have seen patients sit all day at outpatient centers waiting to be seen only to be told at the end of the day that the clinic had closed. To be seen, they would have to come back tomorrow. I never heard anyone complain. They just left and returned before dawn the next day to get in line. How long do your patients wait before beginning to complain?

  Once seen by a nurse or doctor, the patients have to clear the hurdle of paying for the recommended care. There is no insurance in most under-resourced countries so the patients and families have to pay cash for their care, many times in advance. I personally know of a patient who needed radiation therapy and chemotherapy for a sarcoma of his leg, but because he was unable to pay for those treatments, he underwent an above-the-knee amputation. I also know of instances when patients who have come to the hospital for treatment have died, and the hospital would not release their bodies to the family for burial until the hospital bill was paid. Despite unimaginable hardships and obstacles, these people do not give up.

  Second, how courageous is the attitude that “Your miracle is on the way”? A miracle is an event that cannot be explained by ordinary means, yet these people have faith that something is going to happen to help them. Sometimes, something very small or insignificant in our thinking is a miracle to them. The kindness of a stranger providing food for just one meal may be a miracle to some. Providing care for a chronic wound may be a miracle for another. It could be that you are somebody’s miracle! Every time you donate clothes, money, leftover wound care products, or other things that go to these under-resourced countries, you are providing a miracle for whoever receives your donation. That puts quite a burden on each of our shoulders.

  In 2009, I and a group of wound care providers were honored to be invited to Ghana, Africa, to teach wound care courses at several hospitals around the country. On arrival, we were met with a sign proclaiming, “International Training on Wound Care and Lymphedema Management by Renowned Experts in Wound Care Management.” I began asking my colleagues who was coming to teach the courses; I thought we were! It dawned on me that by traveling to Africa and sharing our knowledge of how to care for wounds we were providing a miracle to a number of people! It was a miracle to those who wanted to know more about the management of wounds and lymphedema, and it was a greater miracle to the patients who would benefit from the knowledge those providers learned. I assure you I could not explain why I was miles from home sharing wound care information with total strangers! I only know that I accepted an invitation to do it and was willing to go.

  Many times we think of miracles as complicated, strange things that happen mysteriously. Actually, all it takes for a miracle to occur is for someone to accept the invitation to do something and then be willing to do it. As we think about the problems our fellow brothers and sisters are enduring in under-resourced countries around the world, will you be willing to be someone’s miracle?

Miracle: an event not explicable by natural or scientific laws