Update on Junior - Have I done any good?

Update on Juniors treatment.  Yesterday morning he was to have surgery again to place another rod in his leg to stabilize it.  We went up to the hospital with the missionaries only to find Junior and his family waiting for the doctor to show up.

 I am so thankful for these young missionaries and the love they show towards everyone, it is such a wonderful blessing having them around to help with translation and as you can see they made Junior very happy.  

The Doctor has not come in to see Junior this morning or throughout the entire night - his leg is getting infected because the bandages have not been cleaned.  His aunt Merina said he was crying when she arrived earlier and he said it was because his leg wasn't getting better.  She told him not to cry and that everything will work out.  Merina speaks English well, she has lived off island for school and work for many years.  The rest of the family does not speak English so Elder Jones did the translation.

I was so upset that I went out to the nurses station to find 3 ladies sitting there doing nothing, absolutely NOTHING... I asked if anyone was going to clean Juniors leg?  It is looking infected, pause... yes they understand English. Blank stares. Then the one speaks up and said, "We can't do anything unless the doctor says we can. He will take care of it".  I then said, " when will he be in?  Wasn't he suppose to be here this morning"? They answered, "Oh, probably he will be here soon". "What time"? "Maybe 3 or 4.  I don't know".  I then called the Doctor and he said he would come to the hospital soon.  I asked if he would be coming right now. He just said he would come soon and put a cast on it.  I explained to him that it is getting infected and the nurses are doing nothing and it needs some attention.  He says okay and hangs up.  This is a clear case of what Universal health care is like and if you haven't lived it or dealt with it, I pray you never will.  

How could you not love this little smile.  He is one strong little 8 year old. Can you even imagine the pain this little guy is in and yet he is still smiling.  You to know he is not on any pain killers or medicine either.  They don't have what would help him here in Chuuk.  

I took my questions and frustrations to the adult class we teach on Tuesdays to find answers to what do the Chuukese people do? How do you live with medical care like this.  Their answer:  It is run by the GOVERNMENT.  You can't fire the nurses or the doctor even if they don't do their jobs. 

Neither Guam nor Hawaii accept the mandatory universal healthcare insurance that Chuuk state has, so he needs to go to the Philippines. We are working now to get him out of here with some generous providers.  Please continue to pray for Junior.   

A different story about our friend here, an American lady ended up going to the ER on Sunday night. She was having chest and arm pains.  In the two days she was in the Hospital she was seen 1 time by the doctor, NO nurses, NO medicine. We had to take some aspirin up to help her for some temporary relief.  She said that of all the many, many places she has traveled throughout the world - Chuuk was by far the worst place.  I am not going to give you the entire story here but if you want to know more you can email us.  

Better yet contact the First Presidency and ask them if they could send a Medical Doctor missionary to Chuuk State again to teach and help them on how they can become better.  

When we first came on our mission here there was a missionary medical doctor here with us, it was truly a gift.  He was able to practice medicine the way he always wanted without the abundant legal stuff you have to put up with in the states. He was able to give compassion to his patients. He wasn't able to get the medicines he needed here but he was clean, educated and loved doing his calling.  We all pray we will get another doctor here not only to serve our missionaries but to serve the Chuukese people.  

This is part of our calling that is difficult, we know the Lord watches over each and every missionary here and he only sends his strongest to Chuuk. We love all the Chuukese people and know that he is watching over them but they also need those of us that can help to help, in whatever capacity we can.

From the words to one of our favorite hymns  "Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad? If, not I have failed indeed.  

Thank you for your continued prayers, support and love. By the way, Juniors doctor never yet showed up to see him. We will keep you updated. . .