Calling all nurses!!

Stephanie blogged about the retreat and Juanita's accident. My experience has been slightly different than the rest of the team and I wanted to share that with y'all. When Juanita came tumbling off the horse, my heart paused for a split second and then ER nurse in me came to life. I have never been more thankful for having worked in trauma centers across US than in those precious moments. I had to recall so many skills to keep Juanita's spine intact and keep her from being moved around in a way that could compromise her spinal cord. At home, keeping a scene under control can be difficult, this scene was full of people who don't speak English...and as I was trying to hold her neck in a neutral position, I was having to shoo away these spider monkeys...yes...real monkeys from the zoo. I think they wanted to comfort Juanita. There isn't 911 in Samipata, they have a hospital, but it is more lilke a band-aid station than a hospital. Someone called the hospital and they sent a doctor in a truck to assess Juanita, then they went to get an ambulance. All this has taken almost an hour or more since Juanita fell. While we were waiting, we were holding up Juanita's feet and keeping her awake and from moving her head. The ambulance ride was unlike anything I have ever experienced. We made 3 stops before we got to Santa Cruz; at the local hospital for another doctor to look at Juanita, they started an IV and gave her some much needed pain meds for the ride, the second was for a snack for the driver to stay awake and then to get gas when we we closer to Santa Cruz. The ride from Samipata was 2-3 hours...down a mountain...going very fast...the road is mostly paved but every few hundred feet, it was dirt and a we had to slow down...and I was very happy about that. Winding roads are not my friend and I was almost sick in the ambulance myself. When we got to the ER they rushed her in and assessed her, they did x-rays and a CT scan. The hospital was small and no a/c. They call hospitals clinics here...I had to ask why we were taking Juanita to a clinic and not a hospital...Vanessa quickly explained that to me. Juanita had to stay overnight in the hospital with thebhopes of being discharged the next day. The next day Vanessa and I got to the hospital and we did a lot of waiting...just like at home...waiting for x-rays and doctors. At the end of the day we finally had a meeting with 3 doctors and they decided that Juanita should stay another night in the hospital. The rest of the team wanted to go visit Juanita but, they were unable because if the doctors and nurses saw more Americans than the bill would be more. That was such a shock to me, so I went to the hospital with Danny and Dorcas ( the director of the Transition home) to get Juanita to take her to Danny and Vanessa's to make her recovery easier. I have to say that I wasn't expecting to use my nursing skills at all on this trip except for educational questions, but I know now that God had me in Bolivia this week for Juanita and the team. Praise Him for his infinite wisdom and power.