During our week-long mission with medical teams from the hospital in Mandritsara, we flew to several villages. The plan was to drop off one of the teams further north after a 25-minute flight. They would be staying for three days.
The team asked me if it would be possible to take a man with us to the hospital on our return flight; he had had an accident while cutting timber and one foot had been severed. I said “yes” without hesitation. When we reached the village, we quickly saw how serious the situation was. There were people everywhere and it was quite chaotic. The injured man had been carried over a distance of 20km (over 12 miles) from the site of the accident to this village with the help of two chairs and poles, because the people knew that we would be coming here with a medical team. They told us that the accident had taken place six days ago. The wound on the man’s lower leg was already full of maggots. We decided to load the man onto the helicopter and fly back right away. I cannot describe the horrible stench we had to endure during the return flight. It smelled like the rotten flesh of a dead animal and we struggled to keep from vomiting. We really looked forward to landing at the hospital in Mandritsara where we were able to hand the man over to the hospital team. Part of his lower leg had to be amputated. The doctor who treated him told me later that the man would almost certainly have died very soon without the helicopter transport. In the meantime, the patient is doing well and walking with crutches.
The following evening, the team from the hospital called me once again. They informed me in French that a woman had been "working" for three days already. … At first, I didn’t quite understand what they meant and asked for further explanation. They then went on to say that a pregnant woman had been “in labor” for three days already and had not yet been able to give birth. Because it was already close to dusk, we could no longer make the flight that day. I decided to fly on my own the next day without my new pilot colleague, Ernst, so that I had an extra seat available in the helicopter. We had planned to pick up a medical team of four people in the bush and then fly a detour to pick up the pregnant woman in her village on the way back. Fortunately, the pregnant woman’s condition was stable early the next morning and everything worked out as planned. A Cesarean section was performed as soon as we arrived at the hospital. The baby girl was in a critical condition for a few days, but fortunately survived. The doctor told me that here, too, we had saved both of their lives with the helicopter transport.
It is rewarding to work together with the team in Mandritsara, making it possible for people’s lives to be saved. The team always makes a great effort to try to reach the patients at the hospital with the Gospel, and so we hope that the Gospel will fall on fruitful ground.
Nick, Pilot
Comments