SUBJECT: Emergencies, Superstition and Death

AUTHOR: Becky Gates, her husband David, and two of their five children - Carlos, and Kristopher, work together with other volunteers in a medical aviation program in the jungles of Guyana, South America.

Dear family and friends,

One afternoon near the last of April, David took off for Paruima. He had just told me by radio that he had Paruima in sight and would be clear for landing when I noticed a comotion down by the river. It was a boat from San Juan bringing a critically ill patient, a young lady in her early 20's. She was unconscious (had been for almost 24 hours), burning up with fever, her eyes rolled back and her arms and legs were stiff. I raced back to the radio, but David had already landed and turned off his set. I called the Pastor. Fortunately he still had his radio on. I told him to please tell David to fly back as soon as possible for this medical emergency. The mission compound is about 25 minutes from the airstrip so I figured it would be close to an hour before David got back. I grabbed my thermometer, blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, a bucket of cold water and some rags and ran up to the medical post where they had taken her so she would be close to the runway. The place was crowded with curious onlookers. Quickly I took her vital signs--everything was OK except her temp which was over 105. Her eyes were so dark I couldn't tell what her pupils looked like. She was responsive to pain. Immedicately I started sponging her off with cold water. After about 1/2 hour her temp had dropped to 103.

During that time I heard all sorts of stories about what had happened. First I heard she was suffering from malaria--that certainly would explain the high fever. But then the auntie claimed she had recovered from malaria about a month before and that she'd had no fever till they were on the boat coming up. It seems she was about 6 weeks pregnant. Someone said she'd been vomiting steady and had gotten too weak, and had fainted away after bathing in the river, knocking her head on the floor, and had been unconscious ever since. But someone else said she became unconscious after the medic in San Juan injected her with something. Another story was that the man she was living with was not her husband and that she had taken something to make her abort. Florencia, the health worker, and I examined her carefully. We couldn't find any bruises or lumps on her head. She was bleeding vaginally. Every 10 minutes or so she would stiffen up and arch her

Ardeen, unconscious, being placed in the plane for the emergency flight to the Kamarang hospital

back. We began to wonder if she was having contractions. Both of her arms had bruises that looked like someone had tried to start an IV or had given something in her vein. The villagers peeking over my shoulder shook their heads sadly. One whispered in my ear, "That's the work of Kanaima, you know!" Several others nodded in agreement. It's hard to describe Kanaima except to say it is an evil force. They tell me it is a man who can convert himself into an animal. It can go where ever it wants to by just wishing to go there. It can do terrible things to you, but you will not remember what it does to you. Shortly afterward, however, you will die a terrible death. The Amerindians, even our church members, strongly believe in it and fear it. I began to pray earnestly that God would overrule in this situation if it could bring honor and glory to His name.

About this time she aborted the fetus. I felt an incredible pang of sadness as I looked at that tiny baby and its beautiful unconscious young mother. Did she realize she had lost her baby? Would she make it? I wondered. I felt so helpless. Shortly after this Ardeen's sister, Donna, arrived carrying her one-year-old son in a sling the mothers typically use here. I saw the shock and fear in her eyes as she grabbed her sister's hand and desperately called her name, looking for some sign of recognition. Nearby I heard a flock of birds cawing noisily. A look of anguish crossed her face, and she clutched her baby closer to her.

"You hear those birds?" she demanded. "It means she won't make it."

"She's right," the school teacher added seriously. "Anytime we hear those birds, we know someone is going to die."

"Let's pray together," I sugggested. As many as could crowded into the small clinic and together we pleaded with God to save Ardeen's life it it was His will. Nervously I looked at my watch. Almost 2 hours had passed. If David didn't come soon it would be too late to take her to the small hospital in Kamarang before sunset. As it was he would have to spend the night there. What a relief it was to hear the drone of the airplane. A rainstorm had closed in shortly after he'd landed, preventing him from taking off after he had received our SOS message. To make matters worse, we could see another storm headed our way. Quickly Claude and Albert helped David refuel, lead the patiend and off they went. I'm so grateful for the wonderful support we have received from the people in this village. They are always ready to give us a helping hand. I'm also grateful for the radio. It was so nice to know that they landed safely in Kamarang. A friend there put David up for the night.

Early the next morning he called to see how the weather was. It was good, so he took off. He told me Ardeen was still alive, but they were planning to send her out on the 9:00 flight to GT because she was still unconscious and was having seizures. When he landed in Kaikan, Captain Peters met him with the news that she had died shortly after he took off. What a sad day. We did our best to reach out to her family and comfort them with Christian love.

A week later I saw Donna. She'd sent a message that her baby was not doing well, so I decided to stop by her house. The baby did look quite ill. She confided in me that she was afraid her baby was

Ardeen's last sunset: Can one sleep well at night knowing there are many who must be reached before their sun sets? How we respond to the needs of others will determine how our last sunset will be.

going to die because she had touched her dying sister while holding the baby. She also told me she had called the local medicine man. It seems he had done several things to the baby, but because of the language barrier I didn't quite understand what all had been done. Now the baby was having diarrhea and vomiting. I asked if he was still eating well. She then explained to me that when a close relative dies, Amerindian culture dictates that you must not prepare food for your family or eat with them for a certain period of time or else they will get sick and die. A family friend must do it. As a result, she had stopped nursing her baby, and he was not eating well. I told her that I wanted to respect her customs, but I felt that it was critical that she breast-feed her baby if she wanted to save his life. Two days later she came to my house just at sundown. Little Rexford looked very dehydrated--eyes sunk in and rolled back, so weak he seemed like a rag doll. I asked if he was still vomiting and having diarrhea. Yes. Was she nursing him? Yes, but now he was too weak to suck, and her neighbours were saying it was her fault for breast-feeding him after her sister died. At this she burst into tears and started crying hysterically. She told me she especially got frightened when she heard the Kanaima whistling outside her home.

"You hear it?" she asked me. "I hear it whistling right now."

I grabbed her hand. "Donna, let's pray. You are in the mission house right now and you don't have to be afraid because every day we ask God to surround this house with His holy angels, which are much stronger than any Kanaima." I began to pray, pleading with God to save this baby if it was His will, so that Donna and her family could experience the power of God in their lives. I couldn't stand the thought of Satan winning this round. Donna calmed down as I prayed. After prayer, I mixed up some oral rehydration liquid and started shooting it in his mouth with a syringe. I had someone go get the army medic to see if he could start an IV because I knew I surely couldn't start it.f How I wished David were here!

The medic came by, but after seeing the baby he said there was no way he could start one either. However, he told me the army helicopter was coming in the next day, and he promised to make arrangements to take the baby out. I told Donna to spend the night at our place and I kept forcing fluids and praying. After about 3 hours I noticed a marked improvement in the baby. I could tell he was getting stronger because he began fighting the ORS. I don't think he liked the taste. He opened his eyes and was much more responsive. We gave him some mango and cereal, which he ate well. He also took some breast milk. The next morning he was so much better that Donna decided not to go to GT, as she has 2 more small children, and she didn't know when she would be able to get back to Kaikan. How I praise the Lord for that victory! I don't know why God chose to answer one prayer and not the other, but I know that someday we will understand. Please help me pray for these dear people, that they may truly experience God's love, grace and power in their lives.

Love, Becky

You may write to Becky at: gates@andrews.edu