Mission to Grenada: Turning broken bones into blessings.
Editor’s Note: The following was written by Andy Lyons, director of corporate communications and content strategy for Roper St. Francis Healthcare. He and his wife traveled to Grenada in early September with Orthopedic Physician Assistant Ali Swanson and members of Partners 4 Global Health. This story explains why.
My wife’s ankle snapped in three places the second she slipped on gravel in front of our vacation rental in Grenada.
It was bad. Bone protruded through her skin. I ran into the street to flag down a local taxi driver who jumped out, looked down, whispered an expletive, scooped her up and sped through traffic-packed narrow streets to the hospital. When we screeched to a halt, a nurse looked at her ankle and winced. She asked when we planned to leave the country. I said in two days. “You’re going to be here longer than that.”
No Amputation
When an orthopedic doctor examined Renee the next day, she offered a sobering and measured verdict.
“The leg can be saved,” Dr. Kendra Blanchard said. “No amputation.”
Why are we talking about amputation? I would learn doctors remove limbs in Grenada, more often than in the U.S. A lack of medical supplies precludes them from complicated surgeries.
We wanted to return to the U.S. for surgery, but Renee was in no shape for travel. Renee was given very little to numb the pain, and she was suffering. And yet in the face of tragedy, something miraculous happened. The people of Grenada helped us. They showed compassion. They were kind.
St. George’s General Hospital doesn’t provide bed sheets, yet a patient technician found those. When I ran out of local currency to buy Renee water, a local women in the waiting area gave me cash. I tried to give her the change back and she said: “No, you need it.” When I needed to buy Renee food, a stranger drove me. When we administered the only dose of blood thinner prior to our flight home and then that flight was canceled, a resident gave me a bottle of aspirin out of his work truck to help thin Renee’s blood and prevent a clot. I tried paying, but he too waved that off. “You need it.”
That cab driver who rushed Renee to the hospital is named Flow Kembasha. He checked on Renee and me in the days and months after her fall. He’s our friend. More about Flow later.
For a couple of days, Renee and I thought we would never leave the country. Plus, how could I get her on an airplane when I couldn’t even locate a wheelchair?
The day I overpaid for one, nurses discharged Renee from the hospital, and that’s when Dr. Garvin Bowen approached me. Renee had only met him once, in the middle of the night, under the fog of pain. She told me: “the most gorgeous man visited, but I think I was dreaming.” Dr. Bowen said Renee had told him I work for a healthcare system in the United States and explained how the hospital’s orthopedic drill was not operating properly. Could I help get them one? His ask seemed so reasonable.
When I got back, I asked. And then Roper St. Francis Healthcare — and I know it was God as well — provided not only one cordless drill, but three, as well as a charging station. These are the same Stryker series drills Roper St. Francis Healthcare uses in operating rooms. And then something more amazing happened, Roper St. Francis Healthcare and another non-profit group would provide key donations of medical equipment for Grenada — enough to fill a giant room that right now you can’t even turn around in.
Grenada helped me and Renee. God was telling me to help Grenada.
The size of Grenada is 135 square miles with an estimated population of 124,523. In comparison, the city of Charleston is 128 square miles with a population of 150,000.
Just praying
Renee underwent ankle surgery by Dr. Joshua Lamb the day after she returned. The morning after surgery I exited her room on 7 Buxton at Roper Hospital and I ran into Ali Swanson, the 2017 winner of the President’s Humanitarian Award who has organized missions to Nicaragua and Honduras. I told
Ali how Grenada had touched me and I gave a quick rundown of the medical equipment I noticed they need. Then she said: “Andy, I was just praying THIS MORNING that God would open up a new country to help.”
Ali has organized multiple trips to the Bluefields Region of Nicaragua to assist a hospital but has determined not to travel there at this time. Earlier this Spring, Ali and a group helped Roatan in Honduras and the surrounding islands.
The next several months just fell into place with little effort. We collected medical supplies, including beds, pillows and patient room furniture from the former Roper Hospice Cottage, along with boots from Roper St. Francis Physician Partners Orthopedics. We traveled in May to Augusta, Ga. to the headquarters of Sons of Consolation Ministries, who donated a truckload of refurbished wheelchairs, walkers and crutches. When we asked, the Roper St. Francis Real Estate office also lent space in the old Verizon building at the site of future Roper Hospital so we could house donated medical equipment and Partners 4 Global Health would no longer need to pay monthly storage fees.
“God has blessed this work from the very beginning,” Ali says. I tell people I could stumble through a doorway, fall on my face, get back up, mangle my own words, and then someone would just reply: “I have medical equipment for you.” That’s God.
Newer fishing poles
This past week, Renee and I returned to Grenada with Ali and members of Partners 4 Global Health (P4GH) to present hospital leaders with the orthopedic drills and tour the healthcare system throughout the Grenadine islands. When it comes to “access,” Grenada has got that down. The government-run healthcare system provides a clinic within three miles of every resident.
The first time I met Dr. Blanchard, I’d walked onto the hospital floor and found her and a team of doctors and nurses crowded around Renee’s bed, discussing varying clinical perspectives to determine the best approach to her care. We call that a “multidisciplinary team.” Grenada does that too. On our tours crisscrossing the country, I thought about the analogy of teaching a man to fish so he feeds for a lifetime. That saying always seemed patronizing to me. When it comes to healthcare, Grenadians know how to fish. They’re really good at it. Grenadians are incredible fishermen. Here in the United States and at specifically at Roper St. Francis Healthcare, we just happen to have newer fishing polls.
The more we met and spoke with their expert caregivers we noticed they do not have an adequate number of wheelchairs, crutches and walkers. Birthing beds featured thin, distressed mattress pads and rusting stirrups. Office furniture is broken, filing cabinets rusty. X-Ray machines deliver fuzzy images. “The caregivers in Grenada know their patients and offer amazing care,” Ali says. “What’s so touching is that the items donated are exactly what these hospitals and clinics need.”
Extension of Christ
One night we hosted a dinner for senior government and hospital officials to discuss the state of healthcare and the new partnership. Both Renee’s doctors attended. Renee’s doctors’ bosses attended. A total of 12 Grenadians showed up, including Senator Gayton J. LaCrette, the country’s Minister of Health, Wellness and Religious Affairs. It was an amazing night.
At the end of the evening, we presented the orthopedic drills to Dr. Bowen, the handsome physician who Renee thought she dreamt.
The Honorable LaCrette said so many patients receive good treatment but never return to say thank you.
“You are being the hands and feet of Jesus,” he said to us. “Thank you much for the extension of Christ you have shown.”
Everyone in the room had tears.
In the coming weeks, we will work with Grenadian government and hospital leaders about which donated medical supplies to send. We hope to ship a container to Grenada by early 2024 and return to the country.
Ask for nothing in return
On our final night in Grenada, my birthday, Renee and I had dinner with Flow Kembasha and his fiancé. Flow was the first Grenadian to offer help in the face of our tragedy. He was the taxi driver. We had the most wonderful time talking about why Renee and I love Grenada, places in the U.S. they want to visit, as well as Netflix shows we all watch.
Renee took a photo of Flow and me and I posted it on Facebook. It’s been shared 25 times so far, almost all by Grenadians.
“It was my pleasure to be at you guys’ service,” Flow wrote in the comments on Facebook. “Ask for nothing in return because when something comes from your heart it really feels good.”
Flow helped us because we needed it.
We’re trying to do the same.
Life Saving Medicines
On a particularly difficult travel day with multiple flat tires and delays we arrived late and very tired to our destination. Unable to set up the intended clinic this late in the day we created a makeshift treatment area. As the evening darkness closed in and we had to pack up the treatment area one of our team members noticed a mother walking down the hill with a child in her arms. She had gotten word that a medical team had arrived and had walked several hours to reach us. Her young son had a stocking cap pulled down over half of his face and was hot with a fever. Upon examination the team discovered that he had severe cellulitis of the face from an infected tooth. In addition to this he also had a heart murmur. With the proper antibiotics and fever reducing medicines we had on hand we were able to treat this boy successfully, and we also made a referral to a local hospital for follow up care. We truly don't know if he would have survived without these interventions.
Engel's Story
In the last few hours of our 2011 medical mission clinic in the neighborhood of Las Torres, we met Engel. He was a very thin appearing 8 year old who appeared very weak. His mother accompanied him and began to tell his story. She explained that Engel was born with a heart defect that did not get diagnosed until he was 3 years old and not developing as other children. At that time the physicians told his parents that he would eventually develop pulmonary hypertension, start spitting up blood and would likely die by the age of 8. His health continued to decline and as they predicted he had begun to cough of blood. He could no longer attend school regularly due to his decline in health. His parents said that they had prayed that God would send help. The physicians in Nicaragua concluded that he would not survive surgical repair of his defect. They were treating him with medications to try and extend his life and make it more comfortable. Gema, Engel's mother brought him to our clinic to see if we could pray for him since they had tried everything else. The group rallied around him and offered prayers for a miracle.
The team returned to the USA with Engel heavy on their hearts. A google search lead Ali to a group of Americans at the International Children's Heart Foundation. His records were reviewed and a physician from that group contacted her to let her know that he was and his team specialized in children with Engel's heart defect. He and his team would be in Honduras the next month and willing to evaluate him for surgery if we could get him to their location. Ali and her step father, Lloyd went to Nicaragua to join a few of their friends including Engel and his mother. They drove to Tegucigalpa, Honduras where they met with the team of surgeons. They team determined they Engel was the perfect candidate for surgery. They invited Ali to assist in surgery. The surgeon placed her hands on Engel's heart and said, "now you can say that you have touched his heart from the inside out."
The surgery was a success and his condition continued to improve. Engel returned back to his house and began to learn how to live as a normal child. He no longer has a dysfunctional heart. He has learned to run and play as the other kids. He began attending school and church regularly. He continues to grow and is a healthy young man who has aspirations of taking care of others.
Creative Solutions
During one hot clinic day a mother brought her 4 year old daughter with cerebral palsy to be treated by our team. It immediately became clear that this loving mother spends all hours of her days caring for this child and carrying her wherever she goes, including the times she has to cook, clean and do laundry. The girl was unable to sit on her own and she cannot be placed on the floor or ground since she also can't crawl or control her head. Our team members put their heads together and created a “buggy” from a suitcase that had been donated by a church in the US. When it was presented to the family we were able to make many suggestions as to how they could utilize the buggy to improve their life going forward. Some thoughts were that the girl will now have a different view of the world and will hopefully have a chance to improve on her sitting ability, the mom will have her hands free to do her household chores more easily and this will also help save the mom's back for the future as the girl grows up. The following year we brought her a real
wheelchair that will be functional for many years to come.
