Vital Signs
A Labor Intensive Trip
Undoubtedly, some of you reading this article have had to summon an ambulance to transfer yourself or a loved one to a nearby medical facility. Perhaps you have even had the unnerving experience of waiting for what seemed to be an inappropriate amount of time for the ambulance to arrive after being called. After all, we have come to expect a prompt response when dialing 911. But now try to imagine living in a part of the world where ambulance services are not available.
Imagine, if you will, being in Guinguiré’s sandals. Guinguiré is nine months pregnant and lives in the rural village of Gnakparé, Benin. She has now been experiencing contractions for five days, and decides it is time to seek medical care. Although she has not sought prenatal care, she knows of Dr. Martin Luther Osse, a Luke Society doctor in N’Dali, 22 km away. He has a reputation for providing compassionate medical service. Guinguiré and her husband begin asking friends with motorcycles for a ride to Dr. Osse’s clinic, but they all refuse. It is the rainy season, and they each point out that the river will need to be crossed. The river is at flood stage, and unfortunately, the bridge they will have to cross is under water. All are afraid that in the process they will lose their motorcycle, which is a possession that requires nearly a lifetime of savings to obtain in this impoverished area. Finally, they find someone who has compassion on them.
Guinguiré straddles the motorcycle and sandwiches herself between the driver and her husband, no easy matter with her expanded abdomen, which seems larger than normal – even for this stage of pregnancy. They gradually make their way over a rough muddy path toward Dr. Osse’s clinic. After travelling only a few kilometers, they are faced with the first of many challenges. The cable for the clutch breaks, and for the next five miles the driver and her husband push the motorcycle while Guinguiré rides. Arriving at a small village along the way, they are able to make repairs on the cable and 45 minutes later their journey continues. But now darkness has fallen, making travel even more difficult.
By the time they reach the river it is almost midnight. The rushing water of the river is nearly three feet above the primitive bridge, which is made of tree limbs crudely tied together. Since there are no side rails and the bridge is under water, it is impossible to know if the central portion of the bridge has been washed away. In the darkness, they will not be able to see whether the next step they take is safe. Each of them will have to maintain their balance without anything to hang on to – a difficult task in a strong river current that is almost waist deep. With bare feet, they feel their way across the bridge, but since the round wooden ‘planks’ are now under water, they have become dangerously slick. The two men have the added difficulty of protecting the motorcycle from the water by carrying it above their heads as they make the risky crossing.
Remarkably, they all cross the river safely. Guinguiré’s contractions have now intensified, and as they continue their journey, the group is forced to stop several times and dismount the motorcycle while Guinguiré squats along the path and breathes deeply until the pain of each contraction passes. She eventually arrives at Dr. Osse’s clinic and safely gives birth to an unexpected surprise of triplets. In this part of western Africa, it is common for only one child to receive enough nutrition to survive in such multiple birth scenarios. Aware of this situation, Dr. Osse places Guinguiré’s triplets in a feeding program. For six months, the three of them receive supplemental nutrition and close medical observation. As a result, each one of them is now thriving and healthy, and the family has returned to live in their home village of Gnakparé.
This is the true story of Guinguiré Kadidja. She and those in her region live without emergency transport services. As I heard this story, I could not help but wonder how I would respond if this were the situation for my family. But when I retell these kinds of stories, I sometimes get an unexpected response such as, “Well the people who live in those areas don’t know any different, so it doesn’t bother them.”
To be blunt, such opinions miss the mark. Whether a family is from West Africa or the United States matters very little when they have had a loved one suffer or even die because adequate medical care could not be obtained. The emotional pain and suffering are equivalent regardless of cultural differences in these situations. Transportation challenges like this are just one facet of the difficulty Luke Society ministries have in delivering medical care to the remote areas of the world to which our directors are called, and solutions are not easily found.
The greatest blessing in this story, however, was realized during Guinguiré’s six month stay at the clinic compound when she was invited to worship services with other believers. During this time, she came to accept Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior, and now plans to raise her three children to be followers of Jesus. This incredible account serves as yet another example of how Luke Society ministries provide compassionate Christian care in which people are treated from a holistic perspective – ultimately transforming the lives of individuals, families, and communities in Jesus’ name.
Greg Kuiper, MD