This morning at Beerseba, I was just about to head home after teaching some classes when one of our students was hit by a truck. Hugo, the little guy at the bottom right hand of this photo, was playing with his friends where he wasn't supposed to be playing and an older man in a red pick-up truck drove right over his right leg, snapping the bones. I didn't have a clue what happened when it did happen. I was just a few feet away and Walter, the vice-principal, ran over. I went into the school, not having a clue.
When I came out again, I saw Hugo on one leg being supported by his teacher. He was carried into his classroom and I sat with him for a little while. His friends were out telling every passing stranger and the neighbours what had happened. Hugo just cried. I had some tylenol and water brought for him and checked out his leg - I could see it was a clean break. I asked his classmates to come around him and pray for him - and pray they did. Three of them burst into tears after they started praying. Hugo is 8 years old (I think). I offered to drive him to Coban hospital, but it was decided that an ambulance would get him quicker attention once he arrived at the hospital. While we waited for the ambulance (los bomberos), Hugo lay in his teacher's arms, weeping. His uncle, Gualberto, (a grade 10 student) went along with his mother to translate from Poqomchí to Spanish and vice-versa.
The team that was here from Stony Plain, AB, visited Hugo a couple times. His sponsors, Bob and Grace, fell in love with the little guy. Actually, everyone who meets Hugo falls in love with him. He's got such a great smile.
Hugo is home again. He has a cast and some pain-killers.
A woman from this Stony Plain team twisted her ankles very badly on a visit to Xi'ixim last week. Both of her feet swelled up and she was on crutches for most of her 14 days in Guatemala. It turns out that her ankles, both of them, were in fact broken the entire time. Vange is a trooper! She actually didn't miss out of too much while she was here, she had us carry her or she hobbled along or she took a tuk-tuk (3-wheeled taxi) in Antigua.
5 comments:
So how safe is it over there???
Safety tip!! When going on a mission trip...stay far far away from Zaak. He brings bad luck :-)
Sorry to hear of the mishaps. Did the driver at least stop?
I think I broke my ankle once...at least the doctor thought so. But when I told him I walked in with it he said "you couldn't have broke it then" and just wrapped it. I just happened to have a high pain tolerance for some things. I never did get it checked out. Hurt for a loooong time though.
Hope both patients get well soon.
As a parent, I find I have become so sensitive to these things. When I hear about things like this I think what if it was my daughter or my son...and that hurts.
I hope Hugo will get better soon. What happened to the man who drove over his leg? If it was me, I know I would have a hard time trying to forgive myself.
Does this make you more concerned for Blaise's safety?
Safety. Yeah, I'd definitely say it is much less safe to live here than in Canada: disease, violence, traffic, quick access medical attention. We've been touched by most of this already in the 10 months we've lived here.
I think that the people who live here live with a stronger sense of safety though. More responsible and more aware. Well, maybe not. I like to think that I'm extra cautious anyhow. I hope Blaise will learn to be extra cautious too. We live right on a busy highway, so it will take a lot of watching over Blaise to ensure he doesn't go near it. Other babies have older siblings to look out for them and we see them all the time walking along the highway.
In regards to the accident... the driver did stop and we sent him to call an ambulance - which he didn't do. The school knows the man, he's an elderly gentleman and I'm sure he's feeling terrible about what happened even though it wasn't his fault for the most part.
Is the lady in the picture laughing or crying. If I had a broken ankle or leg, I would not be laughing.
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