AN ANGEL IN FATIGUES

“Fire, Fire!!!!”

The cry went up from the back of the bus, somewhere near the border of Burkina Faso and Mali. It was about 1:30 am when some cables overheated and caught fire in the back of the passenger bus carrying a precious cargo, a part of our AHS family.

The Danquah family, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Samuel, with Nana and Samuella.

Elizabeth Danquah, my very special surgical assistant, her cousin Rebecca and the two Danquah children, Nana, 6, and Samuella, 3, were on that bus, sitting toward the front. They were traveling back from visiting their families in Ghana for the first time in years. So it was the first time the family had met Nana and Samuella.
When the cry of fire went out the children were asleep, the adults mostly asleep. As the bus pulled over to the side of the road people began running forward toward the door, pushing and shoving to be the first out. No one knew when the bus might explode, or become a fireball. In the melee that ensued, little Samuella was trapped, crushed by this river of panic stricken adults.

Somehow, by the grace of God, Elizabeth and Rebecca were able to rescue Samuella and get her and Nana to safety.
In many ways though, it was out of the frying pan into the fire. All the passengers were now stranded in the bush, in the middle of nowhere, with a broken down bus that is on fire and going nowhere. Soon a policeman showed up and warned them that it was not safe in that place. There were robbers around who would take great delight in relieving the passengers of whatever they might have of value. So he stayed with the group, although I doubt he would have been much protection had they come under attack by a band of thieves.

Nana trying to sleep on the ground in the bush.

The angels of God surrounded this stranded group of travelers that first night as they huddled together. Morning brought light (safety) and transport to the next city in Mali. And so the little family boarded another transport to continue their journey home, a journey that normally took 5 days, but already was now a day delayed.
Later that evening, again in a remote area of Mali the driver of the bus realized he had no brakes. He was able to get the bus slowed and stopped on the side of the road, but another night was spent in the bush with little to no protection from robbers, save the presence of God’s angels.

The next day Elizabeth, Rebecca and the children were able to get transport to the nearest city in the country of Guinea. Now only one border was left to cross, between Guinea and Sierra Leone, but it would be a very long day to get to Waterloo. Not to mention all the time that would be spent at the border crossing as each passenger had their documents checked and verified. Then there would be several immigration checkpoints before and after the border.

By this time Samuella was obviously ill. She was complaining of abdominal pain, she was throwing up, unable to keep even liquids down.

Here at AHS the entire hospital was praying. Our worldwide prayer team was praying. Mr. Samuel Danquah, Elizabeth’s husband and the children’s father, and our Director of Spiritual Ministries, had received a brief message about the fire and that Samuella had been caught in the made scramble to exit the bus. But then for 48 hours, nothing. No word from the family. In this case no news is not good news. No news can mean they were attacked by robbers, maybe they had been kidnapped, maybe Samuella was badly injured. Too many unknowns. But through it all his faith did not waiver, he had left them in God’s care and that was that.

In Guinea, Elizabeth knew they were in trouble. Her husband had sent enough money for the trip, but not for extras, like two nights in the bush, a bus fire and bus breakdown. They were down to about 700,000 leones, ($100). Something was seriously wrong with Samuella, she was getting more lethargic, and listless. Still vomiting, and still complaining that her tummy hurt. Although they were getting closer to home, it was still a long way off, with a lot of delays likely to slow things down, and Samuella needed to be seen at the hospital sooner rather than later.

As the family walked toward the bus station hoping to find an express bus to take them to Waterloo a man in military fatigues approached them. He had noticed that Samuella did not look good and he offered to help. Would they like him to drive them in his vehicle to their destination? They had never seen this man before. And they are two young women with two little children. Not a good combination. He wanted 1,500,000 leones ($200). They only had 700,000. Elizabeth was able to get her husband on the phone and negotiate with this army man down to the 700,000 le.

And so began the final leg of this incredible journey. At the first checkpoint he flipped on his siren and lights and the guards saw the military label on the vehicle and waved them though. At the border between Guinea and Sierra Leone he did the same thing and the guards just waved them through. It was the same at each checkpoint. No stopping, no document checks, no questions. They were able to drive straight through to Waterloo in record time.

Samuella in the hospital, on the road to recovery

When they arrived later that same afternoon, Samuella was nearly unconscious. She was severely dehydrated, suffering from malaria, typhoid and anemia, an often lethal combination. Our nurses are experts at getting IV’s in little dehydrated children, and this was no exception. She was started on IV hydration, Ceftriaxone and Quinine. When I went to see her, she barely acknowledged my presence.

Samuella and Nana are two of the cutest kids you would ever hope to meet. And they faithfully greet Dr. Scott and Mommy Scott in the mornings and afternoons as we walk by their house. It was hard to look at this beautiful little child of God, knowing that the odds were not good. I comforted myself that at least her lungs were still clear.

I went home that night not knowing what would happen, it literally could go either way. I stopped by her room the next morning before worship and was relieved to be greeted by a cry from a cranky little girl. She was better!!! She was going to be alright. That morning in worship there were plenty of praises for God’s grace and healing power.

The military man in fatigues? He took off right after dropping the family off at the hospital. Was he their guardian angel masquerading as a man? Perhaps. Was he just a mere mortal military man with a compassionate heart that was tuned into the Spirit of God? Perhaps. Does it matter? Not really. To us at AHS he will always be our angel in fatigues.

Elizabeth with a now recovered Samuella.

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For those of you who are new to our blog please look around at the other pages, the “About” page tells a bit of who we are and our background, the “Definitions” page explains some terms that are used that some of you may not be familiar with, such as GC or AHI. The “Timeline” gives an idea of where we will be throughout the year, and the “Video” page has a video Bekki made of Koza Hospital as well as the videos she has made of Moundou, and now we are adding videos of Sierra Leone. Watch a real Ebola survivor tell his story. Watch our community health officer explain why the staff agreed to work in the Ebola Red Zone even after they lost 2 staff members to Ebola. There is also the Surgical Pictures Page, but be forewarned, it has some very graphic pictures, so if you don’t like blood and guts, stay away from that page. On the Projects and Donations pages you can find the projects we are working on and how to donate to the project that touches your heart. Finally, if you like our blog and want to receive each new post directly to your e-mail, please sign up with your e-mail in the subscribe box. It doesn’t cost anything, there is no commitment, it just makes it easier to follow us.

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-Scott Gardner