Safely Home!

I am safely home, protected by angels and God’s grace once again. Apparently my decision to return home quickly was a wise one. I spent most of yesterday driving around town to different sectors of the hospital and seeing different doctors. I then proceeded to collapse onto the couch and finally sleep for a few hours. Placing a cast on a knee injury-especially before a plane ride-is the worst thing you can do. Apparently enclosing an area that is still swollen and will swell more during a plane ride is dangerous and can lead to blood clots, which can cause strokes and heart attacks. It was probably a blessing in disguise that I had the meanest flight attendants of my life that refused to allow me to sit in the promised seat with more legroom and I was forced to stuff my cast and all under the seat for 3 hours. If I hadn’t been so uncomfortable (periodically sticking my leg into the isle) and squirming to keep the swelling down and the blood flowing I might have really been in a real pickle. I “missed the bullet” on that one as my doctor put it. I am feeling incredible fortunate at the moment to have wonderful parents that are willing and able to look after me, a father that knows a quality orthopedist (bones and joints doctor), US health insurance, caring friends and family, and a quality education. The best orthopedist at the newest and most modern hospital in the province around Jarabacoa was dead wrong---dangerously wrong about my knee injury. I wonder how many Dominicans are unable to recover from their injuries because they didn’t receive proper medical care. Proper medical care would require a quality education which seems to be difficult to find in the DR since the doctor I saw was trained in the capital (where the best schools are). He was a nice man and obviously did his best to help me, but medical training in the DR seems to need an upgrade. This all leads me back to believing that the quality education that Doulos is providing could truly change the DR for the better. Anyway, it is looking like my ACL is severed and that I will need surgery, but I wont know until next week after an MRI and a few more doctor visits. I am very relieved to be home even though I will miss my students and friends in the DR. I will keep you all posted. Thank you for all of the encouraging messages and prayers.

Adventure in Sports Medicine?

So um…………my adventures in medicine continue. The discovery channel filming on Fronton Beach was amazing. I will post more about that later. In my attempts to play more soccer with my students I have wrecked my knee. I was going for the goal and thought I had successfully stolen the ball when a flurry of legs crashed with mine. My left leg was hit from the side and I fell pretty hard. I did a classic fetal position clutching my knee and had the new experience of being picked up and cared for by my students---pretty humbling. After icing it Friday night, I was unable to walk Saturday morning and the knee was badly swollen. A friend of mine took me to the newest hospital in the largest town in this province (Santiago-about an hour away). I seem to have ruptured several ligaments and my leg has been put in a cast for a month or so. For those of you that enjoy gross medical things, my friend Laura did manage to catch a picture of the doctor sucking all of the bloody fluid out of my knee. Since treatment, physical therapy and a reliable doctor are not readily available in Jarabacoa, I will be returning to the US this Tuesday. I am disappointed to leave in the middle of the semester, but if the ligaments don’t heal properly I will need surgery and am not willing to risk my leg on an unknown doctor with variable training. The new art teacher will be taking my place on the upcoming weeklong hike up Pico Duarte (highest mountain in the Caribbean) with the 10th and 11th graders. I will be staying with my parents in Champaign while my leg is in a cast for the next month and then another month of physical therapy. I will still be writing lesson plans for the school while a substitute will be teaching my classes. I am hoping to make a speedy recovery and return to the DR at the end of 2 months. At the very least I will return to the DR at the beginning of January for the Spring Semester. Prayers for safe travels—(especially traveling alone with a full leg cast through 3 airports), a full recovery without surgery, finances, and the hole I will be leaving in the teaching staff at Doulos. I am once again reminded of God’s grace as good friends have helped me in numerous ways and am extremely thankful that I have access to quality medical care. I am also thankful that my wonderful parents are willing to look after me for the next 2-3 months. The amazing ministry of Doulos will continue to flourish while I am gone, and I look forward to returning to it as soon as possible.

Surviving the Storms

I just wanted to calm everyone’s fears about the current hurricanes. There have been three hurricanes in a row, but so far there has been nothing like the devastation along the coasts that last years’ hurricanes caused. The Northern beaches have been damaged in the DR, but most of the damage occurred in Haiti. My house in Jarabacoa is high and dry for the most part. The roof leaks (only in a few places) and we lose power when there is a storm, but we are quite safe. Jarabacoa is a mountainous town that is safely tucked into a valley near the highest peak in the Caribbean, which I will be climbing with my 10th and 11th graders in a few weeks. There is some flooding and the potential for damage from the coming hurricane Ike.
Doulos’s work with Reef Check to study coral reefs has also come to the attention of the Discovery Channel. Weather permitting, I will be traveling to the East coast with 7 students to run a small camp studying the reefs so that the Discovery Channel can film it. It is very exciting and I hope that everything works out. Prayers for the people along the coast that are more affected by the hurricane and for safe travels this week would be appreciated.