I have told many of you the story of how I came to trust that our health care needs would be provided for in Nicaragua. It was a principle fear that I had before moving and the Lord gave me a concrete picture to walk out in faith because His resources are greater than any resources I can acquire. I want to share with you a few stories that have recently happened with the health of our family.
After our trip to Laguna, Nolan began to have a very severe ear infection. In Nicaragua, you can go to any pharmacy without a prescription and buy most generic antibiotics very inexpensively if you know what you need (example Amoxicillin 7 days dose for about $8). He has not had antibiotics for a least 12 years so I wasn’t sure how he would react. We tried one round but the ear infection came back right away causing him not to be able to use his jaw much to eat or swallow. Rachel, a wonderful friend we have made here in Salinas who runs a restaurant and lodge, lives just down the beach and is trained in massage and natural therapy techniques. She volunteered to see him and adjust his neck to open up his system to respond and heal. Rachel helped to heal my foot when I had damaged my heel running on the beach. After 8 months of pain, I had developed a limp. Rachel noticed when she was volunteering in Tribu Radiante and insisted on taking a look. She has also helped Dustin recover from neck injuries from surfing (man we sound like old people). We feel so thankful to have such a talented and competent friend to help us recover our health when we have issues and she lives just 5 minutes walking down the beach. Another way we have been deeply cared for is through two of the members of our Water & Light board who are nurses and extremely knowledgeable with good resources of people they can ask for sound information. Chip Scott and Jess Hopson have answered so many questions over text and photos like:
Does it need stitches?
What is ____________ prescription that was left behind by a traveler?
How much is too much vomitting?
Can I get a video about how to put an IV in?
Can you sort all of these medicines into categories so I can use them in an emergency?
Does this expiration date really matter?
Rachel is fearless about volunteering to teach our students about body movement, exercise, and relaxation techniques. The students call her Inhalar Exhalar (which means Inhale, Exhale).
We are so grateful to be supported in this way. Health care here is very hands on. They will let you give yourself shots, IV’s, and pretty much any prescription over the counter. So you need a good resource to ask, "How do I do this?" We are thankful for the people who have been placed in our lives that care for the physical needs of our family and allow us to feel confident in our work.
Another thing to know about Nicaragua is that health care is relatively inexpensive. I needed to have a chest x-ray a couple of years ago to confirm whether I had pneomonia or not and I was able to walk into an x-ray clinic in Leon and pay $20 to get my lungs x-rayed in less than 30 minutes. We then texted a photo of the x-ray to Chip for a second opinion. Month by month we put away a little money into a health care fund and we just pay when we need to use it, which is rarely.
Sidenote: Dustin is actually an expert now at dog IV’s and giving animals shots. I just hope he doesn’t have to use his skills too often on humans.
Health care is a huge need in our community and some of you have been apart of giving towards supplying our clinic here. We have dreams of creating a health center some day and will wait until the moment we meet someone who can collaborate with us in the passion for creating equity for our community in their basic human rights. Our friends Rachel, Chip, and Jess share our dreams and I can’t wait to see what the future holds as we work together to empower our community to pursue health.
-Angie