One night on call, 2 potentially lethal chops (machete
wounds), one man escaped with his life, the other did not. One man chopped over the election results;
the other was drunk and was chopped after an argument with his brother. One was middle aged; the other was in his
late 20s. One chop almost took off a
forearm, going through the radius and all the blood vessels; the other was
chopped twice. Once through the thigh
and into the femur and the 2nd into the shoulder going through all the muscles
down to the bone with the humeral head exposed.
One man went to another health facility first and after 4 hours when no
one helped him, the family brought him to us with bright red blood dripping off
the dressings, as he was still losing blood.
The other was carried on a home made stretcher made from bamboo and a
feed bag down the muddy dirt roads behind us leaving a long trail of bright red
blood the whole way into our ER. Both
came with concerned family members who helped to hold the patients as we worked
on them. Both required a team effort of
nurses, anesthesia officers, lab technicians and doctors. One man survived the attack, after we stopped
the bleeding and will either need an extensive surgery to repair the tendons, nerves
and vessels of his forearm, or else will need an amputation if the forearm
can't be saved. The other man did not
survive, his chops were too deep and extensive causing significant blood loss
and the distance they had to bring him was too far and despite our efforts, we
couldn't resuscitate him and stop the bleeding fast enough.
A machete is a useful tool in the Highlands of Papua New
Guinea. It allows one to chop down your
bananas when they are ripe, to chop branches for firewood, to chop through the
weeds as you are forging new trails in the bush, to cut grass with and more. It is also the most destructive tool in the
Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Every
home has at least one, and when there is an argument this is swung in
anger. Our human bodies were not built to withstand
a big knife cutting them. Skin, muscles,
tendons and even bones easily succumb to the force of the machete as it enters
the body. Fingers are chopped off,
tendons are torn apart, bones are broken and lives are lost as a result of
machete injuries.
Many survive, but are no longer the same as they were
before. They might have chronic pain, a
limp, be in a wheelchair, no longer have an arm or leg, have weakness, be
paralyzed and more. If their physical
wounds aren't enough to have to recover from, they have the mental aspect of it
too. Will they live in fear for the rest
of their lives wondering if their husband, wife, brother, father, mother, or 2nd
wife will do this again to me? They
struggle to sleep remembering the attack?
They might become depressed because they can no longer do the things
they use to do, etc.
These chopchop injuries (as we call them), didn't just happen
tonight, but occur everyday as we are sewing up someone who has been
chopped. Brothers chops brothers,
husbands chop wives and wives chop husbands.
Fathers chop sons and enemies chop each other. No one is immune. How does this end? Through the law, the church, or both? It seems like it needs to be both. The law punishes what has already happened,
but doesn't always result in a change of behavior. God can change lives through the Holy
Spirit. He can make the anger disappear
and forgiveness appear. He can make one
not desire to drink and to desire to spend time with their family. He can help us fight jealously and depression
by filling our lives with hope, joy and peace in the beauty of His creation,
the blessings He gives, and in His promises.
He will stand with us through the pits we are in and raise us up on His
Rock.
Ps 40:1-3 "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He
inclined to me and heard my cry. He
brought me up out of the miry clay, making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of
praise to our God; Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord."
We can't do this alone.
Would you pray that there would be a real transformation in the lives of
the PNGians, especially in the Highlands region. Pray that churches and people in PNG would be
filled with the Holy Spirit so that lives can be changed. Pray that the violence would stop and love
would abound. Pray that people wouldn't
have to live in fear. Pray that those
who have been chopped can forgive and have healing, physical, mental and
spiritual. Pray that our doors would
continue to remain open, so that we can treat those who are injured and offer
healing both physically and spiritually.
Pray that God would sustain us in the long nights on call, when the
violence doesn't seem to end, and we are tried, worn out and don't want to show
compassion - pray that we would show His love.
