Hill of Light

     It was my first night to come to this hospital on the coast in a rural, poor area of Honduras.  The nearest decent sized town with a grocery store was 1 1/2 hours away via mostly dirt road that had more holes than smooth places due to the torrential rains during the rainy season.  The area was hot and humid when we arrived at the start of the dry season.  My family came with me for the first 3 nights as were warmly greeted and taken to a small apartment where I would stay for my three weeks.     That night I heard the emergency call on the short wave radio for a code in the ER.  This patient was in end stage renal failure and there was very little we could do for him without the ability to dialyze him.  He passed away that evening and another emergency came in to take his place.  This new patient, "John", came to us with 40% burns covering the front of his body from his head to his knees.  The patient spoke English and claimed to be an American.  He said he was a pilot and that he
had been in a plane crash.  We were really not sure of what to think, but his burns did look explosive in nature, and there was little doubt that he had had possibly some head trauma in the accident with potential swelling on the brain.  Because the burns had occurred several hours earlier, his electrolytes were severely out of whack, and we were not sure how much of the patient's story was true versus his obvious confusion from head trauma and electrolyte imbalance talking.  The staff immediately began cleaning and dressing his wounds and trying to treat his obvious dehydration and critical potassium and sodium levels.
     Over the next two days we learned more about this man's story from a nephew from Mexico, a sister in the States, and the police, who helped us fill in the gaps.  Apparently this small engine pilot went down over 6 hours away from our hospital.  He survived the crash and was seen at a clinic nearby where they bandaged him and told him to go elsewhere to be treated for his injuries. Apparently he was then advised to take a local bus to a small town about 30 minutes from the hospital where he could then get a ride to us and receive care.  The military let us know that there had indeed been a plane crash and that the plane was flying without authorization over the country.  They also said that there was a missing "gringo" from the crash and that he more than likely was our patient.  The sister and nephew admitted that John had chosen a lifestyle that had caused him to not have a relationship with most of his family over the last few years.  We later learned this lifestyle involved drug trafficking, hence the late night flight without a passport or permission from the government.  When one of the staff looked him up on social media, they saw indeed that he had multiple Porsches, homes, and apparently traveled all over the world, certainly living an extravagant lifestyle.

Scene of the crash in the local paper

     All of this did not change the fact that we had a US citizen who was a resident of Mexico in Honduras with no health insurance for the US and no passport and in dire need of a burn center to care for his extensive injuries.  For one of the surgeons and the communications director, the work to
find an accepting facility in the states began in earnest.  We knew that we had little time before infection, sepsis, and organ failure would take over without proper treatment.
     All of us took turns in his care, with several of us praying over him and singing praise songs while we were with him.  We even set up some tapes with scripture for him when people could not be in the room.  On his second morning with us, one of the missionaries shared the gospel with John during one of his lucid moments.  He acknowledged that he was a sinner in need of forgiveness and this missionary prayed with him.  Only God knows the heart, but John did seem to be more at peace after that prayer than he had for the previous 36 hours with us.
     Unfortunately, the response from each burn center was a no, with the first center asking for $750,000 up front for his treatment, and the second naming $250,000.  The family did not have the money, but ironically enough, this patient probably did, but could not get to his money in a small missions hospital in a third world country.  Each day we watched his health deteriorate.  I am sure John knew he was dying and I wondered if he thought about never seeing his daughters or his family again.  On his last evening with us we got a break from a facility in the southeast that was willing to take him the next day if we could arrange transport, but the estranged wife from Mexico suddenly was demanding that he be sent to Mexico for treatment, although she did not have a receiving hospital willing to take him.  It seemed a cruel trick of fate.
     As I gave him his tube feeding that night, I talked with him.  He was more out of consciousness than not as his internal organs were starting to shut down.  I talked to him about the sister who was trying to help get him back to the states.  He said, "She is an amazing person.  Just amazing."   I then talked to him about the fact that he should never have survived the plane crash, and how I felt like God allowed him to survive because he needed to come to this hospital and hear of the God who loves him so and wanted to have a relationship with him.  I knew that John had been told the consequences of the sin he was engaged in was death, but that same God in His mercy had sent John somewhere that he could learn of God's love and make a decision that would change his eternity.  That now he knew of the forgiveness that comes from accepting that Jesus paid the price for that sin.  John looked at me and the last words I heard him say were, "I am a very fortunate man. A very fortunate man."
     The next morning (his 5th morning with us) John passed away quietly in his sleep, the same day he was to fly to the US.  I was sad that he had died alone in a mission hospital so far from home with no family.  The government would not release his body, so it could be somewhere here in a common grave with no marker, no funeral or remembrance.  There are many that would say this man was anything but fortunate in his death, but I disagree.  It was no accident that this man spent his last 5 days on earth at a hospital called "Hill of Light" in Spanish.  It was no coincidence that he had an aunt and several people from her church that had been praying for him during this time to come to know God and His love.  It is indeed very fortunate that John learned of the God whose love for him far surpassed all the sin and wrongs he had committed in his life because Jesus was willing to pay that price for him.

    Yesterday I had Matthew 20, the parable of the workers in the vineyard, for my quiet time.  I was reminded again of the generosity of the landowner and how he gave equally to all of the workers, even the ones that came at the very end.  I remember a time in my life when I did not understand this parable.  I too felt indignant that the workers who had worked all day were getting paid the same as the ones who showed up at the end and barely even put in an hour.  But now I see the brokenness and sin and it breaks my heart too.  I see people separated from God and I understand in my own failures how much I need that same forgiveness, that same grace every day.  I am so overwhelmed by my God's generosity and mercy for John.  How wonderfully amazing that in His loving kindness, my heavenly Father had chosen to make the last first and the first last when he brought John to us.  It never gets old and I praise God for His amazing grace.  I am in awe!

UPDATE:  I have learned that the pilot's body was released and sent back to the US for burial.  The family was able to have a memorial service for him, and I am attaching the newsletter from Loma de Luz hospital which tells the story of this man.

http://www.crstone.org/newsletter-current/