mupitara

Then There Was a Crash

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mupitara
, 09-18-2011 at 08:56 PM (6615 Views)
Sunday is a day of rest in the communities. So, Antonio couldn´t ask Rodas to run the brushcutter.

Instead, Rodas decided to walk to the little community of Dos Amigos on the river. He planned to send word back with someone to Hotel Papatara that we were without fresh flashlight batteries. My cell phone had communicated with Alamikamba on the previous trip. This time it would not. Also, Radio Prinzu in Alamikamba had lost signal strength in the last few days, so, we had received no news from Alamikamba or the hotel. Rodas had become desperate because we had forgotten to bring our supply of batteries along. And, Rodas was anxious to use them for night hunting. I was getting ¨meat hungry¨ as well!

Rodas returned abruptly from his walk and announced that he had received disconcerting news that several days previously his mother had been struck by lightning in her home in Tee Kiamp (near Waspam), and, the family was trying to reach him to come home immediately! At last report several days earlier, Rodas´ mother was still alive but remained unconcious.

Rodas quickly threw a few things in his bag, grabbed a flashlight, and loaded a couple of nearly dead batteries into it. I gave him a fresh pair of socks to keep his bare feet from rubbing on his rubber boots. He was walking out to Alamikamba so that he could catch the morning bus from there to get to Waspam. It was already 4:00 PM. Walking briskly he would be in Alamikamba by midnight (e.i. eight hours). There is no clear trail but rather wandering cow paths and some long-abandoned logging roads for most of the way. According to my fishing chronometer, sunset was at 5:50 PM and there would be no moon that night to help Rodas see the trail. To make matters worse, Eden and the lowlands around it have lots of snakes!

Living in paradise can sometimes present some daunting situations!

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  1. mupitara's Avatar
    I finally heard from Rodas today. He called me from Waspam where his mother is still hospitalized after lightning struck her several weeks ago. She is now conscious and has regained speech! Unfortunately, however, she is still physically in bad shape. Rodas plans to stay in Tee Kiamp till the end of the month to help out.
  2. mupitara's Avatar
    Rodas came back to Alamikamba last night. Today when he came to see me I got some details straight about what happened to his mother.

    Apparently, his mother, stepfather, and a young man from Tasbapounie (just upriver from Alamikamba) were sitting on the porch of the family´s home in Tee Kiamp when the lightning bolt struck. The stepfather was knocked unconcious. When he came to, he saw Rodas mother nearby unconcious and in flames! He put out the fire, but, she, appeared to be dead. Then, he realized that the young man seated next to him was dead. And, also discovered that the family dog which had been laying under the house had been killed.

    Rodas says that they could not sense her heartbeat nor her breathing for at least 24 hours. The family, however, stayed at her side because they could hear noises coming from within her. After 24 hours, she began to breath and slowly increased showing other signs of life.

    She regained conciousness after the third day. However, it was more than a week before she could communicate with anyone.

    It was only after Rodas arrived that he took her to Waspam to the hospital to be checked by a physician and get medication. Rodas´ mother was never actually hospitalized, though. That was over one week after it happened!

    When Rodas left Tee Kiamp to return here, his mother was still bedridden. However, she could talk and get up from her bed and move about briefly. She is receiving constant care in her home as she continues to improve.
  3. mupitara's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by mupitara
    It was only after Rodas arrived that he took her to Waspam to the hospital to be checked by a physician and get medication. Rodas´ mother was never actually hospitalized, though. That was over one week after it happened!
    Declining access to professional medical assistance - even though it is free here - is common practice in Tee Kiamp. Shortly after I brought Kuka and her grandson to Alamikamba (about eight years ago) to stay with me, Silberto´s mother and another young woman were both bitten by poisonous snakes on the same day. The Adventist group from Francia Sirpe came immediately and offered to take the women to the clinic to receive an antidote. The family of the other woman accepted...she survived. The family of Silberto´s mother declined, preferring instead to use bush medicine...she died!
  4. mupitara's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by mupitara
    Declining access to professional medical assistance - even though it is free here - is common practice in Tee Kiamp. Shortly after I brought Kuka and her grandson to Alamikamba (about eight years ago) to stay with me, Silberto´s mother and another young woman were both bitten by poisonous snakes on the same day. The Adventist group from Francia Sirpe came immediately and offered to take the women to the clinic to receive an antidote. The family of the other woman accepted...she survived. The family of Silberto´s mother declined, preferring instead to use bush medicine...she died!
    Clint Hanley, missionary pilot at Tronquera, RAAN, just wrote me the following comment about what happened to Silberto´s mom:

    Facebook message from Clint Hanley
    I was just new to Nicaragua then, we were working on building a church there, traveling every day to Tee Kiamp. I saw her daily getting worse. I made an onion poultice (pulls out poison) for her, and bandaged it onto the bite. I showed them how to change it and gave them a spare onion. The venom was already too far into her system. I remember clearly kneeling down beside her on the floor as she was in pain, and seeing those children of hers (I understood she was a teacher) holding onto her. I figured she would die soon. I plead each day so hard with her to be able to take her to the clinic, but she adamantly refused. The day we brought back the one who had spent a couple nights at the clinic, they were having the funeral for that lady. She was so young and so much promise. My introduction to Nica.
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