Heysi is a 16 year old girl here in Nicaragua that has bone cancer in her femur (thigh bone.) Over the past few days I have been helping to take care of her with the Doctor I am working with (Dr. Karla.) Heysi was scheduled for surgery that will put in a prosthesis of 18 inches of her femur to get rid of the tumor and weakened bone. However, she came down with flu-like symptoms and they decided to wait until she came back to health to operate. She had been on chemo and has consequently lost all her hair. Also, in preparation for the surgery they stopped her chemo regimen and she did not receive the 4th cycle of chemo. The tumor is so bad that she cannot walk and dreams of walking again someday.
She finally made it out of the hospital for her flu-like symptoms and was home for a total of 24hours before terrible unbearable pain began in her upper leg and radiating all the way down to her toes. So, her mother and big sister returned to the hospital with Heysi. The emergency room Doctor did not even look at her leg and dismissed her saying it was nothing. The only pain medicine prescribed was Tylenol.
Dr. Karla and I recognized that this would not be an effective medicine for Heysi. So we called the oncologist and tried to set and appointment. He could not do an appointment that day. We went ahead and scheduled an appointment for the following day and spoke with the oncologist to determine what pain medicine we could give her in the meantime to help control her pain. Then, we went to the pharmacy and without even asking for credentials we bought an IV bag/bottle with 500mL normal saline, the vials of strong pain medicine recommended, IV tubing, two 22gauge needles to start the IV, and a 5mL syringe with needle. I already had gauze, a tourniquet, medical tape, gloves, and alcohol swabs, thanks to donations from TCU nursing school. Then we went to Heysi’s house and on the dirt floor surrounded by cement walls and a tin roof I started the IV with the pain medicine for Heysi. I had to count the drops since there was not IV machine and Dr. Karla helped. The IV ran for1 hour and during that time we visited with her and her family. My friend Courtney came with us to Heysi’s house and gave her a pillow, blanket, and daily devotional book. The hope, faith and peace of this 16yr old girl are some of the strongest I have ever seen. She spoke of God, angels and blessings despite her circumstance. Once the IV was finished we took it down from where we tied it to the roof and she confirmed that she felt much better. We visited for a little bit longer and then left in a taxi with gifts of mangoes and other tropical fruits from Heysi’s mom.
The next day, Dr. Karla and met Heysi and her Mother at her appointment with the oncologist. We had the consult and Dr. Karla helped to advocate and explain Heysi’s current condition. The oncologist took one looka and touch Heysi’s hip (where the tumor is at the top of her thigh bone) and said it looked like she had broken her bone which is common since the cancer weakens the bone. So, the oncologist sent us to the emergency room to get an X-ray to confirm a fracture and to run some blood tests to see if the previous infection was gone. Once we got to the Emergency Room of the public hospital, Dr. Karla and Heysi went in for the X-ray and I waited outside with Heysi’s Mom. While we were waiting, she shared with me her side of the story. As you can imagine, being the mother is hard when your child is suffering and you are helpless. She shared the expected feelings of helplessness, sadness, grief, and uncertainty…but she also shared her hope, faith and joy that the entire process has brought out. Finally, Dr. Karla came out and informed us that the X-Ray did confirm a fracture in the same place she had broken it before…which is a good thing in a way because if she had broken her pelvis the prosthesis wouldn’t work and we would have been back to square #1. Dr. Karla also reported that Heysi was receiving medicine for her pain and was going to be transferred to the orthopedic unit until they decide what to do about the surgery with the new fracture. Heysi’s mom went with her to the orthopedic unit and Dr. Karla and left.
On Saturday, Courtney and I went to visit Heysi in the hospital. To give you an idea of the public hospitals here…think of the hospitals in horror movies with harsh metal beds, old run down equipment, blank faces, no pillows, nothing to make patients comfortable…only beds full of hurting people. There was 1 nurse for both the orthopedic unit and the surgery unit!!!! Heysi was depressed and was happy to have visitors. We brought her a wig with hair accessories and her sister a silly wig. She smiled and laughed with the gifts, but she was still in a lot of pain. The splint they put her leg in was too tight and cutting of her circulation so they un-wrapped the part closest to her hip to help it. However, in doing this all support was taken away to the area with the fracture and without pillows she was experiencing the terrible unbearable pain as before…and they hadn’t brought her any pain medicine. The environment was frustrating because I have the skills to fix the splint and administer the medicine but I didn’t have the resources/access to it.
The other women in her room were just as uncomfortable and all without pillows. Courtney and I went to the nearby market to get pillows for all the women in her room. That was at least something we had the ability to do to help. When we returned the nurse was there delivering dinner and medicine to all the patients except for Heysi. When I say dinner I mean ¼ cup of rice and ½ a streamed plantain with no drink and no utensils. One of the women did not have any visitors and was particularly depressed. She said she was hungry but didn’t have the motivation to eat. I made her a spoon out of the Styrofoam cup she had and fed her all her dinner and tried to cheer her up a bit. Then, Courtney and I prayed with and for all the patients and families of that room.
I went back with Dr. Karla to visit Heysi in the hospital and we found out that it was confirmed that she did not have the infection anymore but hasn’t been eating. With the pain and depression of the hospital she has not had an appetite and now needed to go home and eat to strengthen up for the surgery planned for the 9th of March. Heysi wasn’t sleeping well either because she is scared to sleep in the hospital. She made it home the next day.
The entire journey with Heysi thus far has been one of the saddest and incredible things I have been a part of. Her circumstances bring tears to my tears but her faith inspires me. I want to have faith like Heysi. All who read this please keep this young woman and all of those that are supporting her in your thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Ayla Landry
“Don’t let what you can’t do get in the way of what you can do.” ~ John Wooden
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