Helping Hands

My husband had a health scare over the weekend. We were visiting a lake and local tourist attraction located about three hours drive from where we presently work and live. It was a very intense and stressful situation not only to see my husband in distress but also because I was alone with our two young children having just arrived at our rural destination for the weekend. This was not the pleasant family getaway we had envisaged. Instead of hashing over the gory details, I’d like to dwell of the kindness of strangers and the solidarity demonstrated by new friends during our nail biting ordeal.

In the pandemonium, I had handed the keys to the car we were driving to a random young man who worked for the hotel. This was a huge risk to take, Honduras being one of the most violent and dangerous countries in the world, but the kind young man rapidly followed us to the clinic and retrieved our emergency phone from the glove compartment. There is a high crime rate and opportunity theft is rampant in Honduras, but nothing had been moved an inch in this incident. Total strangers took care of our children as if they were their own. For example, baby B followed us in the car to the closest emergency health care clinic, during the whole event she was oblivious to the whirlwind around her, so swaddled and happy was she in another strangers arms. A wave of relief washed over me once I was able to hold her in my arms again, knowing that she had been well taken care of and that we would remain together as a family.

I will never forget how the staff at our hotel took T under their wing: when I returned from the doctors clinic, he was sleeping peacefully in the pack-and-play which had been placed beside the kitchen and open air lobby. Not one, but five lovely ladies were quietly watching over him as he slept soundly. I heard them commenting amongst themselves on his lovely blond locks (a rarity here in Honduras.) His head was resting on a pillow and his body covered in a warm blanket both which had been supplied by the kind staff. They had even supplied a mosquito net which they had placed over the crib to protect him from potential insect bites (Zika, Dengue and Chikunguya mosquitoes live here.) Strangers helped me pack up all our belongings which had been strewn haphazardly around the modest hotel room and fervently promised to pray the rosary for my husband, children and I as we left in a rush.

We quickly realized that we were a long two-hour drive from the nearest hospital and any ambulance would have to first make the long journey to come and pick us up. At that time, I was still in shock and did not feel comfortable driving alone in the dark along windy roads in rain and fog conditions. Thankfully, D had regained consciousness and it was decided by the young doctor at the local clinic that we use our car to return to the capital where the best quality of care hospital in the country is available. I was simultaneously talking with various security managers in Tegucigalpa through a variety of chats, messages and phone calls. I can’t stress enough how everyone was very patient and helpful.

Before we left the clinic, a nurse assistant whipped out her cell phone and asked D if he would mind taking a selfie with her. Then, as we left the clinic, the several armed policemen came up to us and asked for our ID and personal information. I offered it half-heartedly and a little bewildered, wondering what we had done wrong, or if we were being scammed. He quickly replied that he worked for the tourism police and offered his number and assistance adding that we could contact him if we needed any help or information while travelling in the area. He even called us during the drive home to make sure we were safely on our way.

A local staff member and colleague of D, who happened to be one of the professional drivers and was visiting his family nearby saw the group messages regarding our emergency situation and selflessly offered to drive us back to town in our car. I later learnt that he forfeited a weekend getaway with his wife and refused any payment or compensation for his time. We are still trying to decide the best way to thank him for driving us the long three hour drive on hilly, windy roads in the rain and fog at night in a very dangerous environment. On top of this, I was still frantic and high strung, baby B cried at high volume for hours on end and T whined for cookies and milk most of the ride back into the city. I’m pretty sure this was above and beyond his job description.

Back to the positive. Two of my husband’s colleagues selflessly offered to stay at home with the children. Together, they gave T dinner and B some milk (I had stored some in the freezer only a few days before.)  They changed our babies and put them to bed while I accompanied D to the hospital. At least T knew these women and they were familiar since they had both visited our home a handful of times since our arrival.

The staff at the local hospital were efficient and kind. The admission questionnaire asked routine questions such as name, date of birth, address, contact phone number and religion. Surprisingly the two choices were catholic or evangelical. When D honestly replied neither; both the nurse and her assistant immediately started trying to convert him back to the right path saying: “It must have been God who kept you safe and brought you to this hospital tonight.” The nurse offered painkillers and Jesus in the same breath. When she found out we were from Canada she started to ask about nurse shortages in our home country and possibilities of employment. We replied that the cold and snow were big deterrents.

This experience has taught me to trust in the decency of humanity. During and even after our whole ordeal, work colleagues and neighbours quickly came to the rescue. Now feel I can call them friends. When you have a medical emergency and you only know four people in the country, you have to quickly swallow your pride and ask for help. I’m grateful to those who selflessly offered their food, time and encouragement.