The Barba Amarilla

Something stands out each week to make it different from the last. Was beginning to interview the last of the 6 students for the Nurses Aide class I begin On Feb. 8 when I got a call about noon to head for the ER. Found an 8 year old boy, Emin, from 3 hours up the mountain, VERY pale and agitated, with a bloody rag around his index finger, and dried blood from head to toe. He had been bitten by a poisonous snake, a Barba Amarilla, supposedly the day before, and arrived with a hematocrit of 10 (dying) and blood that would not clot, effects of the venom. We got 2 IV’s running, l for anti-venom and the other to transfuse blood. While we ran the antivenom, Norma donated a unit of blood, having been prepared just 18hours before to give blood for another patient that ended up not needing it. So that sped up the process and we had both blood and antivenom in by 7 pm, and the little fellow was asking for food and drink.
The story gradually came out that he had been bit Saturday, and grandpa used natural medicines to treat him, having had success in the past. When he began bleeding from ears and nose and vomiting blood, they called a family member in San Pedro who works at a hospital to travel the 7 hours and bring “suero” or IV solution to give him. That is the cure- all here. So there had been a 4 day- plus delay in seeking the hospital.
When I arrived early on Thurs and entered Emin’s room to check on him before going to my office, he was almost bright eyed. I was delighted to hear that the first need was to treat him for bad headlice and parasites- you only treat live boys for that! With all the loving on him we did, I suspect I need to buy a gallon of lice shampoo to pass around.
Like I frequently say, one doesn’t have time to adequately process one emotional event before jumping right into the next one. Early the same AM, Don Pedro, a gentle elderly man who had been carried by his granddaughters down the mountain in a hammock on Christmas Eve, had gone to be with the Lord. After being with us a month, all were very attached to him and there were many tears. So after leaving Enin in stable condition, 4 of us went into Balfate to the wake to visit with the many family members, and particularly with the granddaughter that works with us. Don Pedro and his wife had been together over 60 years.

Little Emin recovering!