Dear Friends and Family,
Earyl, our daughter, was on a Pathfinder outing with many of her classmates from the boarding academy that is on our island. This is her 2nd year at the Academy. It is only an hour drive to where she is at, but it is still hard for us to have her away since she is only 15. We always look forward to the weekends that she can travel by a van and home to visit. We are grateful she has the ability to get an Adventist education, which is not available where we live.
On the outing, they had a rope course for the Pathfinders. While doing a section of it, Earyl fell from eight feet and onto a thin piece of foam below. She landed on her arm, and part of her arm bulged out in a way that makes you cringe. The school called us, and we quickly ran to the LaBores, our teammates in AWA, to let them know what was going on. It was already dark, but I jumped in the old mission truck, rumbled out of the yard, and down the dusty road to the main road heading south. After an hour of anxious driving, I was able pick her up and drive her home.
The next morning we drove her to the Adventist Hospital, an hour and a half drive north of the mission base. The miles of construction work that is happening on the main road, makes the drive longer and bumpier. When you have a broken bone moving around, this drive can be very painful, but Earyl was brave.
Raylene and I stayed with Earyl in the hospital for a few days as caregivers, before the doctors scheduled the operation. This is a mandatory custom here that someone go with the patient as caregiver, in both the Adventist hospital and in the public hospitals. This cuts down expenses of hiring nurses. The Adventist hospital has more nurses than the public hospital, but still, it was good to have her mom there to help with the care.
Most days, I spent all day running around to government offices, trying to process the paperwork that is required for our government insurance. The government insurance would give us a break on the amount that we would need for the operation, but it was still a fraction of the total. We had no idea how we would be able to get the money needed as a down payment. We prayed. Our teammates at AWA prayed, and the AWA main offices prayed. Then, a donor stepped forward and offered to pay for the down payment, and AWA found help for further care. We were SO grateful. Without AWA and the donor, we would not be able to afford the care.
Praise God, Earyl came out of a successful surgery with plates and screws holding her bones together. All of this happened just before the dental team from Alaska arrived. The whole AWA team in the Philippines was scheduled to be involved, helping the dentists while they were here. Earyl continued on, as planned, and helped the dentists with translating or taking blood pressures. She enjoys looking into the mouths of patients and learning what she can from the dentists when they are here. She will return to school soon. Unfortunately, we had to delay her returning to school. Since she broke her dominate hand, she will have trouble not only writing, but also getting ready for school, doing her own laundry and cooking for herself, as all the children there have to do.
We are SO grateful for all the prayers and support that we have gotten. Please continue to keep our family and the project in your prayers.
Salamat! (Thank you!).
The Espinosa Family
