Nicaragua Crisis Update June 4th, 2018.

Sorry. No gory photos today. Someone asked me today what it is like to live in the midst of conflict. I thought I would give you a small glimpse into my world as it is now. This is a side from hearing nightly mortars and gunfire, and smelling burning tires.

The bad news just keeps coming. The violence continues and the death toll is over 100. The injured just keep piling up in hospital emergency rooms that have no supplies, no medicines and insufficient staffing. You see the injured being taken to the hospitals and clinics on the back of motorcycles. We don’t see any more ambulances on the street. Nor fire trucks.

People have been taking refuge in churches only to be shot down on entering or having the churches under siege. 5 more people were killed in Masaya on Sunday as the church was attacked before morning services.

Conditions in the hospitals are deplorable. The oldest son of the folks that taking refuge with us in our compound had a serious accident a little over three weeks ago. He was going out fishing with some friends to see if he could bolster the food stores.

The ocean was extremely rough and we had warned him about going out with someone inexperienced. He felt he needed to do his part. An hour later we heard a terrible commotion outside the gates. A very decapitated truck pulled up with people in the back screaming.

The son was lying in the back with blood pouring from his arm and I could see down to the bone. His back was sliced in two gashes across the shoulders. I did rudimentary first aid and told them to get to the hospital as quickly and safely as possible. (Perhaps I should have sent him to the local vet instead.)

We found out from another man in the boat that the pilot was a first timer. He saw the first massive waves and tried to turn around but the boat was tossed about and two fell overboard. Daniel was caught up in the propeller and pushed under. The guy in the boat left them to fend for themselves!

Another fishing boat saw what had happened and picked up the two hapless men and brought them to me. I am a nurse but my skills are limited when dealing with injuries this severe.

Later, I took a second brother to stay with him in the hospital. Here you never leave anyone alone in the hospital. His arm was sliced to the bone and the bone notched from the propeller from the shoulder to midpoint of the arm, past the elbow just above his wrist. But it was Friday and the hospital is only staffed with medical students. They re not qualified t do surgery of this magnitude. He should have been sent to a hospital in Managua.

Three days later, I hear that the wound is too infected and they won’t do surgery! And so are the wounds on his back. They have had nothing done to them since I treated on Friday morning. My dressings are still on! Of course, it is now infected.

Surgery has been on and has been cancelled too many times for me to count. There are no medications in the hospital. I supply what is needed from my stash. I have what amounts to a mini-clinic here because over the last few years we have seen the need.

The White Witch (me, it is a long story that I may post later) went to the hospital, spoke with the director and had his wounds treated. He has lost a lot of blood since the wound on his arm has been left open. The surgery cannot take place because they need to put in a plate and the only source is in Managua and the roads are blockaded. He also needs blood, but the blood bank has none in supply.

We gather donors and go to the Red Cross. 6 pints are collected and we are given a paper that says that blood will be available for Daniel. He is given 2 almost immediately. Interesting.

The final word we had on Friday is that the surgery is now scheduled for tomorrow. But he needs more blood. The family were told they could buy the blood for $85USD for a pint and he would need several. Back to the director's office with a receipt for the blood donated by family members. So now, we wait and see what happens.

Daniel's mother is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday in Chinandega, a two trip north of here. This surgery too has been on the books for the last 8 months. She doesn’t dare miss the appointment or she will be placed on the bottom of the waiting list.

On Thursday his sister will have her baby by Cesarean section, we hope. We are praying all will go well with everyone’s surgery. Looks like this nurse will have her hands full by the weekend. The plans are to release them before the weekend, most likely on Friday morning.

The risks for infections is extremely high. I have seen pig-sties that were cleaner. Every time I go there I feel the need to sterilize my shoes, sanitize my clothes and shower with anti-bacterial soap! I can’t describe what the goo on the floor is, for fear of making you the readers ill. It is not for the faint of heart.

No-one cleans. The sheets are all stained and the whole place smells of death. There is no glass or screens in the windows. I assume they have been damaged in numerous earthquakes. The top 2 floors should be condemned. (there are 5 floors). I can put my hand through the cracks in the wall to the outside. Birds fly in and out of the rooms.

Family members stay with their loved ones during the night, sleeping plastic lawn chairs or on the floor, taking turns picking the cockroaches off the bed of the sick and injured. No food is provided. The families cook food to be brought in to the patients.

The people that have been shot in these conflicts say it would be better to die than go to the hospital for treatment. The survival rate of this hospital in Leon is less than 50%.

To make matters worse, on Wednesday, the protesters have organized a nationwide strike. They have set up roadblocks already. The government's response to this is place tanks and men armed with AK47’s in the rotundas and threaten to cut off power, water and communications starting on Wednesday.

This will effectively cut off the country from the rest of the world. Who knows what atrocities will occur while the world is blind to what is happening?

We have seen Grey unmarked helicopters flying over taking photos. This is happening all over the country. About two evenings later we hear small planes flying over. Again so low we could see the pilots in the cockpit.

People in many small communities are getting sick with odd symptoms, including numbness, tingling, itching, burning sensation, loss of bladder control, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, lack of coordination, and seizures.

Our sources have told us that they are spraying an insecticide, Cypermethrin over the communities. Here we believe the sprayed the two large fish farms on either side of our homestead. This insecticide is a fast acting neurotoxin in insects. It can be effective for weeks when applied to indoor inert surfaces. Cypermethrin is highly toxic to fish, bees and aquatic insects.

We need someone to step in and straighten out this mess. Prayers are always welcome.