Victoria after delivering her first baby in Madagascar
CMF member Dr Victoria Parsonson spent two weeks last Summer at the Developing Health Course – run by CMF’s International Ministries department.
A few thousand miles away and one year later, the skills she picked up have proven to be more than valuable.
Victoria has been sending us short updates over the last few months from Mandritsara in Madagascar, but this one caught the editor’s eye. Have a read and be encouraged!
Psalm 121: “I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.” I was reminded of and encouraged by this earlier this week. On call on my own in a tiny mission hospital in Madagascar, I admitted a 2yo peri-arrest with severe malaria and bacterial meningitis, shocked and with an unrecordably low BM and an Hb of 2.5g/dl. I couldn’t get a cannula into the child and realised I would have to do an intraosseous line – which I had never done before and had only practised a year before at the Developing Health Course. I was initially pretty terrified, but as I was getting the kit together I prayed and asked God to guide me and lead me as I was out of my depth and didn’t know what to do. But as I find so frequently working here, when we reach our human limits and reach out to God, He is faithful and He provides the wisdom and resources, all we need to do is remember that when we trust in him and rely on him, then our help DOES come from the Lord. And the intraosseous line went straight in and worked perfectly, by God’s amazing and perfect provision.
If you’re interested in taking part in this year’s Developing Health Course there are still places available.
Watch this short video (with an excellent shot of Victoria practising paediatric resus!) to find out more.
Dr Vicky Lavy, Course Director and Head of International Ministries, writes:
Over the years, the Developing Health Course has given training to hundreds of doctors and nurses caring for thousands of patients in resource-poor settings. It’s encouraging to hear that this training is making a real difference right now and we are looking forward to this year’s course in four weeks’ time – 24 June-6 July
Posted by Andrew Horton
CMF Media Producer