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Friday, December 16, 2005
Devon Shoemaker Update
This is an e-mail from Debbie Shoemaker, Devon's mom, and it regards her husband Dan. They work for RMI, the missions agency that Crossroads supports in Haiti. Many of you know Devon and Dawn (his sister) who live in Cayes and the main airport is in Port-Au-Prince. That should let you know the background of the things mentioned in the letter...as well as the reality that Haiti has no "Red Cross" hence no blood screening, and for a nation with a huge AIDS-infected population...well...
We are medivacing Devon to Miami tomorrow, Thursday, a.m. He has been sick for 2 weeks with malaria and typhoid fever. He was getting better, then he took a turn for the worse over the last 2 days, but especially today,down after 2 hours of covering him in ice water cloths. As I write this, heis at the clinic, under the supervision of an American missionary doctor,getting a 2 unit blood transfusion. The blood used is from Dan and from another missionary who passed the health screening. A medivac plane has been approved by our insurance company and we are currently waiting for news as to whether or not it can come directly here to Cayes or to Port.
We are hoping one parent, me, can fly with him. Dan and Dawn will follow us via American Airlines. We have a flight scheduled for 7a.m. tomorrow to go to Port, so the medivac plane can meet us here in Cayes or in Port.The medivac plane would take us to Miami then via helicopter or ambulance to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, where infectious disease specialists and hemotologists will meet us (hopefully!).
They are thinking that he has hemoragic anemia or resistant malaria - the first case of it\'s kind in Haiti. The tests here are limited, but enough to tell us that Devon is very, very seriously ill. Dan's parents, Herb and Shirley Shoemaker, will be meeting us at the hospital tomorrow. When he first got sick, he was outback at a sister church. He most likely contracted it at the previous sister church, 2 weeks earlier. One of our Haitian staff, Antoine, also got malaria and typhoid there. One of our mechanics got typhoid only. As far as we know, no one from the US churchhas gotten sick. There are many uncertain things in front of us.
Of course our greatest concern is Devon, the timing of getting him to the states and in the care ofspecialists, finding the correct diagnosis, etc. Dan and I were just in Ft. Myers for RMI's board meetings. Devon's diagnosis was made while we were gone. The missionaries here rallied around, Wednesday...
So he is just turning around,repacking his suitcases and going right back out. We are, of course, very concerned about the finances for this emergency. We are already undersupported right now and this will really, really stretch us thin! So this is a plea for concerted, special prayer for Devon and all of us. We need God's strength and provision. Please pass this on to all who know us and could pray!
Thank you,Debbie
Brent 4:55 AM
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