I have been to Mount Nebo on the last two trips to Jordan, the views are amazing. This year while the team went to Mount Nebo a few of us met with an Ex-Pat family to learn about some of their work. It was an interesting discussion on how their focus has changed from attending to the acute needs and moving towards more of a development focus. As the crisis in Syria continues, the hope of returning is much less. Most of patients talked about how they have lost their country.
One of the families I met with was a young girl and her father. The girl wore rose colored glasses. She had some eye problem and told me the glasses helped. I pray that after all her and her family have survived that she is still able to view the world as a happy and pleasant place. Her father came to the clinic with his wife's medical history. He wanted to discuss with the providers why three of his children died about a week after being delivered. Our suspicion was the children had a neural tube defect, probably from not enough folic acid and/or B12. Being able to have children is an important part of a women's identity in this culture. We had a Jordanian pediatrician join our team for a few days, he is going to follow-up with family. I pray that her next pregnancy has a healthy outcome.
In total we saw 244 patients in the two days we were in Madaba. We offered more than just medical services. This year we had dental, physical therapy and eye glasses (reading glasses and sun glasses) plus a pharmacy that provided free medication. Many of our 244 patients visited all of the services we offered. Many were so thankful and felt loved and cared for. It is a privilege to be able to help and serve in this capacity.
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| Rose colored glasses |
