We have had some sad moments here on the mission. This, too, is part of living the Paschal Mystery. We have an 86-year-old woman, Regina, the grandma of one of our kids, who has an infected left toe. The infection went into the bone and, as a result, there is no circulation in that leg. Some visiting doctors from the States were here, and we went to see if they could help Regina in any way. They said they would need to amputate the foot up to the knee. She was ready to do what was needed to be done. Then they found out she had no circulation in the other leg. They wanted to do an angiogram to evaluate the situation.

Well, Jacmel has a hospital, in fact it was just built a few years ago by Canada and Japan. The hospital was beautifully built, but it lacks supplies, medicine; and there are even not enough doctors and nurses because the hospital cannot pay them.

Regina goes for the test before the surgery, and they have no dye for the angiogram…end result, no surgery. She was sent home, and all she can do now is sit and suffer. This was a big blow to her, her family, and to us, as we thought she was getting help, even though it meant she would have an amputation. The infection is in her bone. All we can say is that we tried.

When we think of how blessed we are in the USA, we see how the poor are at such a disadvantage here. Please pray for Regina. We believe in miracles, and we do believe God is going to open some door for us. We wait in hope…and wrap her in healing prayer.