Concussions, stitches, tetanus, oh my!

The boys don't like it when I refer to them as "ninos"; and they're right, they're not kids anymore! In English I always refer to them as Bethesda Boys because technically Lisa's ministry is Bethesda Home for Boys or "Casa Betesda" as we call it here. But really, I need to start calling them young men because that's what they are, so now I'm trying to remember to call them "chicos" or "jovenes". When I first met them four years ago they were boys. But now they are not just catching up to me in height, but they are improving in school, playing even better than before in soccer, and are having thought provoking discussions and questions about God and what it means to be a Christian leader in a country where witchcraft and atheism are the common beliefs. Their adulthood is quickly approaching and it only makes me want to stay here more--I don't want to miss a second of them growing up so quick!

The twins (Isaias & Jeremias) working on homework together

A few nights ago the boys were playing soccer out front while some workers were here fixing our internet connection. I was in the house supervising the workers and I hear someone yell, a little louder than normal, "Mariiiiaaaa!!!!!" Then I overhear someone yelling something about Enil got hit in the eye and he's bleeding everywhere--so then I actually started listening to them yell from outside. By the grace of God, Jose had thought to take off his shirt, wad it up, and apply pressure to the wound while supporting Enil on his shoulder as they walked to the house. I took him over to the bodega out back where we have a ton of donated medical supplies, grabbed lots of gauze, saline and tylenol. I was relieved to see his eyes were perfectly fine, but the lacerations on his cheek were worse than I expected.
Eventually I got the story of what exactly happened. They were all playing soccer outside and when he was running he turned quickly, didn't realize the internet company's truck was there, the sharp metal edge of a ladder that was hanging out of the truck sliced open his cheek, and he fell to the ground. Praise the Lord it narrowly missed his eyes, nose and his lips!! I applied pressure for 30 minutes while it soaked through my first pile of 4x4 gauzes and was having the boys go through the "in case of emergency" list Lisa left, calling people until someone picked up that wasn't out of town since we needed a ride to the hospital and Lisa wasn't home. While waiting for our ride, I washed it out with saline and applied pressure for the next hour as we waited and then drove down the bumpy dirt road (that sometimes reminds me of the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland) to the hospital. I've never had to apply heavy pressure to a laceration gushing with blood in a bouncy, moving car before...but like I've said before, every day is a new adventure here. Luckily the metal corner of the ladder didn't puncture through his cheek and into his mouth, but the cut under his eye did go all the way through his subcutaneous tissue and it was so deep/wide I could hook my thumb into it...Below are pictures of his wounds after I cleaned them out and the bleeding had slowed down significantly.

Enil had 3 deep tissue stitches inside and 12 external stitches. Unfortunately, he also has a mild concussion. He can't play soccer for at least 10 days (depending on how quickly his face heals), along with depending on how quickly his concussion symptoms resolve. When the doctor told him at least 10 days without soccer he was more devastated over that than anything else. He is SO bored without soccer and not allowed to use tv, videogames, etc that he was excited when I asked him to help me with the laundry and cooking. He was also somewhat excited to get out of the house and walk to the clinic the next morning to get his tetanus shot.
Although Enil is bummed watching everyone else play soccer for a while and he'll have some large scars on his face, Jose helping him and knowing what to do in an emergency before I could help him was a great experience for Jose. A few days ago, he told me he wants to be "un bombero" (firefighter/ EMT) when he's older because a firefighter saved his life a few years ago when he was stabbed over 35 times and left to die in the street (read up on my blog post from my first trip here to hear more of the boys' backgrounds: Breaking Chains, Breaking hearts). So even when things we didn't plan for happen, God uses one of the boys to learn something and grow in their maturity.

All stitched up!