8 1/2 Fingers.... left.

One of the men working on the new clinic got his hand caught in the brick-making machine today. And in a matter of seconds, he lost two finger tips on his left hand. The ring and middle  finger are missing from the first phalanges. The bones were exposed, flesh torn open and raw. The pinky was crushed but the bone remained intact.

Fortunately we have an emergency room doctor here on a short-term missions trip. His name is Dave. Originally, he wanted to transport him. He said the bones needed to be removed and skin drawn over to be properly sown together. However, it wasn’t going to happen so he did the next best thing. He sutured him up.

Here’s the thing. The man missing his digits never made a noise of pain. Not even a squeak. He didn’t hiss, cringe, moan or otherwise indicate he was in pain. I know part of it’s cultural but.... come on!! You’re missing part of your hand! It’s okay to cry! But he didn’t.

The only noise I heard him make was only after the bandages were firmly in place. I showed him a picture or two of what his hand looked like. Only then did he make a noise of compassion.

Oh, Sudan!

I’m told it’ll take 2 weeks to heal, assuming no infection sets in. However, it’ll be months before he can use his hand again.