I shake the shoulder of a young monk on the ground and ask, “Are you alright? Are you OK?”
Shoot, his eyes are closed. My right hand gently pushes down on his forehead while I use my left forefinger and thumb to lift his chin as the side of my face almost touches his nose and lips – no breath on my cheek, no sound from his mouth, no rise in his chest.
“Marcela, he’s not breathing. Run across the road and get a doctor. He’s not breathing. RUN!!!!”
Marcela jumps out of her chair and runs out the door.
With intertwined fingers and locked elbows, my body rocks rhythmically – a steady machine delivering firm compressions down into his young chest as I count out loud at a pace of two thrusts a second.
“One, two, three, four, five…twenty-nine, thirty.”
My knees slide up alongside his head, again I tilt his head back and open his mouth.
“Nothing inside.”
Bending down, the fingers of my left hand pinch his nose and I form a tight seal around his mouth. Two hard exhales into his mouth cause his chest to rise.
“Nothing.”
Start again, “One, two, three, four, five…”
“Damn, where is Marcela? Where is the doctor?”
Feelings of anger, desperation, worry, concern, and compassion begin to flow through me. I can’t get lost in those thoughts. I have to keep counting.
“Eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one…”A small crowd starts to gather around us. Even our two cats stop playing to watch with interest at this strange play between a “sleeping” monk and a sweating white guy in the Saturday afternoon Nepali sun.
“Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.”
Back to his head. I barely get one breath to pass from my lungs to his when I feel his tightness and he gasps for air. A smile.
Marcela, Ben, and Dayna try to hold back, but they fail not to laugh with the group of twelve monks sitting on the benches watching me and the monk on the ground.
…
A couple weeks ago we met with Phakchok Rinpoche to discuss healthcare, our views, and the needs of the clinic. We suggested a first-aid class for some of the monks who live in the gompa, monastery, next door.
Whenever there is a need for medical attention, the monks cross the yard, enter the clinic, come find one of us, and we provide immediate care for them. Anything beyond our scope, we take across the street to the health facility where more detailed care can be given or they can use their ambulance to transport to a hospital in case of emergencies. This system has been working well, but there are gaps that need to be filled.
The other night we were all at Lela’s having dinner when a monk came to tell us that he needs help. We dropped our card game and ran over to the clinic (just a few meters away). One of the younger boys, 8-10 years old, slipped and hit his face on a step. His lower lip was swollen around a large open wound. Definitely he needed stiches. The young boy, another older monk, Marcela, Dayna, Lee, Ben, Satyamohan and I walked across the road to the healthcare facility and sat and waited. Ben and Dayna comforted the young monk while he was being stitched, Marcela and Satyamohan took care of the paperwork/payment, and Lee and I entertained two dogs while we waited. The tough young guy is going to be alright and he’ll have an interesting story to tell.
Rinpoche really liked the idea of the first aid class, but also wanted us to add a disaster component. With all the recent occurrences in the world, Rinpoche feels strongly that it is important that the boys and men in the monastery are prepared in the event of an earthquake.
The best time for this training is on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The monks have about two hours of free time on those days – after lunch and before the afternoon/evening puja, prayer. We set out to prepare a rudimentary session that included resuscitation, choking, cuts, burns, shock, concussion, broken bones, heat injury, animal bites, and earthquake preparedness. The more we researched and prepared the earthquake component, the more we realized that we needed help. We reached out to the Nepali Red Cross for more information and guidance, but in the meantime would give what information we could.
The sessions went very well on the terrace of the clinic. Discussions and trainings are always best when held outdoors. On Saturday there were about twelve monks and Marcela, Dayna, Ben, and I had just enough time to demonstrate and explain resuscitation, choking, and shock. Today we had a smaller crowd. Sundays are often spent with visiting family. We were able to cover the remaining material and discuss the actions that need to be taken in the event of an earthquake. The two afternoons went splendidly. I was out of my element, but the information we shared was important enough to forget about comfort. Thankfully, we all worked as a team and each member proved to be invaluable. Because of that a group of young men are better prepared and much more comfortable dealing with an emergency. I can’t be grateful enough for the opportunity to help them get there.
NAMASTE!!!
