Update from Madhipura Hospital

Here is a prayer letter from Dr. Arpit who is in charge of Madhipura Christian Hospital

Dear praying friends, sorry for the long silence. The time has come that we were preparing for and hoping would not come. As the wave increases, our emergency is filling with COVID patients. We have started our COVID operation theatre as well with 2 operations over the last 24 hours. Our 4 bedded COVID ICU has 5 patients with patients needing ICU being accommodated in the ward and it is clear that even 10 ICU beds will not be enough. Patients are dying in the emergency and in the ambulances with staff giving CPR in the ambiance. We have both our COVID ventilators in use and only 5 oxygen cylinders left as of this morning. 2 more of our staff have tested positive with symptoms (while 2 joined back to work today, Praise God!) We now have a number of government officials ‘disturbed’ with us for not having more ventilators to care for their relatives…… We are trying to explain patiently that we don’t have ventilators. Our staff are all a little edgy, with the extreme stress, as expected. We have some really sick non-COVID patients (including a uterine and bladder rupture, an elderly gentleman with obstruction due to untreated appendicular abscess and another recovering from ecclampsia). One of our patients, a young girl from one of our villages came really sick with pus in both lung cavities and pus in the pericardium (the bag surrounding the heart). We put in tubes into all 3 places and she was improving. However, she has now caught COVID and is again sick. A patient with preterm labour and a previous LSCS with COVID developed a rare and dangerous complication – hemolytic uremic syndrome with bad renal failure and seizures due to three uremia. They left 3 days ago and have travelled all over and now come back having been referred from all other hospitals in three surrounding districts. In Patna, there are no beds…… I took a little time to sit down and pray for God’s wisdom and peace to flow in the middle of unprecedented circumstances. I know many of you are also going through similar situations and our prayers and thoughts are with you. Please do remember us in prayer as well. May God’s will be done. May we find grace and peace in the midst of the storm.