More than a medical team

My first year in Haiti I met the seizure team. Their goal was to bring seizure care to the kids at the Miriam Center. We did not know what this would look like or how it would all come together. But they made a medical record and evaluated each child. They knew that God had called them to the Miriam Center to do this, so everything would come together and work out.

It has been 7 years since they first started working with the Miriam Center. In more ways than they know, we have seen God work through their program. For the Miriam Center, it is amazing for the staff and the nurses to know that the children have a group advocating for them in this way. It is also amazing for the families in the outreach program to have this resource, which is sadly scarce in Haiti.

We have seen God work in amazing ways through this program, because the seizure team does more than just medical. Although medical is their primary goal, there is so much more that they do. When a patient comes for a consultation, it is not just about seizures. They check in on the family and see how everyone is doing. They listen and are genuinely glad to how the child is progressing in development. They also listen and mourn with the parents, whose child is not progressing. God is in these small moments and His Spirit is at work. When the seizure team in not in Haiti, these families are always asking about them and praying for them, because they know the seizure team is also praying for them.

The last couple of years, the seizure team has even taken their work a step further. There are children in the outreach program that are not able to come for their evaluation. So if a child needs to be seen, they have been going to the child's home to visit them. Which is a huge deal for these families, not just because a medical person came to their house, but they also know that their houses are not easy to get to. These families know that it takes time and energy to get to their houses. 

The importance and value that they put on each child, on each family is what makes them more than just a medical team. They know it is not enough to just help the physical problems, but that we have a Savior that can heal the heart. The value they put on the individual is what makes the difference for the Kingdom. These families and children know that they are loved and prayed for. Although they are categorized as a medical team, we are so thankful that they are so much more.