I like to work barefoot in the garden, it's
a nice feeling and nothing has
ever happened to me except for being bitten by
ants, mosquitoes and “nimes” (tiny flying insects that bite quite hard).
However, it was just a momentary annoyance. After Hurricane María, the farm was
destroyed and due to my limited time, I have been able to clean it little by
little. In the last weeks of cleaning, I realized that the ground was full of
debris and my feet were hurting a little. I started wearing some thin beach
shoes, but the Lord put it in my heart not to go down again without better
protection in them. I decided to wait until I bought some rubber boots with
protection. I looked for them in several places and there simply wasn't my
number, they were out of stock, or they didn't have the ones I was looking for.
A few weeks went by, and I only went down to areas of the farm that were clean, but one day, I simply decided that I couldn't let the grass continue to grow in one place. I took the machete, my thin beach shoes and started to work. I was only in that area for a few minutes at the end, and when I was about to leave, I stepped on something that felt like it cracked my skin and the flesh of my right foot. Pulling away what had buried me, I discovered that it was a long extremely rusty nail that had almost pierced my foot. I picked up the wood that had several nails on it, gathered my tools and left the place. I immediately started to feel the tennis very wet and slippery inside. I hurriedly put my things away and went over to the hose to wash the wound. The flow of blood was exaggerated for such a wound so small I thought.
Accustomed to wounds and blows. I just
cleaned it up good, pressed down until the bleeding stopped, and took a shower
to clean the cut. I cleaned myself with alcohol, applied an antibiotic with a
local anesthetic and covered myself. I decided to go with a light shoe that
would allow me to take it off easily to keep the wound ventilated.
Not even an hour had passed, and I started to feel an unusual itching pain. I checked my foot and saw that it was extremely swollen, and the area of the wound was very red, almost black. Right away, I thought about getting a tetanus shot (in short supply due to Hurricane Maria), so I went to the Cidra emergency room, but they told me they didn't do it. I called my doctor who is in Dorado, a remote town, and they told me that if I bought it, he would put it on me. At the pharmacy they told me they didn't have it and it is only sold by prescription. I called the Mennonite hospital and could not get through. Finally, at an emergency center in Gurabo they told me that they had it available. Arriving at the emergency room, the pain was literally excruciating, my foot had become so swollen that I couldn't walk. The nurse who treated me (Luis, a super nice and friendly Puerto Rican brother) told me that he almost lost his foot due to a similar incident. He decided to wait several days before going to the doctor and ended up hospitalized for almost three months on the verge of losing his foot. He told me "I'm glad you decided to come right away"
Next, the doctor checked my foot and
explained that this type of puncture wound could not be sewn and that they
would give me the vaccine, an antibiotic by vein and medication for
inflammation and pain. At that time, not even 4 hours had passed, and I could
no longer support my foot. After spending a few hours with the serum and
treatments, my foot went down, and I was sent home.
I have learned that living in the Caribbean tropics intensifies things; The heat, the humidity, the rain, the fungi and even the dust that reaches us through the Sahara Desert through the Atlantic Ocean make for a more aggressive environment. The oxidation of metals is faster, and infections spread faster. In addition, this rusty nail left me with two important reflections:
First, obedience to God. We must understand
that when we walk with Him and strive every day to honor and obey Him, He
guides us in all aspects of our lives. He had put it in my heart not to go down
until I had the right boots. Within the spiritual struggle that we live every
day, at every moment, the Enemy that is Satan made me desperate to go down to
the farm before protecting my feet. And the rusty nail in my foot was the
consequence. Secondly, the most important thing about this incident is that
when I looked at my bloody foot from a nail and how painful the process was, I
thought of the feet of Christ pierced by large rusty nails. In my case it was
just a nail, and the pain and discomfort required a visit to the emergency
room, vaccine, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, pain relievers, rest, etc. for
a single nail! However, He endured infinitely greater pain, not only from the
nails that pierced His feet and hands, but also and even more so from having to
bear with a body of flesh and blood the weight of the sins of all mankind! And
just for the love of us! for the forgiveness of our rebellions and to give us
eternal life. And in exchange for what? That we accept him in our hearts and
declare with our mouths that he died for love of us. He suffered and gave his
life and only asks us for that in return and He takes care of the rest.
If you haven't come to Christ, I invite you
to do so. Walking with Him is something that only by living it can you
understand. In the Bible you will find the words that can guide you in your
process of approaching the Lord and knowing him. Blessings.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our sins; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed
Rom 10:9 that if you confess with your
mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved
