This is Janet, we met her while we were actually called to the hospital to care for a young boy that we love dearly that had been stabbed. To our surprise he was not in the pediatric ward, despite being only 12 years old … but he was in the women’s surgical ward.

As we walked into the ward we were all struck by the plight of a young lady that was badly burnt in the bed across from our young boy. As we sat there trying to be concerned with our patient … we were drawn to this young lady. After we investigated her situation we found that she was basically waiting … waiting for something to happen so that she could be treated. She hadn’t even had her dressing done … no food … no care … no pain reliever. She was in a terrible way as you can see by the photos …

The stench of her infected face was overwhelming and it was evident that she was in a state of shock. She had been horrifically burnt. She was rushed to the local public hospital in Cebu after suffering from an accident where the gas bottle exploded in her kitchen and she was set alight. Unfortunately the public health system in Cebu is very under resourced and Janet was left in the emergency room without any pain reliever or treatment for more than 6 hours after admission. There is no burns unit in the public health system.

As her family is extremely poor they had no hope of being able to provide for Janet’s needs. We were compelled to assist … we were able to immediately purchase the expensive medications and requirements necessary for her surgery … dressing changes and medical treatment.

She is doing well now and has very little evidence that she suffered such a terrible accident.