The Roller Coaster Ride continues........

This week has been much more difficult as we felt the full extend of the problems that arise when children go home for a while. Prior to leaving for their holidays all the families were given one set of medication and if the children needed more the parents would have to provide it. This is all the parents have to do in terms of contribution/ responsibility. However, as all of the children come from very poor families, the cost of the medication is way beyond their means, and so many of them went weeks without medication. Hence this week we have had to deal with many seizures and dietary problems. I have found the seizures the most difficult to deal with. The children are so frail. Others have sores on their bodies because at home they were probably just left in one position and bed sores developed easily, and without treatment for weeks, they just get worse. Some children have returned malnourished and are back on special diets to get their weight back up, and others are being monitored to ensure they are where they should be chemically.

We also had a new addition to the ward / family, as one of the boys from the nutritional ward was transferred down to us. One of ours is still there but making little progress now…..

This week the children were also inoculated against the cold, as they are all very prone to infections. I was quite anxious as I was expecting lots of crying but I was absolutely amazed as not one of them cried. I went in with Perla, and watched her flinch and then just carry on as normal. When I said I was surprised…I was told it was all relative. Many of these children have experienced so much pain or are doing so on a daily basis that a needle is nothing. I felt really sad.

So lots of cuddling and hugging this week for all, as they sat in their chairs with jumpers and woolly hats that had been donated to the hospital!!

Luckily for me this week, distraction came in the form of new bottles. So I was given the task of labelling once again, and as I was doing this for our ward, the sister from the next ward asked if I would do theirs too. So Lesley arrived with bottles and a huge list of names!! Of course I said…not realising that I would have to sit out on a table in the cold for the next two hours, hands freezing painting names on bottles with black nail varnish. After I finished I had a huge cup of Chai tea at a local café to warm me up. I needed it!!
As always I have continued with my usual duties, giving me some time to think about everything. When you have to fold hundreds of sheets and clothes, and wash as many dishes and bottles, there is plenty of time to think. I can only hope that most people know and appreciate just how lucky they really are……..

ANTIGUA......

Antigua's three volcanoes early one morning...........





Its been unusually cold this this week, and so have wandered the streets of Antigua clad in jumpers and scarves, hands deep in my pockets to keep warm. However the natural beauty of the place has been enhanced by the colourful purple blossoms of the Jacaranda trees, the ground below covered in a carpet of fallen blooms. It remindes me of Nairobi. One day, in amongst this beauty I saw a crowd of people walking in the street all clad in black leaving a trail of incense behind them. It was a funeral. Here everyone walks in the streets to the funeral and to the cemetery, bringing the traffic to a standstill. Its amazing to see all the car and tuk tuk drivers wait patiently and respectfully watching the procession and allowing it to pass peacefully. Not a horn is hooted or a shout heard.......
This week I also had the chance to hear about, and meet, a woman from USA who has just spent two years in Guatemala going through the process of adopting a Guatemalan child. There are a lot of Americans here trying to adopt, but lately its become very difficult. In the past there have been many reports of children being kidnapped and taken across the border and sold. So the government has introduced new procedures to make it more difficult. This means that the child and adoptive parents have to have a DNA test at the beginning of the whole process and at the end. Before leaving the country they have to have the test again to ensure that the right child is leaving the country with the right parent. The government also insists that the child’s birth certificate shows the name given by his/ her natural parents. The adoptive parents can then change the name in USA if they wish, which most do. It is a long process costing thousands and thousands of dollars and a minimum of two years. I listened with interest as she explained her ordeals with lawyers and red tape at both ends, but her endurance and patience shone through. She is now awaiting an interview with the US department before leaving for USA with her son.
I said good bye and wished her luck.

As I walked through the park that evening, I looked at all the families and the small, beautiful children. Laughing and crying, talking and sulking, running and falling, eating and drinking, they were all enjoying life in the company of their families. I sat on a bench, watching them and thinking about mine…so far way and so much older..but still children, and more importantly, and hopefully as happy as I am just thinking about them........

Enjoy

Adios amigos

Goodnight

Xxx