Another full week! The patients continue to flock in for consultations and treatment once the ‘gate’ is opened for them to get in the queue. It is always mind boggling to realize how far people travel to get here. One young woman and her mother walked from Tanzania (over 100 km) for her delivery. Another arrived on the back of a bicycle sitting in a chair.
The plethora of children who come in daily for treatment of malaria and malnutrition are the ones that really wrench the heart. The 'ambulance' (four strong men carrying a stretcher) arrived early Wednesday after a 4+hour trek from the farthest ridges. They lay it down and I peaked under the fabric to assess the transported bundle. An adorable four year old boy with burns over his torso, flank, left arm and hand stared up at me, exhibiting the quintessential Burundian stoic behavior, totally alert and nary a whimper.
After the hour it took for Connie, Brad and I to get him ‘settled’, cleaned and dress the burns, we already felt an attachment to this dear little guy named Clovis. His resilience and determination are astounding. Despite medication he was thrashing and he made it clear that he wanted to help clean the wounds. Brad gloved him and gave him a 4X4 gauze with saline and Clovis began deliberately and carefully cleaning his wounds. It really touched all of us simultaneously, we all had tears brimming!
We are into a routine now of doing his dressing twice a day with his mother. It will be a long haul, but we are confident that he will heal well. It’s awful to be involved with these tortuous sessions, but we do our best to keep him sedated with codeine and valium. He’s very special and we love him.
Two other boys, Ferdinand and Maombi, have chronic health issues and they spend a lot of time hanging out. Ferdinand has been here for about six months and Maombi about three. Last week I went to the Kigutu Primary School (next door to VHW) and spoke with teachers and the headmaster and now they are enrolled in the second grade. It’s definitely worth the effort to make sure they are fed, ready and delivered to school before we do rounds.
Brad and I felt very protective of them as they were quite the spectacle for the first few days, especially Maombi, who is in a wheelchair. Now they are integrating well. Two babies from the malnutrition ward died over the weekend which was agonising. Both were admitted with multiple health issues.
The mother of one was a pregnant 18 year-old Muslim girl who was very upset (the most outward display of grief I have witnessed in Burundi). She explained that her husband’s father would blame the death on her and that the traditional healer had said that this pregnancy would be born as a rat or a stone. To help console her we took her into an exam room and used the Doppler on her so she could hear the reassuring galloping sound of the fetal heart tones. It was a relief to see her smile. In the malnutrition ward the mothers seem to bond in almost a tribal manner. They all help look after each other’s children, truly conveying the feeling of “it takes a village to raise a child”. It’s very sweet to witness.
In the community of Kigutu, VHW staff members contribute their time to be with children. Pontien, our cook, coaches soccer. Peter (Information Technology) and Mandela (Laundry) do the amazing drumming and dancing. Claudine, the cleaner in the residence, leads a girls’ chorale group.
This past week I have had the opportunity to head to 'downtown' Kigutu every afternoon to do a dressing change for Stefan, our head housekeeper’s husband of 60 years. It’s great to have the little walk and witness all this community building in action.
This afternoon I walked to the top of the hill behind the clinic to watch the sunset. It’s good to feel so at home here, looking out to the verdant mountains beyond mountains on one side and out across Lake Tanganyika on the other.
Helen
Patients waiting at the front of the queue
Bike ambulance
Clovis' burns
Clovis with dressing
First day of school for Maombi and Ferdinand
Brad and Maombi
Kigutu Primary
Classroom
Rounds in the malnutrition ward
Ponce playing soccer
Helen on home visit
Anna and Stefan, married for 60 years
Kigutu view panorama
4 comments:
I am so happy you sent this wonderful update! You are truly doing great work. It makes me want to come straight there to be a part of your world. We are in the midst of the crazy admission season and missing you here at Thacher.
Love, Julie
Love being able to meet these beautiful people here in North Q'land, courtesy of your special help, Helen.
Floating in the lake under an umbrella tree early this morn, a rifle bird's tafetta like ruffle of feathers alerted me to watch it feed off the berries, taking priority over catbird waiting in the wings. Joy! A younger woman's read this one, "eat pray love", NY Elizabeth Gilbert (Italy India Indonesia).
How emotional, how important, how uplifting. Thank you Helen (and Robert for posting) your work, your impact and the beauty by which you thread the experiences. right on! sister! love and blessings in the cosmic/energizing/compassionate ways,
Judy in Santa Fe
Thank you Helen for your gift to us all- What can I do/send for you and your community? Are you familiar with Reiki? A healing touch technique- Am going to learn it and then will tell you what I think! Am reading a book on running about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's Copper Canyon- Part adventure tale, part anthropological detective story, about real people who have managed to maintain healthy stasis by hiding away in an inaccessible part of the world. Many hugs-Nancy
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