The restaurant at our guest house specializes in Indian food. Unfortunately for me, my stomach does not like spicy food. Everyone has tried to order something different every evening in hopes of it being an appetizing meal. Some winners around the table have been vegetable curry, and lentil soup. I finally found a winner on day five: number 6 on the menu which appear to be like a fried vegetable falafel, added to my carbohydrate overload of butter naan and rice. Even after trying to explain with my words and my hands, no spicy no spicy, my first 4 attempts at another main with my rice and naan have failed miserably.
The last two days at clinic have included many firsts: the first time I peed in the hole in the ground, and the first time I was offered a slaughtered chicken.
I met two shining stars at clinic, one was 12, Marline who spina bifida and one was a lady, Elinah who lived in a wheelchair with only her left pain still remaining.
Marline was born with spina bifida. This cute girl was slated to have surgery to straighten her club foot but because a pressure ulcer started to form it was postponed. Two years later the pressure ulcer now covers the top of her entire right foot. Our goal was to try and clean it up so any infection that was brewing wouldn’t lead to osteomyletis and even worse sepsis. Our team of Kenyan nurses we work with will stay connected with her when we leave so she can get the help she needs to connect to thrive as well as she has been.
Elinah is lady that arrived to us in a wheelchair. She had lost both her legs and the fingers on her right hand due to infection in 2010. Now her left hand is infected, with only her palm left. Her daughter explained that she is supposed to have surgery soon to amputate her left hand at the wrist to stop the possible spread of infection. Canadian Nurses of Africa is hoping to garner donations to financial support Elinah and her daughter so Elinah can have this surgery. Elinah’s spirit was so positive and thankful. It truly inspired both Becca and I to provide her the best care we could.
We are excited to have the day off tomorrow and we are taking a trip to Lake Victoria to see the hippos!
The mountains are calling... but I still live with my parents 