Life is Precious

The days here feel both incredibly long and terribly short all at the same time!  On Monday Scott and Haley left to head back to the states, leaving just Callie and I.  We spent quite a bit of time in Namatala, checking on sick kids and helping out with small wounds.  It always amazes me how we seem to start our days wondering what on earth we are going to do to fill up our day but God never ceases to fill it completely!   

Posho and Greens

On Tuesday we went into Namatala to hang out with our kids and check on Tom, Masse and Irene's little brother.  He has been sick for about 3 weeks with a very high fever and what we assumed was malaria.  He wasn't looking very good, but he felt cooler than the days before.  Although we thought he might be getting better, we decided to take him into the hospital.  Malaria tests are free, and often times the medication is the equivalent of 10 dollars.  It was obvious as we took him from his home to the hospital that he had absolutely no energy, and from what his sisters had told us, he wasn't eating.  When finally seen by the doctor, it was apparent that he was disappointed that we were the ones to bring him in.  We answered all of his questions as best we could, and he finally did a malaria test for Tom.  After about 10 minutes it was concluded that what Tom had was not malaria, but pneumonia. The doctor then said that what we needed to do was to admit Tom and start him on a fluid drip.  This scared Callie and I for several reasons, the first being that the mother was in the main hospital still with her malnourished child and the dad was not around.  Secondly, we knew that without any treatment and considering his living conditions, pneumonia could kill Tom.  We decided to see if the Jja Ja would be willing to stay with him for just the night.  As we figured, the Jja Ja (who was taking care of the other 7 kids) was unable to come, but luckily a relative agreed to stay.  As Callie and I waited for the Auntie to arrive the nurses started working on Tom.  It was a difficult situation for me.  Tom smelled badly of urine, since I am sure he refused a bath when feeling so badly, but it was apparent that he needed to be held.  I held him while the nurses tried to find a vein ( several times unsuccessfully) in his arm.  He screamed and kicked, which broke my heart even more.  After finally finding a vein and attaching the drip, I held Tom in the hospital bed and cried.  It hurt to watch this little boy in the hospital, not having a parent to hold him, being too weak to eat, being clearly dehydrated.  I prayed over him and his sweet family that I have become so attached to.  After the Auntie arrived we headed home for lunch. This came as an interesting surprise.  We were served Posho (flour and water mixture) and greens (kale).  It definitely was not my favorite, but I appreciated the experience!

Our 4th of July meal!

On Wednesday we started by heading to the hospital to check on Tom.  After some waiting around the doctors told us that Tom's fever was still relatively high (but lower than his 104.5 temp the previous day) and that his blood count was not normal and they would like to keep him for observation another night.  After discussing things with the Auntie, she agreed to staying another night with  Tom. We left them with some food for another night and headed back into Namatala for some time.  For dinner we decided it was necessary to celebrate the 4th of July, so we went to the market to get stuff to make grilled cheese! This was definitely a foreign concept to everyone else in the house.  James( the cook) made us some french fries, and helped us cut the cheese for our sandwiches.  It turned out great, and everyone seemed to like them, asking what they were called!  We ended our celebration with some ice cream :) 


Today we started by going back to the hospital to pay the bill and see what medication Tom would need to take home.  We were relieved that the doctors were going to release him and put him on some oral medications. We went into Namatala to hang out and spend time with the kids. Each day it gets harder to think about leaving here.  I have grown to love so many of the children here.  I will especially miss Masse and Irene's family, our homework club after school, and the long sunday services.  I have learned so much about myself and the heart of the Lord while I have been here.  I hope to get the most out of my last few days, showing these children how very much the Lord and I love them.