Cure Hospital

I went to Cure Hospital last week and I forgot to blog about it. I thought it was important enough to go back and talk about it. Cure Hospital is one of the world's specialists in hydrocephalus and spina bifida. People come from all over Africa to have their children operated on. We got to shadow the surgeon there last Monday. We watched two surgeries on children under the age of 3. 

For those of you who do not know, hydrocephalus is a condition where the child produces more cerebral spinal fluid than is normal. If this is left unchecked it can cause the head of the baby to expand. The bones of the skull are not fused together at such a young age and thus the head had room to expand. If this continues it can cause severe brain and spinal damage. I have studied this condition in great length during my courses, but the condition is quite rare in the US. So I felt very privileged to be present for one of these surgeries. 

                                   

In this picture they are doing an irrigation surgery. I don't really know what this is called in the US, but it is done when the child has blood mixed I'm with the CSF in the brain cavity. So they open up the skull and drain the bloody cfs, then replace it with saline until the fluid is clear. The surgeon was amazing. He was finished in 30 minutes and it can easily take 2 hours. Their facility may not look as professional as surgery rooms in the states, but that surgeon is world class! 

In between the two surgeries, Sam and I went down to the ICCU to see the children who had been operated on earlier that day. Each one was beautiful and also heart breaking. I hope you understand that I am not happy about the sorrow that these tiny babies have seen, but I am glad that I had a chance to be a part of their lives even if it was just for a few minutes. 

       

        

The child above is being monitored until his vitals normalize. As you can tell he has severe hydrocephalus. In a normal child CFS is used to keep the brain tissue moist as well as the base of the spinal chord protected. Once used it is reabsorbed into the blood stream, but in this youngster the fluid is not reabsorbed. He just keeps producing CFS even though the old fluid still lingers. He had a shunt put in a few days ago, but it hasn't done enough to reduce the pressure on his brain.  A shunt is a common treatment option for hydrocephalus. It is a plastic tube that starts in a ventricle in the brain and then diverts the CSF to another part of the body where is can be reabsorbed. In some patients this is enough, but in this little guy it is not working. It is heart breaking to see, but the expansion of the skull is actually saving his life. When hydrocephalus develops in a child this young operations can be completed before the brain is damaged. If hydrocephalus develops in an adult or older child the skull cannot expand therefore the condition might become fatal if it is not treated quickly. Ta little guy looks pretty bad, but the nurses in the ICCU were hopeful that he would eventually pull out okay. 

The next little guy is in a sad shape, so just be aware. 

                                     

He has quite a lot of health concerns as you can see. He has hydrocephalus, a cleft lip, and his right eye did not develop properly. The last two are not life threatening so they are only working on hydrocephalus for now. Although the cleft lip and eye are gruesome, he could live with those easily for some time. The nurse said his chances are pretty slim, but they are going to do all they can. The nurse, Ezra, let us help dress the infection on the eye. With tender hands Sam and I helped to clean and rebandage his eye. He was a trooper through the whole thing! He barely whined at all, which is pretty impressive. I loved holding his tiny tiny hands! 

After helpjg this fellow, Ezra asked me to go and comfort one of the mothers. She has lost all hope of her child recovering. You can imagine that it would be hard to keep a positive attitude through something like this, but many of the mothers strengthen each other and trust in a higher power. This wonderful woman, however, was terrified that her son would not make it. Ezra said that he probably wouldn't, but that they must help support each parent and keep them hopeful. I think my favorite moment of the whole day was watching Ezra comfort this mother. She was tearing up as we walked around the unit, so Ezra took some time to talk with her and try to give her hope once more. It was beautiful to witness the love that he has for these children and their families! Ezra told me that they do what they can for the parents, but  more help is always appreciated. He suggested that I walk around and be a counselor. I didn't get to speak with her, because we had to go to the second surgery. I would like to go back and work with those mothers to help them deal with the massive amounts of stress with which they are dealing. 

                                    

                                   

This is Ezra with Sam and again with me. I wanted you to see Sam so you have a face to the name. 

Ezra was not very keen to smile, but I won him over in the end! He offered me a job in the ICCU anytime I wanted to move back to Uganda!!!! ;) 

It was a wonderful day! We met some wonderful people and got a better idea of health care in Uganda! 

Zippin'

We went back to the latrine this week. Some serious progress has been made, we ferried water for the mixing of cement. When we started out I thought we would have a giant spinning bowl that would mix the cement. But when we arrived it was a circle made of bricks which was used as the base to mix the cement. It was hard work and one bag of cement took about half of that large blue barrel of water. It was hard work, but it was really fun to learn. 

       

We had to ferry tons of water, but the school's water pump was broken so we had to go about 3 km away to fetch the water. It was so hard! The native women carry a huge water drum on their heads and a child on their hips. I, on the other hand, had no child and could hardly carry one small drum. I have never been laughed at so much as while I was trying to carry a small drum of water. They are so heavy, and even though I am a tough cookie I am nothing compared to the natives. I am not African strong. The whole town came out to watch the "mazoongooz" carry water. This is the term they have for white people. Hahaha 

Many people here think that white people are too rich and fancy to do manual labor, so we try to show them that we are just like them. We have to work for what we want. This brought me a lot of comfort as the people laughed at me. 

       

We went two days in a row and my shoulders are so sore. I found that the best way to carry was to put the drum on one shoulder and hold it with the opposite hand. It was easier, but not by much. Hahaha 

I also spilled a ton of water on myself and then I sat in some clay...so it looked like I pooped my pants. Every time I past children they just busted out laughing. It was pretty bad! ;) 

                               

The second day we went to the latrine we ferried bricks for the walls of the latrine. It was pretty hard work as well, but better then the water. It was a wonderful day, mostly because the children all got together and made an assembly line to carry the bricks. It was so beautiful to see them pitching in and having a blast! 

                                 

                                 

                                 

I love the people here. They are all so fun and hard working. The constructor that you see above in the blue, is named Sula. He is the best. He knows everything and he keeps a positive attitude in every situation. He always takes time to smile for pictures. Hahaha his whole team is amazing and they work so hard. One worker specifically, never takes a break. He works through lunch and last time we used a stopwatch to see how many minutes he sat down...it was about 5 through out the whole day. 

We got a lot done on the latrine and I was so sore! Then we scooted out for a weekend trip. We went down to Jinja and went zip lining. It was so beautiful! We were in the middle of nowhere in the jungle. We slept and the next morning the adventure began. We had a 20 minute hike to a giant tree, which we then climbed. Yes, we climbed it...it was terrifying!!!

       

                                   

       

I was so worried, but it wasn't that bad. Watching everyone else climb up was harder than the actual climb. I made it up in one piece and I think I am getting over my fear of heights! 

The two "sky captains" that came with us were so funny! They are  locals that live in the surrounding villages and they decided to start a buisness showing off the beautiful landscape. They were so hospitable and helped us out so much. The zipping was really fun, but the last one was incredible! It was double the length of the previous 4 and crossed a river. You had time to look around and really get a feel for your surroundings. I was in heaven! Jeremy, the sky captain, told me that I was high enough to communicate with God directly! ;)

It was absolutely breathtaking! 

        

                                      

                                       

         

         

I have quickly come to love my fellow volunteers! They are all so wonderful and we work well together. We also have a ton of fun together! I feel so blessed to be here in the pearl of Africa! ;) 

 

A Post Full of Crap

This was my first real day as a volunteer. there were two activities going on. The first was a dental camp that provided dental care to 100 villagers. The other project is a latrine for a secondary school about an hour away. I went with the group to the latrine which we call the pit. We rode out through many villages. It is beautiful out in the villages and all the children wave as we pass. I had no idea what to expect, it was insane.

        

        

       

The pit is a giant whole with a mental roof over the top. Originallly when they built the pit then roof fell down and they didnt have the funds to fix it. The bathrooms that exist on the property are holes in the ground and are beyond nasty. There are even nasty for Africa and those of you that have never lived in a 3rd world country...I just cannot explain the bathrooms. The first order of buisness was to support the roof so when we pulled the roof down it wouldn't fall into the giant hole in the ground. We pulled it down then the real work began. We had to clean out the trash in the hole. I guess when the roof fell down the children started using the hole as a garage can. So there was about 5 feet of mud and garbage that need to be pulled out of the hole. The hole was about 10 feet deep so we needed some kind of tool to get the stuff out. We took giant woven plastic bags and tied ropes through them. Then the people in the pit filled them with garbage and we pulled them up. Here in Africa there is a real garbage problem. There is not where it take the garbage. So we just moved it from in the hole to a giant pile behehind the existing bathrooms. That was my job and it was pretty intense work. I have never been so disgusting in all my life. 

                                         

                                 

While I was working I talked with some of the children. They are so fun and friendly. I met a young girl about 13 years old named Christina. We talked for a bit about the project and then she asked me about America. I told here that America is very different from Africa. She said that someday she would like to come visit and see how we live in America. As I thought on her statement I was so humbled at what she would find there. A country full of people with every convince and yet we are not as happy as these native are here. I wonder if it would be harder to see our wealth or for me to see their poverty? I have never felt so motivated to be grateful for what I have. I knew when I signed up for this that I would be more changed than the people I helped, but I never knew how much this would change my perspective. We are so blessed!   

The people we work with here are so amazing. Many men came with us to the school and missed a day of work to come. They were willing so make sacrifices to help the children love better. They had all the nohow and desire, they just needed some motivation and materials to get this going. 

                                         

This school has 900 students, 600 girls and 300 boys. I was talking ei the head teacher and he told me that 50% are orphans. Many of them come from villages 3-4 miles away and they walk every morning to get to their lessons on time. Many if the teachers also walk for and hour or two to make it in time. Without the latrine they didn't know how they would fill the needs of the students and teachers since most are at the school all day long. With the new latrine they will be able to use it for years! I am so excited to see it completed!  

Getting to know Mbale

Today was a pretty good day. Last night I couldn't sleep at all so I snuck off to the kitchen and facetimed  with my family and then with Sammi. It was super fun to hear familiar voices. So there was a silver lining to my insomnia. Then I got up at 9 and got ready for the day. 

                           

                              (This is Katie, she just got here too and is adorable!) 

One of the girls, Katie (different than mentioned above) took us to Mbale downtown. We walked around and tried to get a feel for the city. It is pretty big city and there are so many people all standing around chatting. There are security guards outside of many of the establishments. So when you go into the grocery store you have to get scanned and your bags are checked.  The best things is that the security guards are so nice. They always wave and chat with us. They are the friendliness people I have met so far! 

We went to the new and improved market. The old market was on the side of the road and there were stalls all over the place. It was really dirty and not very sanitary. The new market is in a huge cement four story building. The vendors rent space and they set up shop with whatever. Food, clothes, shoes, and tons more. There are so many vendors. This new market is so much better than the old because the vendors can leave all their product locked up over night. Plus it is much more clean because it is inside and not on a dusty road. 

After the market we walked around, went to the bank, and headed home. 

      

        

                                                (This is our road! Isn't it beautiful!!!!) 

After some training with Jess, lunch, and a nap I went with Whitney to a soccer league that HELP is assisting with. It was amazing. They introduced me to all the kids, but they could not say my name at all. It was so funny, they all yelled out different things. Haha They only have two soccer balls and tons of children, so we split into boys and girls and started drills. We practiced heading, kicking, weaving, and just having fun! All the kids were so excited to play and most of them were WAY better than me. Haha I wish that Sterling was here to hep me out! ;) 

     

I just love the children! They are so sweet and they love to hold my hand while we walk. I started running while holding two girls hands then I stopped suddenly. They giggled and giggled! I love how much joy they find in the simple fun things in life. They are so joyful! It is so humbling! 

We headed home on botas and had dinner. Tonight we had chicken stew. You might not think this is as interesting as I do, but you have to read it anyway. Chicken stew is chicken and sweet potatoes in a broth. But here is the thing...African sweet potatoes are actually potatoes that are sweet. They are not at all like sweet potatoes in America. I love them, because they are actually what I always thought sweet potatoes should be! It tasted sooooo good to me probably because I am hungry all the time. ;)

 

     

After dinner we had to dishes in a bucket because the water was out. 

                               

First Day in Uganda

Okay so I am offically in the house. The trip was pretty uneventful, thank goodness. I am super tired and I am stoked for sleep tonight. Amsterdam was wonderful and I actually ran into a friend. Can you even believe that? A friend of a freind was on my flight from Hoouston to Amsterdam, but we didn't make the connection until after while we were getting off the plane. She walked and talked with me for about an hour, which was really wonderful! It was seriously wonderful to chat with someone that I knew. Then I walked around and loked at things. 

The flght to Uganda was long and I was really really tired. Finally I got to Ugagnda and Jess was there just like she promised. I was so relieved! We slept in Entebbe and the next morning we headed out to Mbale. It was a crazy bus ride.  There is no personal space in Uganda and some people are really excited to help a white person. Jess and I were the only white people for miles. This one guy keep trying to get me to try a bunch of foodie others tried to teach me their native language. I am horrible, but I have only been here for a day. 

When we got off the bus in Mbale the people stormed to drive us home. Jess told me that all the drivers want to drive the white people and boy howdy she was right. People were pulling at me and talking so fast in Luganda. So Jess helped me out and off we went. Here is the scoop, there are is a huge employment deficit. So tons of men wait around to drive you wherever from point a to point b on a dirt bike. Jess was on one with my luggage and I was on another. My driver was suppose to follow Jess, but we got separated. He didn't remember which bank we were going to and I hadn't even heard that part of the instructions. So using the four directions that Jess gave me to get to the house I directed him to take me to the home. After ten minutes, asking directions from three little kids, and totally over paying him I was left on the side of the road alone in Uganda. No one speaks English and I really didn't know where else to go. I was freakin out a little bit, but I figured that if I just stayed on the road Jess would eventually find me. I walked around and some little kids rushed me. They all wanted a hug and I was happy to oblige. While I was standing there waiting two white college age girls rode up on dirt bikes and I knew I had found my place. Thank goodness! 

Now I have been introduced to everyone and am really really excited for sleep!!! It is beautiful here and I think I am addicted to the pinapple. 

Let the adventures begin!

I just wanted to type up a quick little post while I am in the airport. I got here way early, mostly because I am my Father's daughter. It took 5 minutes to check my bag and another 15 to get through security. I am confident that it isn't always that easy but I am counting all my blessings! You might have wondered why I haven't posted in a while, guilt. I have some weird guilt complex. I feel guilty sbout a ton of things. I still feel guilty that I hit Jordan Blanchard in the face with a dodgeball in the 6th grade. Anyway I was feeling really guilty that I would add to the comparison problem that we have in our world. 

I hate flipping through Facebook and feeling like everyone on earth is having more fun than I am, so as I prepared for my trip I really wanted to talk about comparing. However, I felt like I was breaking some rules by going to Africa. Hahah but that isn't the answer. The answer is perspective. I don't think that I can eradicate comparison from the world (as much as I would LOVE to). We need to compare things, but we don't need to compare people. Don't compare your life to someone else's. And I beg of you, please don't compare your life to someone's Facebook life. Remember that you have 300 frerinds on Facebook and the 20 that are doing exciting things are posting. Everyone else is flipping through and like them all. The whole pong of Facebook is to compile all the noteworthy things in our lives and share them. So naturally it looks like everyone is doing cool things because they aren't posting the boring, normal, or mundane things. They are finding filters and angles that make their experiances look even more wonderful! But to be fair we should all post normal things too just ton remind everyone that we don't do major things all the time.  Have fun in life and don't stress about what other people are doing. Make memories and don't worry about the price tag. Make lots of memories with loads of wonderful people! I just love you, you beautiful people! Now my next post will be from Uganda! Ahhhhh! 

Just in case you didn't know where it is, here is the giant map with a giant sign! Hahaha I don't know why but I love this map a lot! 

I know this was short but I just wanted to personally talk to all of you. Since that is not possible, a post was needed! 

Facebook and iMessage is available! 

This week, clear out your social media. Social media is awesome, it allows me to stay up with all of y'all. But if you struggle with comparing your life to those posts you see on Facebook, clear yours out. 

     What was I thinking?!?

That I love Africa!!!