Two highlights from the week. First I, Matt, had two friends, Rashid and Alex, up to the house for a “Canadian evening” as they called it. And… Meg had her surgery.
Thursday night Sarah made her way into Kampala to be with Meg, which gave me the perfect opportunity to have Rashid and Alex over for a guys night. Now I am not overly sure, but I am fairly certain Ugandans do not just get together to hang out. There is usually a reason for their gatherings such as weddings, burials, etc. My plan was to make hamburgers and French fries for supper and watch movies, a very normal, laid-back guys night in my opinion. But according to their reactions and their words of thankfulness this “Canadian evening” was an experience of a lifetime. We did just as I had planned; we watched a movie, ate chips, drank tea (not so Canadian) and then made homemade hamburgers and fries with Cokes to wash it all down. We then sat a chatted for hours about life, Canada and how we are so different yet the same. It was definitely a trip highlight for me.
Rashid and Alex were so interested in everything about how I live my life. They were astounded that I ate chips during a movie, that I bought enough food for weeks and kept it in the freezer, that I was able to defrost frozen hamburger buns in the microwave and that I knew how to make hamburgers. I am proud to say that Alex also is now a hamburger-making expert. They were also extremely interested in our laptop, my iPod, our shower with hot water and the many pictures of family and friends. After we had talked for many hours we crashed for the night, had a sleep over if you will, which was yet another new experience for the guys. Alex made the comment that in 10 years working with Mzungus from all around the world, not one, until now, had invited him over for dinner, a movie and to stay the night. Both Alex and Rashid were blown away that I would open my home to them. While it was an experience of a lifetime for them, it was the same for me. It was a way for me to share a very small portion of Canadian life with them. We are very similar yet live very different lives. For example, very few Ugandans have stoves or refrigerators, even fewer have microwaves, the majority wash their clothes by hand, the majority would buy “enough” food for one day and then do the same the next day and very few, in the village, have running water or electricity. Ugandans and Canadian are similar, but we live very different lives.
Now to hear from SJ:
Yesterday was surgery day for Meg and everything went perfect! Meg and another baby from the home both had hernias repaired. We were up bright and early on Friday morning, as we had to be at the hospital by 7am. To prep for the surgery Meg had to stop being fed at 1 am, you wouldn’t have known though, she was in her normal bubbly, happy mood all morning. Meg was second for surgery so we played a little and then she had a little catnap before heading in.
Annie, my boss and leader of the babies homes, after much sweet talking, was able to observe both the surgeries. I felt so much better knowing that she was in there. I sat just outside the theatre doors waiting, just in case they needed my assistance ☺. Meg went in at 9:30 and was back in my arms by 10:30. Annie said she was very well behaved until the nurse wanted to put an IV in her hand. She did not want that. The nannies at the home always tell me that Meg is my daughter and that she reminds them of me and that she has taken on my attributes, so you can imagine if she doesn’t want something she is vocal about it and persistent ☺. Yet Meg is an IV pro. She has had more in her short six-month life then most people will have in a lifetime. After the IV everything went as planned. Meg woke up loudly after her anesthetic, wanting some cuddles. As soon as she was picked up she was as happy as pie.
We had a great day together in her hospital bed. She was the happiest baby and you would have never guessed she had surgery that day. I made sure that she was fine medically. My two years of surgical nursing came out a little I think, the vitals, waiting for the first void and listening to bowel sounds. The nurse came in a few times just to peek in at us, but didn’t come to take her temperature until 2pm in the afternoon…oh man!
Meg is such a character, so full of joy. She talks so much and giggles. She is such a joy and I have fallen in love with her. I can only imagine how parents feel towards there own kids. Meg is not my own and I don’t know if my heart could love her anymore. I love when she is lying on my chest just staring up at me telling me stories. She does so many cute things, like if your chewing gum and you get close to her face she will ‘pretend’ to chew gum too. She sometimes gets giggling so much that she has to catch her breath in between laughing. She loves lying on her tummy and lifting her head to see the world, but she gets tiered and her head just falls down for a couple of seconds and then she lifts it back again, smiling away, looking around! And her faces, and the noise she makes….love her!!!
Matt loves her as well. He will go into the babies home and find her to give her cuddles. She giggles when he kisses her with his whiskers. She just stares at him and smiles. Matt always sneaks in to her room before we go to say good-bye and give her one last kiss.
She will be hard to leave but has most certainly made our 8 months here worthwhile. We will continue to love her from Canada. We have tried to think of any loop holes that would allow us to bring her back with us, but have been unsuccessful. She will do great and mighty things wherever she is. It’s just our heart that will miss her like CRAZY! Someday we will come visit her and bring her all the pictures we have taken and show her how much we loved her from day one.
Mother Theresa said it well when she said, “It is not how much we do,
but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give,
but how much love we put in the giving.”
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
African Thunder
We started out last week with a trip into town. These trips are making us increasingly excited about having our own car again. It’s a lot of work to hike down a mountain, wait for a matatu that has room for two people (remember that matatus are smaller then a 15 passenger van and fit up to 24 people into them). This past Sunday we rode in one whose windows, where we were sitting, didn’t open and it was a HOT day…imagine☺. By the time we got to town we were stinky and sweaty. Luckily people still love us. We met up with friends that we met here that are originally from CA. They had within the last week just adopted a little boy that is approx 1.5 years and cute! It was fun to catch up, they also extended their one-year stay to what could be three years and moved to a new house. So many changes. We were blessed by them and hope we were a blessing to them.
I stayed in town Sunday night for meetings Monday morning. I never know what kind of adventures await when I stay overnight in town. There are currently no international nurses except for myself at the moment. Needless to say, it makes for interesting days and long, phone call filled nights. On Monday I ended up taking Hope to the surgery. Hope is our newest baby weighing in at a measly 5 kg at approximately three years of age. She is tall, has a full set of teeth and speaks and understands her local language. She is a beautiful little girl and a fighter to say the least. It is pretty amazing what the human body can withstand and live through; God’s grace is sufficient and miraculous. Baby Hope, as far as science is concerned, is a miracle child. The human body needs calories and nutrients to sustain itself; she has been deprived of both for a long time and yet she lives. Now that she is with us she will never be neglected in such a way ever again. She will be loved! Good things are happening here. Remember to pray for this little one – for strength and health.
The preemie room has been busy with five babies under 2 kg. A week ago two were unstable, but as of today everyone is doing well and happily gaining weight. This week we did blood work straight from the home as a jaundiced baby had been under the bili light for about a week and was not improving. We normally judge a babies bili levels on observation alone - if they are orange they go under the light. I drew the blood and signed the Dr.’s line on the blood work requested, took it to the lab and, an hour later, we had our bili level. Being a western nurse it’s so exciting to have lab results - they are so concrete!
Matt has been busy. This past week they started using their new alarm system at the shop. Matt spent extra time down there teaching the guys how to use it and made sure that he was with them the first time they activated and deactivated. So far so good and we haven’t been woken up by any alarms yet! He is also doing awesome on his schoolwork. He sent in two papers this past week to bring his total to 11. Five more and he is done his third year!!!
We have been enjoying the beauty of African thunderstorms this past week. Almost every night this week we have had thunder and lightning storms, they are beautiful! One night it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing so fiercely that the rain was falling sideways coming under our door and into our home.
Big week coming up for Meg as she will be having her hernia surgery this Friday. Yaaa! I will head into town Thursday and be with her on Friday at the hospital before and immediately after her surgery. Please pray for her little body, her surgeon and the anesthetist.
Hope you all had a happy St. Patrick’s Day. I had fun explaining it to my nannies. They think we celebrate some weird holidays.
Blessings to you all!
I stayed in town Sunday night for meetings Monday morning. I never know what kind of adventures await when I stay overnight in town. There are currently no international nurses except for myself at the moment. Needless to say, it makes for interesting days and long, phone call filled nights. On Monday I ended up taking Hope to the surgery. Hope is our newest baby weighing in at a measly 5 kg at approximately three years of age. She is tall, has a full set of teeth and speaks and understands her local language. She is a beautiful little girl and a fighter to say the least. It is pretty amazing what the human body can withstand and live through; God’s grace is sufficient and miraculous. Baby Hope, as far as science is concerned, is a miracle child. The human body needs calories and nutrients to sustain itself; she has been deprived of both for a long time and yet she lives. Now that she is with us she will never be neglected in such a way ever again. She will be loved! Good things are happening here. Remember to pray for this little one – for strength and health.
The preemie room has been busy with five babies under 2 kg. A week ago two were unstable, but as of today everyone is doing well and happily gaining weight. This week we did blood work straight from the home as a jaundiced baby had been under the bili light for about a week and was not improving. We normally judge a babies bili levels on observation alone - if they are orange they go under the light. I drew the blood and signed the Dr.’s line on the blood work requested, took it to the lab and, an hour later, we had our bili level. Being a western nurse it’s so exciting to have lab results - they are so concrete!
Matt has been busy. This past week they started using their new alarm system at the shop. Matt spent extra time down there teaching the guys how to use it and made sure that he was with them the first time they activated and deactivated. So far so good and we haven’t been woken up by any alarms yet! He is also doing awesome on his schoolwork. He sent in two papers this past week to bring his total to 11. Five more and he is done his third year!!!
We have been enjoying the beauty of African thunderstorms this past week. Almost every night this week we have had thunder and lightning storms, they are beautiful! One night it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing so fiercely that the rain was falling sideways coming under our door and into our home.
Big week coming up for Meg as she will be having her hernia surgery this Friday. Yaaa! I will head into town Thursday and be with her on Friday at the hospital before and immediately after her surgery. Please pray for her little body, her surgeon and the anesthetist.
Hope you all had a happy St. Patrick’s Day. I had fun explaining it to my nannies. They think we celebrate some weird holidays.
Blessings to you all!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
God is GOOD!
To get right into it, for those Meg fans out there, Meg was able to meet with both a surgeon and an anesthetist this past week to discuss her hernia problem, and the possibility of getting it fixed. Both appointments went well and Sarah was able to accompany Meg to the surgeons. She was very impressed with the surgeon and trusts Meg will be in very capable hands. We are now playing the waiting game. We will update you all when we find out more.
Last Sunday Sarah and I took a little trip with Gerry and Donna down to the equator. This was the last thing on our Ugandan to-do-list. We have been blessed to see much of Uganda and surrounding countries during our time here. The equator was only a short, 45 minute, drive from our Suubi home, which made for a nice Sunday afternoon outing. While there was no Equator Theme Park, as Sarah Jane had hoped, there was a small café, where we enjoyed lunch, a small Ugandan village/market, two “official” equator markers and an official water swirling demonstration. Both Sarah and I are witnesses and pleased to announce that water does in fact swirl the opposite direction south of the equator. At the local equator gift shop we saw a water demonstration in the north, the south and directly on the equator. Since I cannot remember the details…in the north it spun one way, in the south it definitely spun the opposite direction and directly on the equator the water simply drained straight down. I have to admit, both Sarah and I were skeptical but walked away impressed. We also found out that when standing directly on the equator we were 3% lighter. So we enjoyed that for a brief second or two. All in all it was a nice trip.
Sarah had a bit of an interesting week, not only was she able to attend a women’s conference on Women’s Day, enjoy a day lounging beside a pool with the other female volunteers and she also had the 24-hour flu. While the first two were somewhat more enjoyable than the flu, she has recovered and is back to normal. She was also called into town at 3:30 am on Tuesday morning, as a preemie baby needed her capable hands. Despite a, not so convenient, power outage and thick thick fog, Sarah was able to make into Kampala, thanks to Annie, and help the little one. She put her NICU skills to work and stabilized the baby. 4 days later, the baby remains stable!
Today I returned home from a whirlwind trip, 4 hours north, to Gulu. Friday morning, Gerry, Charles (the shop’s welding foreman) and I made our way up north to visit some of our workers, who have been there for over a month, and to gage where we stand work wise at Watoto’s newest babies home. Along the way we made a stop to visit Charles’ 90 year old father who, prior to the planning of our trip, had requested that Charles visit and bring him some fish. The fish was his absolute favorite food. After a brief visit with the seemingly healthy man, we continued on our way to Gulu. Once in Gulu we caught up with our guys at the babies home, made a plan as far as cabinets, drove out to Watoto’s Gulu village, and treated the guys to supper out. It was a terribly hot, yet lovely trip. The next morning however, during breakfast, Charles received a call that his father, the man we met only 12 hours previous, had passed away in his sleep during the night. Needless to say, we were all shocked. The man had seemed quite healthy and lively for a 90 year old, which by the way is an extremely rare age for a Ugandan. We quickly packed up and made our way back the home of Charles’ father. I was a bit surprised by Charles’ reaction with all that had happened today. Not only did he not shed a tear, but he kept mentioning how good God was and praising God. He was happy. He was happy because somehow, by the grace of God, we just so happened to be traveling directly past his father’s house and just so happened to stop in for a visit on our way up rather than on our way home. Charles was able to see his father one last time and introduce him to two friends of his. That is why God was good and I agree. A good lesson for us all.
That’s all from this week. We hope you are all well. It is crazy to think that we have only 6 weeks remaining. Please pray for Charles’ family first and foremost, and that both Sarah and I would serve wholeheartedly during our last few weeks.
Last Sunday Sarah and I took a little trip with Gerry and Donna down to the equator. This was the last thing on our Ugandan to-do-list. We have been blessed to see much of Uganda and surrounding countries during our time here. The equator was only a short, 45 minute, drive from our Suubi home, which made for a nice Sunday afternoon outing. While there was no Equator Theme Park, as Sarah Jane had hoped, there was a small café, where we enjoyed lunch, a small Ugandan village/market, two “official” equator markers and an official water swirling demonstration. Both Sarah and I are witnesses and pleased to announce that water does in fact swirl the opposite direction south of the equator. At the local equator gift shop we saw a water demonstration in the north, the south and directly on the equator. Since I cannot remember the details…in the north it spun one way, in the south it definitely spun the opposite direction and directly on the equator the water simply drained straight down. I have to admit, both Sarah and I were skeptical but walked away impressed. We also found out that when standing directly on the equator we were 3% lighter. So we enjoyed that for a brief second or two. All in all it was a nice trip.
Sarah had a bit of an interesting week, not only was she able to attend a women’s conference on Women’s Day, enjoy a day lounging beside a pool with the other female volunteers and she also had the 24-hour flu. While the first two were somewhat more enjoyable than the flu, she has recovered and is back to normal. She was also called into town at 3:30 am on Tuesday morning, as a preemie baby needed her capable hands. Despite a, not so convenient, power outage and thick thick fog, Sarah was able to make into Kampala, thanks to Annie, and help the little one. She put her NICU skills to work and stabilized the baby. 4 days later, the baby remains stable!
Today I returned home from a whirlwind trip, 4 hours north, to Gulu. Friday morning, Gerry, Charles (the shop’s welding foreman) and I made our way up north to visit some of our workers, who have been there for over a month, and to gage where we stand work wise at Watoto’s newest babies home. Along the way we made a stop to visit Charles’ 90 year old father who, prior to the planning of our trip, had requested that Charles visit and bring him some fish. The fish was his absolute favorite food. After a brief visit with the seemingly healthy man, we continued on our way to Gulu. Once in Gulu we caught up with our guys at the babies home, made a plan as far as cabinets, drove out to Watoto’s Gulu village, and treated the guys to supper out. It was a terribly hot, yet lovely trip. The next morning however, during breakfast, Charles received a call that his father, the man we met only 12 hours previous, had passed away in his sleep during the night. Needless to say, we were all shocked. The man had seemed quite healthy and lively for a 90 year old, which by the way is an extremely rare age for a Ugandan. We quickly packed up and made our way back the home of Charles’ father. I was a bit surprised by Charles’ reaction with all that had happened today. Not only did he not shed a tear, but he kept mentioning how good God was and praising God. He was happy. He was happy because somehow, by the grace of God, we just so happened to be traveling directly past his father’s house and just so happened to stop in for a visit on our way up rather than on our way home. Charles was able to see his father one last time and introduce him to two friends of his. That is why God was good and I agree. A good lesson for us all.
That’s all from this week. We hope you are all well. It is crazy to think that we have only 6 weeks remaining. Please pray for Charles’ family first and foremost, and that both Sarah and I would serve wholeheartedly during our last few weeks.
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