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.”
