Day 30: Sunday 11th November M.I.A. 1 clinic re-visited:
Kathie survived her sleep-over in the “Big girls” room: with Kabibi, Fraha, Diana and Mercy. Lyle rang and gave us a “to-do list” in case we got bored J Spent the morning on chores: laundry, re-stocking the last of our medications, mud-hut cleaning before venturing over to assess one last time all 51 of the children at M.I.A. 1. The main-house was being mopped so we set up clinic in the cubby house as the children were all being supervised at play. It was certainly the most fun we’ve had at a clinic to date! The children were much better all round: a few still had fevers, coughs and colds, but chest & ear infections had cleared up. We’ve realised that before we leave we need to do an in-service with the carer’s to ensure that they know what is a normal temperature for the children and also to stop the practise of sharing the same medicine spoon/cup (which we’ve noticed). We also heard from Michele and Corinna: who’d been having quite an adventure; beginning with atrocious accommodation in Nairobi, arriving safely to Zanzibar however their luggage didn’t! So for the next two days, they will be wearing sarongs that the guesthouse gave them. Never a dull moment!
Day 31: 12th November: mobile clinic re-visited
1st task: Joram’s burns are healing nicely and his pain management is working. We actually received a little smile from him today. Some of the children have been teasing him – as children can do- so we’ve decided to buy him a few “cheer-up” gifts when we’re in town tomorrow. He’ll be able to have a 7 day Acticoat dressing applied tomorrow so it’ll be the last time we see him. 2nd task: secure appointments with Mr Gilani (local businessman who’d offered his assistance to Kenya Heatlh, last trip) & also with Elisabeth (C.E.O.hospice).This morning we also had a lovely surprise visit from Cyrus: Tagisia’s ‘African son’, who joined us for breakfast and then came with us on our mobile clinic to the nearby village. Joseph – the evangelist- also assisted us with interpreting. We’d hoped that young Joyce – from Kissi- would be here by now for her consultation with Dr O’Dour as she needs an inguinal hernia repair but she was unable to be transported to Nakuru in time. First stop today: to check on Ruth: 54 year old widow with severe rheumatoid arthritis. She was all smiles when she saw us and it didn’t take long before word got out and we soon had a large group of people waiting to be treated. The sun certainly had ‘bite’ in it today so we had to keep moving our clinic into the shade! We didn’t get to see Beatrice today as she was actually able to attend school! So that was wonderful news to hear. Several people with wounds now were healing beautifully, Corinna would be happy to know. We’ve found that in general the people of Kenya that we see in clinics, are very obedient to any health care instruction we give them, and consequently: they heal! In total we saw 55 patients, and received many a verbal “Blessing” which touched our hearts. 3pm we finished up, just in time for the first rainfall; good timing! Tagisia is so very grateful that Kathie chose to remain this last week to help run Kenya Health!
(photo: Tagisia assessing a patient on our mobile clinic. Hypertension is common here due to stresses of life, poor hydration and salt intake)
Day 32: Tuesday 13th November
First errand today: re-visit the women’s prison and drop off the medical supplies: medications for several inmates and a few pairs of glasses that Kathie had purchased. Back into town for some shopping: blankets for Ruth, shoes for one young lad who’s feet were crammed in a pair of shoes three sizes too small, a school back pack & goodies for Joram, and a birthday present for Kabibi. Yep it was a fun morning! We then caught up with Mary over a cuppa before travelling onto Nakuru hospice for our appointment with Elizabeth. An hour and a half later, waiting still, we’re reminded once again of Kenyan time but it was certainly worth it for the meeting was positive and will help ensure that subsequent Kenya Health trips will run smoothly. After lunch we paid Rafiki Mwema (girls home for sexually abused girls) a visit. There are now 18 beautiful girls, all were saddened as one of them, Joyce, had returned to her home that very morning. Even though they were happy for Joyce, they would miss her dearly. Kathie and I have decided to remain for the M.I.A. graduation this Thursday and fore-go our planned visit to the elephant orphanage and giraffe manor this trip. There’s always next May’s K.H. trip!
Day 33: Wednesday 14th November: Last clinic
Very busy day as tomorrow morning we’ll leave straight after the graduation ceremony. Joram absolutely loved his gifts and rewarded us with an even bigger smile!
(photo: Joram: young lad who’d sustained burns from a pot of hot porridge: this was taken on the last dressing change)
In between our flurry of final preparation, 4 patients came a knocking to the door of our mud-hut – ever a dull moment in Kenya! Rosemary had planned to join us for lunch today and to teach us how to make chapatti, but she’d been delayed so Kathie and Tagisia attempted. The result: we discovered 7 ways how NOT to make chapatti! To add to insult even the cows wouldn’t eat it lol. Being the very last clinic at M.I.A. school, we’d anticipated a much smaller number of patients: wrong! We saw 77 patients today in 3 hours: not bad for 3 Daktari. One little baby, 10months old, had the worst case of scabies seen this trip. It was hidden under a woollen beanie, which would have only aggravated the skin condition. After clinic it was time to bid farewell to Rosemary -who we will miss, she is such a terrific nurse and joy to work with – and our wonderful evangelists Abraham and Joseph. Rosemary passed onto us some lovely gifts from Elizabeth (Nukuru hospice), which was unexpected. Kathie and I received a masai blanket each! (we’d been eyeing these up at the markets earlier in the trip: God is good!)
(photo:Taken after our final clinic: L-R Rosemary & daughter, Helen, Abraham, Joseph, Jan & Kathie (Tagisia is the photographer)
Day 34 Thursday 15th November: Goodbye M.I.A. & Nakuru
What a whirlwind of activity this morning as we quickly did stock-take and vacated our mud-hut for the last time this trip. The 22 children from top class who graduated today at M.I.A. school looked absolutely adorable in their cap and gowns this morning. We joined them briefly for lunch and then bid a hasty goodbye, relieved that we were leaving them on a high note; so no tears shed! Mary and Lillian have been by our side throughout this trip, supporting in so many ways. We know that we couldn’t have achieved what we did without their input. So grateful! Early morning message from Lyle thanking us all for our hard work. It was worth every minute.Michele had arranged for us to meet them and stay at the Stanley Sarova hotel in Nairobi. We stayed up until 2445hrs catching up! Yawn. Kathie realised that we’d begun our trip with Stanley (the Matatu driver who drove us from Nairobi to M.I.A.), enjoyed our time at M.I.A. with Stanley (her hand puppet that delighted the children), and now ended our trip with the Stanley. Tomorrow we begin our long journey home; leaving 2.30pm and arriving Saturday night 8.30pm. Was it all worth it? You bet! Both Kathie and Tagisia plan to return 2013 to do it all again!
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