Today Steven needed to go to the doctor so he got to ride with us which I thought was awesome. When we got to the hospital we each got paired up with a patient and assigned where to take them. The reason we go with these patients is because of the stigma Leprosy still has. We want people to see us with these people and let them see there is nothing to be scared of. We also want to make sure the patients get the care they need and in a timely manner.
I got paired with a guy that luckily for me knew exactly where he needed to go. He was being seen for his vision problems. He spoke only a couple words of English but he made me feel like he was taking care of me instead of the other way around. When he would get up someone would take his seat so I would stand so he could sit and he would always make people move over so there was room for me. The looks people gave made me wonder what they were thinking.
Watching the process of how patients get seen was a joke. You don't get your name on a waiting list you have a chart you bring with you which I guess has your medical history on it. You get in a line(line being used loosely in this case) and hand the nurse your chart. People cut in front of you to hand in there chart almost constantly. Then depending on who asks to be seen the most that seems to be how they choose which person goes next. The man I was with (I don't know how to spell his name or I would refer to him by his name) made sure he was asking about being seen.
During our time there he was seen 5 different times sometimes by the same person sometimes by a new person. The 2nd to last person he waited to see was the actual doctor and apparently she had stepped away for awhile so we had to just wait for her to return. The hospital/doctors offices where nothing like you would think an establishment like that would look. In the part of the hospital we were in the walls and floors seemed really dirty. I think sitting on the floor would have been more comfortable than the benches they had. They only had fans to keep the area I was in cool. The light seemed to be very dim. The room they took you in for exam had a doorway but no door. The patient was easily seen by all. Doctors, nurses and other patients would walk in the room and talk while the patient was being seen. Most of the nurses and doctors looked to be between 16-21. I asked one of the girls her age and she said 19...
I took a few pictures so I could use those to try and explain what I saw. The pictures don't do justice to the actual atmosphere but here they are anyway.
I love the outfits they wear and the hats!
We only played for a short time today because they celebrated all the August birthdays today. They had a party. The kids with birthdays stood by the cake while everyone else sang happy birthday.
Sagayamarry
Of course what party would be complete without a cake fight!
Family time was again split between between Kala's house and going to see Steven. Danny was telling a story to our boys so they were all piled up on top of each other.
After the story the boys were sprawled out all over. It was rainy and a little colder than normal so the boys got there blankets out.
Looking at there precious faces how can my heart not ache when I leave here...
Kim, Amy, Carl and I went up on the roof and talked for a while. It was nice and peaceful. I saw a firefly for the first time and I was amazed by it.
We probably stayed up to late but with our time here coming to a close its hard not to try to squeeze every second out of the time we have left here.
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