I don't really know where to start....
Monday.....
The rains are making the roads really bad especially the mountain road that I have to travel at least once a week.... was sliding all over the place, but trying to take it slow as the rocky bumps that are also now more exposed were also a threat to my ever precious tyres that easy get flats.
First kid takes ages - partly because I have to climb up a mountain to get there. Had a great session with him though - except that the chair we had made for him, which I'll add now is used daily for feeding, needed adjustments, so as i sat on the floor next to it to fix and adjust, was horrified when literally hundreds of cockroaches ran out from underneath. Patiently waited while I asked for it to be taken out for a good clean.. funny thing was that before I had finished making a new vest strap, a few little cockroaches were already running back toward the chair - how they got back so quickly i don't know. Feels like fighting a loosing battle sometimes.
Then off to next boy - had to drive across 2 pieces of metal making a 'bridge' over a huge gutter - no prob when it's dry, but that day the mud meant as we turn the corner to go over, the back wheels slid and oops....fell off the bridge!! We said a little prayer, put a few rocks under the tyres, much revving and out we got.
Later on stopped to fit a new pair of stability boots to a 5 year old, so asked for the old ones - again I know they had been used by the way they looked which is why I had agreed to change them for bigger ones. Today Grani who looks after the boy was not in so a young girl went looking for the shoes - one gets thrown out the door.....5 mins later, the other one appears....along with the cockroaches running out of the top! Again jumped away and tried to brush them off me, only to pass them onto Abu.....one was about to go up his trouser leg so jumped on it, only to have Abu complain! Next time I'll leave it to explore!
Saw a few other children, got a new referral from neighbour of an old patient then eventually after a long day i headed home through the mountains to find a stranded white woman and a SL man stranded in the jungle - it was pouring by now. So picked them up as there was no way they'd find public transport and if it were me I'd like the same to be done. They'd been to see the chimps and it was getting dark and really were stuck!
Tuesday....
The whole of that night it rained, and the next day. It really would not have been safe to travel out on bad roads again, and the kids I needed to see closer to home meant climbing down sides of mountains again. Decide that if I couldn't see 10m outside my door for the heavy rain, that really to be sliding down rocks was not a good idea either. Abu and I took the time for training - always a laugh as we learn much about our different cultures - having offered him a jumper as it was so cold - he thought I was about to pull out of my room a person who could jump high!
Oh and forgot to mention that Abu nearly got in trouble with the police today and I wasn't even with him. He hadn't paid his 'local tax' which in his words is a tax to allow a SLeonean to walk the streets of their own country. Sorted that one of him as really have had enough run ins with the police recently.
Wednesday....
So Wednesday, we tried to do what we couldn't the day before. including going shopping with lots of money to get supplies for an orphanage which needed a helping hand. So armed with a list, Abu really wanted to get the best prices - this meant going here for this, then there for that. It's true though, some prices varied by 10,000's of leones. we glady delivered all this stuff to the orphanage and were even happier to hear of God's timing as they had literally run out of food that morning! So the back of my car was loaded with rice and palm oil, fruit and eggs, onions and clothes, soap and toothbrushes. It was such a blessing to them and the kids faces said it all. Wish I'd had my camera, but didn't.
The next patient was another 20mins at least up this bad road that we'd travelled along the peninsular from Freetown. Had been trying to get hold of this family for the past 3 days, but to no reply. They were a post op referral from the Africa Mercy, the big medical Mercy Ship working from Liberia presently. So it was important I saw them sooner rather then later. Since I had no reply I was hoping to just head out there and ask around till i found them. However a phone call as I left the orphange revealed that at last they could answer their phone, BUT that they were heading to the MercyShips childrens clinic another 45 mins away. And the road was so bad. I was a little annoyed to say the least as it was stressful enough with the bad roads and waste of fuel, let alone the dodging of the police who seem to be picking on me at the moment. So I travelled back and reminded myself that it was not a wasted journey due to the difference we made to those precious kids in the orphanage.
Nearing the main towns again what a surprise..... we were stopped by the police again, this time for Local Tax - Abu was clear after sorting his yesterday, but when asked for mine I didn't really know what to say! Showed them my Mercy Ships ID and that seemed to work! (You'd be surprised at how often that little card works its wonders in that way!) Saw the patient at the Mercy Ships clinic, then headed into Freetown. Avoiding all the places the police hang out, we parked and got on public transport. I laughed to myself as i thought that it was a whole lot safer to not be caught by the police this way (well, even if we were that it would not be my problem anyway) then felt the side of the podapoda move at a different angle and speed to the corner were were turning around! These vehicles are often welded together from different parts, you hoped somewhat securely, but you never knew. I was so squeezed already into the lady next to me, but was terrified that the whole of the side of the vehicle would fall off, so squeezed even more and held on tight! We got to the final stop and glady got out with our lives into the crowded land of pick pockets. All aware we marched with purpose to meet our next family. The parents of a Downs Syndrome patient of mine who had died not so long ago. We were meeting outside one of the government hospitals as it was easier than going to theirs, so asked the security guard if we could go in to get off the crowded street. So in we went and sat on a wall to talk and encourage and pray together. The Dad nearly lost it as I gave him a photo of his precious daughter. Words just weren't enough, but being there with them I hope helped.
The next stop was the Road Transport Office to try to sort out one of the problems that I was being stopped by the police for. A sticker with a date on that did not match the paperwork - not my mistake but theirs, and do you think they'll correct it?.....well so far no way, and Wednesday's visit didn't achieve anything either. Traffic in town was so bad I decided to walk from one side of the city to the other where I'd left my car. Took me nearly an hour in the blistering heat, holding my umbrella to fight off any hands that should not have been near me!
Back into my car, to do a u turn to avoid the place I'd been nearly dragged to a police station last week, and eventually home - exhausted.
Did I actually do any physio that day? Well, just a bit with the post op ship patient, but that was it. Did I try to be Jesus' hands and feet and words, I tried.
It's easy to loose your patience here though - everyday I find that a constant battle when tired and stressed and at risk of interactions with the Police, and difficult communication with families and patients and wasted journeys on bad roads.
Thursday...
Today has been a bit better, except for being sick! Bit of a funny tummy all night and a thumping headache this morning.... so took it easy and did some paperwork and sorted out my online banking that had been blocked by the fraud squad as they thought it strange that I be using it from somewhere as bizarre as Sierra Leone! But a broken skype call later proved it was true - I was in fact me, and I am in fact in SL! What a morning, as long as I stayed still I was ok, but too much movement and my head was spinning (with a week like so far i don't need to wonder why!). after midday I really felt I had to get to the younger children at SOS as i hadn't seen them since before their school holidays. So pulled myself together and reassured myself that I'd live.
And I have to say I had a lovely afternoon with all my lovely smiley faces. They all wanted to stay in my treatment room with me while I was treating each one in turn, fixing straps on callipers with gaffa tape and a prosthetic foot with a pen knife., shoes with super glue and an adapted crutch with gaffa and nails, and a little girl teary from missing her family was soon fixed with a big hug and a tickling fight! I loved doing something practical and the kids are always great, even if a bit excitable. It was lovely to see them and makes all the stress and coping with..... a little more manageable.
So now I'll wait and see what tomorrow holds....
...always an adventure!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment