Sunday 20 May 2012

Afraid it's going to have to be a quick one as I'm in a busy internet cafe which is pretty warm! Internet access has been very limited so I've not been able to update at all, but I'll maybe try to write a wee something every week!

So we arrived safe and sound in Nairobi last Friday morning after a 17 hour journey... We were met at the airport and taken to our transit house, where we just had time to dump our stuff before heading off to see the baby elephants and giraffes at their sanctuary! They were just so cute, the wee elephants were my favourite... they were so cheeky and splashed me all over with water! And the giraffes were fun too, we were able to feed them from our hands and they were so gentle :) we had a quick nap in the afternoon before going for a wee wander to explore our part of Nairobi a bit... and then headed to bed!

The next day we were up early for our 12 hour bus journey across a big chunk of Kenya to Malindi, the town we are based in for the month. Although it was pretty bumpy and warm, it was a really nice way to see a bit of the country, as we drove through loads of little villages and a couple of bigger towns and cities. We're staying with two sisters who are just great girls, they're fab chat and we've been so comfortable in our new wee home! Sunday was spent exploring Malindi a wee bit, it's a beautiful town right on the Indian Ocean, with cute little shops and so many kids playing in the streets! We're very much a novelty here, with practically everyone waving, shouting 'jambo!' and 'ciao!' (most of the whites in Malindi are Italians), trying to strike up conversations and lots of wee kids wanting to play. We're starting to recognise some people though and have made some friends which is fun, Tony from the corner shop is a particular fan of ours, alongside lots of the guys who drive the tuk tuks which we've been using to get around!

The first time we went properly into the town was pretty eventful... It's just so so different to home, and it's strange being such a big attraction just walking down the street! It's fun though, and down towards the beach is just sunning. We've wandered along the pier and seen some stunning sunsets, and loads of guys play football there every evening, so we've watched a couple of times and made friends with some of them too. They're all obsessed with football here! And rather too much with Chelsea for my liking. Although there's a decent bunch of Man Utd supporters too so that's good. All the boys play football, from the tiniest little league at one end of the beach right along to the mens' teams with proper strips and everything at the other! It looks like eventually we're going to be forced to join in, although it hasn't happened quite yet...

We've been really loving the hospital too, and I can't believe we've had a full working week already. We're based in paediatrics which I just love, as the kids are great and you really get to build up a relationship with them and their mums, who also stay on the ward. The hospital is big, with loads of different departments in separate buildings spread across the site, and this week we've also spent time in ICU, neonatal and maternity, which has all been interesting. Most of the kids are in with pneumonia, malaria, malnourishment, gasroenteritis... there are also a surprisingly large number with HIV and TB, which is a bit difficult to see. We've also seen some more unusual, interesting cases... snake bites, really severe fractures, psychosis with hallucinations, meningitis, measles, hepatitis, congenital defects... stuff we probably wouldn't see much of at home. We've also been able to learn about some of the cultural impacts on the health of some of the children... a few have come in with infected injuries from traditional procedures, such as a poor little boy who had ha his uvula ceremonially removed and ended up in intensive care. When he arrived, he had loads of herbs and stones attached all over with string, which were apparently natural healing remedies, but which the doctors did away with very quickly. These two lovely lovely young doctors have kind of taken us under their wing a wee bit which has been so lovely... They're such fun guys and the four of us have been having so many laughs this week! They've been explaining so many interesting things, and have been letting us do examinations, and generally help out with bits and pieces here and there.

I've made special friends with a couple of the mums as well, who really have a hard time living in the ward for days or weeks at a time, and really appreciate a bit of company from us! Not everyone speaks English, but we've been picking up bits and pieces of Kiswahili, and a lot of the time just the company is enough for them. And when the kids are well enough, they just love to play! I've made a couple of special friends, most of them in the surgical area, where they're recovering from surgery for various accidents. There are three, a wee girl and two wee boys, who have in particular just stolen my heart! They blow kisses and smile and wave all the time! And love loads of cuddles, which is ideal because I do too! Some of the other kids, however, very much associate our white coats with being jabbed with needles and so are a bit more wary at first, which is fair enough! But they're getting to know us much better now and so are usually much happier to see us :)

There have been some more difficult times in the hospital. A severe and prolonged seizure has us all really worried, and some of the malnourishment cases are particularly sad. One in particular - a six year old girl - weighs little more than a baby, and her eyes just show so much pain. Although it's not fun watching the kids kick and scream when the staff are trying to take blood, it's somehow a lot more disturbing to see the children who are just too ill and too weak to resist at all. One little boy with meningitis has completely lot all tone and strength in all his muscles, to the point that he can hardly even swallow, and has difficulties breathing. It's these children you really worry about, and it's for them that the continuity of care aspect is so important... I just really hope he gets that here as he would at home. We also bumped into one of the mothers from the ward it town today. She told us that her baby died this morning. It really hits home when something like that happens. Another woman arrived at A&E, having given birth at home, she was crouched over double and could hardly walk. We tried to help her inside but she didn't want it; we found her shortly afterwards, practically collapsed outside, and eventually managed to find a wheelchair to help her inside.

But as well as the harder times, there have been some great moments. A lot of our children were discharged on Friday, and it's just so so wonderful to see their little laughing faces running around the wards, so much healthier than they were, and knowing that you did a little something to help hem get better. One of my favourite little boys was practically unrecogniseable, so excited to finally be going home to play football with his brothers and friends, and looking just chuffed to bits! The mothers are so grateful for all the help from th hospital, and you can really see how much it helps the people who come here.

Sooooo the internet cafe is closing and we are getting chucked out! But at least I've managed to get a little bit down here tonight. I'd really like to at least semi keep this thing up throughout, but for tonight that's it... We're safe and happy and loving it all so far!! Lots of love from Kenya, I'll update again asap!! :) xxx

No comments:

Post a Comment