Dan

Thursday afternoon

            As I’m writing this I am laying in my bed beside an orphan suffering from typhoid. I am broken. It started yesterday when I noticed a sudden change in character of a little boy named Dan. He is one of my students that I have become incredibly close to. I noticed that he kept his head down on his desk most of the day yesterday and when I asked him what was wrong, he lifted his head up and with tears in his eyes he said he was having stomach pains. I picked him up out of his desk and with the head masters permission, took him across the street to the orphanage so he could get some rest. Last night during prayer time at the orphanage, I noticed Dan wasn’t there so I went into his room and found him lying in his bed. I held him and rubbed his back until he fell asleep. It was so hard to leave him there for the night knowing he wasn’t getting the care and attention he needs. It’s not anything against the caretakers at the orphanage, but when you have 60+ children to look out for, it’s almost impossible to give them all the care and attention they need. Today when I got to school I figured Dan wouldn’t be there because he would be in bed resting, but sure enough he had been sent to school and he was sitting at his desk with his head down. This time, I knew just taking him back to the orphanage to sleep wasn’t enough. I picked him up and caught a boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) and took him to the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital the doctor asked him a series of questions and gave him a quick check up and then proceeded to take his blood. To take blood, the doctor tied a rubber glove around Dan’s elbow and when he found a vein he stuck the needle in it. After the needle was in Dan’s arm, the doctor asked me to hold it while the blood came out through a tube. If you know me, you know I have a weak stomach so this was an uncomfortable and heartbreaking task for me, but I did it and Dan only cried a little. He was such a trooper. We had to wait 45 minutes for the blood results to come back. As I was sitting there waiting, with Dan asleep on my lap, my mind was racing. Here is this little boy, whose mother died in a boda-boda accident and father died from HIV/AIDS. This little boy who deserves all the love and attention in the world, who should get cared for when he is sick, and even when he is not. This little, precious child is right here and he needs me. What a powerful feeling. When the blood results were in, the doctor called me into his office and informed me that Dan has typhoid. He contracted it by drinking tap water, something we in America don’t even have to think about. Typhoid could be so easily prevented with a simple vaccination, but things like that are unheard of here, because for things like that you need money. After getting all the medication he needs, I brought him back, and by back I mean to my room at the volunteer house. He will be staying with me and I will be caring for him for the next few days while he is on the medication. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him at the orphanage during his treatment and him not getting the proper care he needs. His eyes are swollen, his nose keeps running, he doesn’t even look like the boy I know. He has been sleeping since we got back from the hospital, which has now been 5 hours. I will have to wake him up soon so he can take his second dose of medicine. As I care for this child, I let the tears fall, tears that hurt just as if he is a member of my own family. I’m sure these next couple of days will be emotionally and physically tiring, but this isn’t about me. This is about loving your neighbor as yourself. If I was suffering from typhoid I bet I’d be cuddled up at home or at the hospital with my family, and surrounded by “Get Well Soon” cards and balloons and all the love and attention I could need. But this little boy just has me, and I hope that will be enough.

            I pray that I never grow too comfortable or too busy to remember the people who suffer from illnesses like this. I pray I never stop desiring to do something about it. When I came to Uganda and my eyes were open to the pain and suffering here, it became my responsibility to do what I can to fix it, I can no longer deny the need of the people who call this place their home. Coming to Africa, I was a young, free girl…but the more I am here the more I feel a weight of responsibility on my back. But that’s how it should be. I pray the weight never lessens, I pray I always am aware of it.

Sunday

It has now been three days since I took Dan to the hospital. Since Thursday, a nurse has been coming to my room at the volunteer house and treating Dan. On Friday, we discovered that Dan also has malaria so he is being treated for that also. He’s been on an IV and LOTS of medicine since Thursday evening and he is doing much better! I never knew playing mom could be so exhausting, but so incredibly worth it. I have been getting no sleep because I wake up every hour to check his drip on the IV and to make sure he is sleeping ok. He has only vomited twice, once Thursday night and once Friday afternoon. When he threw up Thursday night I barely got him off the bed and grabbed a trash bag in time before it started. Of course, with my luck, the trash bag I grabbed had a hole in the bottom, so the throw up got all over the floor and I ended up having to catch most of it with my hands. After we got him and the floor cleaned up and I got him back to bed I walked outside of the room and fell apart. I felt like I wasn’t doing a very good job of caring for him considering I caused his own throw up to get all over him because of the trash bag I grabbed. While crying, the other volunteers quickly reminded me that I am doing a good job and doing more than he would have if I weren’t here. Although I know that, at times I still feel like he deserves even more. But I guess I am doing ok, or else God wouldn’t have put me in this position in the first place. Caring for Dan is just another reason why I was supposed to come to Uganda. Yesterday morning was emotionally draining. Dan’s IV fell out so he had to get pricked again in a different vein. He had been very strong and tough when getting shots and his IV up until yesterday morning. He was a complete wreck and was hysterically crying in pain. After pricking him three times and being unsuccessful, Dan finally calmed down enough for the nurse to get it in his vein. I ended up having to walk out of the room during it because I was so upset. Seeing him in so much pain made me feel so helpless and distressed. It’s amazing how much better Dan is than just three days ago. The weak, tired, little boy with swollen eyes and a runny nose is now a happy, playful child again. Tomorrow is his last day of being on the IV so he will return to the orphanage and he has a few more days of medication then he should be able to return to school. I will try to keep you all updated on his progress!

Wednesday

First off, Dan is back to being a happy, healthy boy! He has returned to school and the orphanage. Sadly, the malaria/typhoid drama didn’t end with Dan. On Monday morning I ended up taking seven more children from the orphanage to the hospital. It turns out that out of the seven kids, four have malaria and one has typhoid. I got all of the medicine they will need and they are already showing a little improvement today. I have been waking up early and walking down to the orphanage to give them their meds, again at lunch, and again in the evening. We have moved all the sick children in a room by themselves so they can rest and not be distracted by the other kids. It has been a very frustrating experience because the employees of the orphanage and I don’t always see eye to eye. When I got to the orphanage yesterday morning around 7am to give the kids their medicine, I walked in their room and saw that out of the five kids that have typhoid/malaria, three of them had been sent to school. I was not happy to say the least. I made sure all of them stayed home today and when I just went to give them meds at lunch they all were resting and said they were feeling a little better. There’s never an easy day here, but that’s a reason why I can’t wait to wake up every morning. There is always something I can do to make life easier for someone every day. Yes, it can sometimes be discouraging when you take seven kids to the hospital and come back and realize more are sick and need your help. Sometimes it feels as if I’m running and getting no where…but then a powerless, sick eleven year old boy looks at me while I am giving him his malaria medication and says “Teacher Carson you should be a nurse when you grow up because you’re so good to me,” and it makes all the stress and discouragement fade away. If you told me a year ago that I would be treating five children for typhoid and malaria I would have looked at you like you were crazy. It’s amazing where we can go and what we can do if we let God lead the way. I’m no one special and I haven’t done anything extraordinary, I’ve just listened. I don’t know what the future has in store for me, all I know is right now I feel like I am where I’m supposed to be and doing what I’m supposed to do. 

I will try to update again soon! Internet connection is pretty scarce and my schedule doesn't allow for much free time. Thank you all for being patient with my posts and for being so supportive of me during this journey! Hope everyone has a happy Halloween! Friday night we are having a Halloween party for the orphanage and the kids are going to trick or treat for their first time from room to room at the volunteer house. I will make sure to take pictures to share with you all. Hope everyone has a great week!

Dan after being on the IV for two days, he was feeling much better by this point!