It is definitely a strange feeling to be writing my last blog entry of my semester, since I leave here on Saturday night and somehow arrive back by noon on Sunday. Going back in time is going to be very bizzare! So I guess I have a lot to update you all on since the last time I wrote about a month ago- wow does time fly by! The remaining 3 weeks of my internship were amazing. I spent most of my time at the pediatric center with the children, but on a few of the days, I was able to travel with my supervisor to a few local children's orphanages. I had a lot of fun playing with the children and seeing the different places. Although it is really sad to see so many children without families, I think what really bothered me the most was the lack of education. Many of these children didn't even go to school, because they had such a negative stigma attached to them either just being orphaned or having AIDS that they weren't admitted anywhere. I think this attitude really adds to the lack of development in this area throughout Africa- so that was a little frustrating. But other than experiencing the frustrating moments, I really enjoyed my internship. I definitely think it was the best 4 weeks of my life and it really changed my life.
And now I'm just back here at the compound, doing some last minute things before we head out on Saturday. We had African dancers come entertain us tonight, along with a wonderful catered "Last Dinner." It was wonderful and the performance was so much fun. Then a few of the people here made a slideshow comprised of pictures during the time we've spent here, which was so nice. I'm going to try to make a copy of it so I can show you all. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling leaving. Of course I can't wait to get home and see my family and everyone, but at the same time, I could easily spend 4 more months here. I came here without knowing anyone and I'm leaving with people I'll be friends with for the rest of my life. The experiences and the time I've spent here are honestly indescribable, and even pictures don't do it justice- even though I really can't wait to show them to all of you. I know I'll go through my ups and downs upon arriving back at home, just because things are completely different here in Kenya and I've grown to really enjoy the culture and way of life. But there are definitely things that I will not miss- such as the lack of plumbing and toilets, and american food that I've craved so much! I actually made a 2 page list of all the food that I've missed since I've been here- I read it to my mom on the phone and she thought I was a bit crazy. But needless to say, I've learned more about myself during these past 4 months than I ever have in my life and for that I am so grateful to have had this experience. Although Kenya is a developing country that has a lot that it needs to work on, it's given me so much that I never could have expected upon coming into this program. I HIGHLY encourage any of you looking to travel somewhere to please come to Africa and experience it for yourself. If I could survive here, ANYONE could- trust me. I'm the most non-outdoorsy person in the world.. well I guess now I can't say that! But I am very sad that this will be my last entry.. well for now, because I will come back sometime during my life. I know that for certain! There is no way that I wouldn't want to come back. I'll miss everything about this place, but I can't wait to come home and share everything with you all. Just to warn you- I will be talking about Kenya non-stop, also in Swahili which I've become pretty good at I must say. But Happy late Mother's Day to all of the mom's reading this- I hope you had a great day. And I look forward to seeing you all shortly.
Love Chels
Monday, April 13, 2009-
Yesterday, I arrived in Eldoret at the complex that would be hosting me. It is run by Indiana University. Needless to say, compared to my travels elsewhere throughout Kenya, this place feels like a luxurious resort! I have my own room, which is very big- it has two extra beds in it! Two closets, a dresser, and a desk... and wireless internet! I forgot what wireless internet even was, or that it even existed in the first place! But it is a beautiful place that holds medical students and those doing their residency. I’m the youngest one here, known as “the undergrad” along with another student from St. Lawrence (except her internship is a different one than mine). But the food is great, the living situation is very comfortable, I feel very safe, the people are wonderful, so needless to say, I’m very happy being here.
Today was my first day of my internship at the Sally Test Pediatric Center. The pediatric center is located in a hospital (which I was not aware of before). Today was probably the most eye-opening day I’ve had here since being in Kenya. I was taken into a room, the place where I would be working, that was filled with sick babies and children in wheelchairs. There were children I could have sworn to be 7 years old, but was told they were 14. There was a little girl, whose family got in the middle of a gang fight, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and all suffered severe burns and wound up passing away. She was the only survivor and now has permanent burn damage covering her body, so bad that she has to wear gauze all over her head and face, and has lost one of her arms- her hand now comes practically through her shoulder. And having only spent a few hours with this girl, I noticed she was the most up-beat, fun-spirited one of them all after having suffered so much. If she’s not adopted she will be in an orphanage for most of her life, and yet she could well possible be the happiest person I’ve met here so far. I learned everything I needed to know about what’s really important in life by playing games with her all day than I could have ever acquired so far in my life. There was another little girl who was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following the post-election violence events, when her house was burned to piece and watched her entire family burn right before her eyes. Unlike the other girl I just mentioned, this was one suffering dramatically, and now losing her full mental capacity and functionality that she once had. There was also another little boy that I was drawn to; he was abandoned and completely deaf. These are just a few examples of the children that are living in this hospital, but there were so many of them, each with their own problems, and each with their own story. Needless to say, I was very overwhelmed with emotion upon entering this room; it was hard for me to know which child I should show my attention to. However, it was a wonderful morning, filled with many emotions and frustration as to how parents can just abandon their children- but those few hours were so fulfilling. I left with my supervisor around 1pm to go back and grab some lunch, and then returned again around 2:30. I read an Easter book to the children (and it was translated since many don’t speak English), and took them on an Easter Egg Hunt outside. Oh- it was so cute. I wheeled around a child who couldn’t walk and I could tell it made him so happy. He was laughing and laughing and it was the most fun I’ve had in such a long time. After the Easter Egg hunt, the children were all getting themselves ready to go back to their wards for the rest of the day/night and I decided to take a little walk around the hospital to see what it was like (my supervisor came with me of course- her name is Sarah Ellen, wonderful woman). Anyways, what I saw couldn’t even compare to how I felt about the children when I first arrived. First of all, there were no “rooms,” just separate sections of the hallways. There was absolutely NO privacy, and people of all types of disease, severe or minor, shared rooms... an average of 7 patients per room I’d say. They were lucky if they had their own bed, many shared BEDS with other patients. It almost made me sick how these people were living in such inhumane conditions. I saw a little boy who was laying alone in his bed, dying of cancer, who had no family because they abandoned him when he was diagnosed. I saw people dying of AIDS, while sharing a bed with another. A woman actually ran up to me upon seeing me and pulled me over to her son who was suffering severely from malnutrition, and since there were no nurses available to care for him at the moment, she assumed I could do something to save him. The place was a mess, and there was nothing I could do about it. Everyone assumed that I was this white American savior who was coming to their rescue, but I was just as helpless as they were. Regardless of the awful conditions, it gave me a whole new perspective of the world and for that I am thankful. At the end of the day, I felt satisfied to have made some of the children smile that day, and I felt thankful that I, too, learned many new things from them as well. I don’t know what to expect for the next 4 weeks- but I know it will be a rollercoaster filled with many ups and downs. It was an incredible day for me- and I am so excited to go back tomorrow and spend my time there for a month learning and growing. I hope that I leave a piece of myself with them for I know they will forever be with me.
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
Today was another wonderful day. I got used to the routine of things by now, and wasn’t so freaked out by the hospital conditions like I was on the first day. I arrived around 9 and the first thing I did was play and feed the babies. They are so precious and cute, and I love playing with them. I also walked around the hospital again with another volunteer who has been there for two years already, so he knows the place much better than me. I walked around with him and talked with many of the patients and discussed their diagnosis with him, which was interesting, but sad at the same time. We also were able to get a lot of the kids in the wards to come into the pediatric center to play for the day, it was nice because I could tell it made them very happy. We then went outside to play some games which was nice. I met a girl with stomach cancer- she must have weighed no more than 45 lbs but looked like she was pregnant. It’s so sad the conditions these poor children are living with. After lunch, I played games with a young girl who had to be isolated from the rest of the group because she had a very low immune system and was recovering from Tuberculosis (she’s not contagious anymore). And I played with the babies some more. I dread the end of the day and leaving, because that’s when the babies have to go back to the ward. There is literally a sign that hands above their cribs that says “Feed us, we want to live.” It breaks my heart- I just want to take them home with me.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I arrived at work around 9:15, and did pretty much the same thing I’ve been doing every other day. I helped clean and feed the babies, and played with the children. I found myself really gravitated towards this one baby who I was with all day long. She is so sweet and cute and I couldn’t put her down! I also made some bracelets with a few of the little girls out of beads and shoe laces. In the afternoon after lunch, we had a baby shower for one of the other workers who works with me in the Pediatric Center. She is such a sweet lady and it was a lot of fun, it was interesting though because the party was at my boss’s house, and so I went over there early to help her set up and everything. And by the time people started arriving, she wasn’t done cooking the food, so she literally made me host the entire party as she prepared in the kitchen. Talk about awkward. I didn’t know ANY of these people, and meanwhile I’m trying to explain to them how to play baby shower bingo. It was a little weird, but it was a nice party. We also went out for Chinese food tonight, with all of the medical students and residents that I’m staying with so that was nice. I got to get to know some more people- it’s been intimidating being the youngest amongst all these smart medical students. Half the time I have no idea what they’re talking about, but it’s interesting to be around in the environment. But it’s nothing like Grey’s Anatomy- unfortunately in the real world, there are no McDreamy’s... at least not here.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Today was a very intense day. My day started off the same as it always does- I arrived around 9am, and played with the babies and children for some time. Then I was able to go on rounds with my boss’s husband, Dr. Joe Mamlin. I got to wear a lab coat and be amongst all the medical students, so I felt really smart and special. Haha. But no, really, it was a very intense experience. We went into the adult ward, and I felt that everywhere I turned there was a sick person in a bed. There is absolutely no space, let alone privacy, and grown adult women and men have to share beds. There was a woman with full blown AIDS sharing a bed with a woman with malaria. The diseases and the conditions I saw these people in were horrible. And if you think OUR hospital at home smells bad, try the ones in Kenya. I had to leave a few times because I thought I was going to be sick. Not just from the smell, but from the constant aura of illness and pain surrounding me. Needless to say, it was fascinating and a wonderful experience to see patients and diagnoses on such a different realm. Dr. Mamlin is actually a fascinating man, I could tell that he was such a great doctor. So gentle to the patients, and he seemed to know exactly what was going on and what he was talking about. I later found out that he is one of the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, how cool is that? He is such a wonderful person- I will make sure to take a picture with him. Actually, if you type in Joe Mamlin Nobel Peace Prize, a few articles come up about him and the organization that I’m working through at the hospital if you were curious and wanted to learn more about it. But anyways, the forms of diseases are so awful around here, that it’s relieving to know that someone only has malaria. And I’m sure to you that sounds awful, but really, it’s not. I was so relieved to go back to my happy land of babies and children in the pediatric center after being so caught up in the diseases (I hope I don’t contract TB myself…). I should be fine, but it was such a relief to go back to the children when I was done. I played with them all day and read a story to them at the end of the day before I brought them back to their respected wards.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
I’m not going to describe my Friday day, ONLY because it was pretty much just like the rest of my days, and I’m scared I sound very repetitive in these entries. But anyways, this weekend, I THOUGHT it would be a great idea to go along with some of the medical students/residents here to Uganda to raft the Nile River. Yeah- you know, nice little weekend to get away and relax on the Nile River, when else would I be able to see/do that? I guess I’m an idiot, and since I’ve never been “rafting” before, I pictured the whole weekend to be sunning on a raft, drink in hand, shades on, catching some rays, maybe reading a book, you know… OH HELL NO. RAFTING THE NILE RIVER = EXTREME RAPIDS AKA POTENTIAL DEATH SENTENCE. When I saw that we had to wear a life jacket and helmets, I knew I signed up for the wrong kind of “rafting.” So I spent my relaxing weekend gasping for air when I fell off the raft 3 times and got caught under the rapids. Trying not to fall out was the biggest challenge I faced. Needless to say, I bought the video because it was hilarious watching me try to do this. At the end of the day I looked back and realized I did have a fun time regardless of how I felt at the time. The guides were really great, and even told us that people wouldn’t be allowed to raft rapids like this in the U.S.! (Youtube Grade 5 rafting on Nile River and that’s what I did) So I was proud of myself for surviving, and I can’t wait to show you the video because it’s really funny. And I just got back, and it’s about 8:45pm, and I have an early morning of work tomorrow.. and I’m pretty exhausted, so I’m going to go to bed. I’ll see you all in a month!
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