Hospital Day 2

Little Lincoln with his new name :D

Tuesday 18.01.11

This morning we spent a bit of time chilling out, and I definitely needed it after not stopping since I left Melbourne.  I got some things done on the internet and then we had lunch at Khweza before heading in to the Hospital again for the afternoon shift.  We jumped into the ward with Lucky, Angle, Emboso, Damaris and Alvin.

The first thing we noticed was that Alvin was in such a good mood, and even smiling when spoken to.  Even though this is a good thing, it probably means he didn’t have his physio this morning.  Emboso’s fever appeared to have gone and she was much happier, giggling and blowing bubbles all afternoon.  Lucky and Angel were also their usual cheery selves and it appeared that Angel’s wound behind her ear had some cream on it which is great.  It does appear to be getting worse though so it will be good to keep an eye on it as the week progresses.

Damaris was quite sleepy today though he did wake up for a hug.  Next to Damaris is another baby called Gabriel who apparently has a mother but she doesn’t want to visit much, and hasn’t since we have been in.  It looks as thoughhe may well end up abandoned also, as he is so unwell.  Nobody is sure of what he has as they don’t run tests like they would in Australia, they just try to figure it out by observation.  One nurse said there was talk of sickle-cell but even that doesn’t seem to cover all his symptoms.  Poor Gabriel sobs quietly nearly the whole day and you can tell by the look on his face that he is in constant, immense pain.  He is fed with a naso-gatric tube and cries when you touch him or feed him and screams when you change him.  It’s so awful that nothing can be done to ease his pain.  Hopefully he will get better soon and his mother can take him home, but whatever he has it does look as though he might be in for the long haul.

Once they were all fed I headed over to the other ward to check on Martha.  She was in the middle of some painful physio, that looked a lot like karate.  They were chopping up and down on all of her limbs, and while I’m sure it is beneficial poor Martha was crying.  While they finished up I went to check on Gabriel.  He was swaddled in six blankets and looked worse than ever but the second I picked him he opened his eyes for the first time and gave a little cry.  I was so excited as that meant he was definitely improving!  He grizzled a little until he got comfy in my arms and then he just stared at me for the next half hour.  He was even turning his head to follow noises and moving his eyes around.  It just goes to show that a bit of affection can go a long way towards a child’s recovery.

We changed Gabriel’s nappy and blankets as they were all soiled through and then he settled down for a sleep.  The little boy in the cot next to Alvin was again so happy and content.  He loves just watching what is going on around him so I propped him up on some blankets so he could see better.  We still can’t get a name from the nurses, so I’m just going to call him Lincoln for now.  Once he was settled I headed over to Martha who had finished her physio.

Martha was lying in her cot naked, and with no nappy.  As soon as I put one on her she screamed and kicked.  She does not like having any clothes on at all.  I picked her up and she immediately calmed down and gave me that beautiful smile.  As I held her over my shoulder she went straight to sleep, but continued to sob the whole time.  It sounds like she is in pain, or possibly dreaming but it is very sad to listen to.  Once asleep I laid her back in her cot and she slept soundly.

We caught a very busy matatu back to Khweza after a bit of supermarket shoping.  Once back at the hotel I crashed after my big day.  My back was sore from carrying Martha who is surprisingly heavy and I was pretty exhausted after my big week.  I skipped dinner as I wasn’t feeling too well and headed straight for bed at 7pm for a good night’s sleep.