Circle of Life

In addition to being a very beautiful song from the Lion King, the "Circle of Life" relates to the stages of life I have witnessed thus far in Kenya...from birth to near death. I will elaborate on that shortly.

Days I have been in Kenya: 8
Pictures Taken: 249
Times I have had to squat & pee in a hole: 2
Days with sun: 2
Nights with a fire built: 8
Current number of volunteers: 16
Mosquito Bites [that I am aware of]: 0!

Let me attempt to quickly update you on the past several days. On Saturday, I got to go to the Imara Clinic that is located on the outskirts of the Mukuru slum. Despite a long drive thanks to Nairobi traffic, I absolutely loved my time spent there. It is not big or elaborate by any means, but the work that they do with very little space, resources, and staff is quite amazing. The nurse that I spoke to told me she normally works 24 hour shifts! Somehow they manage to keep the clinic open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While I was there, they were doing baby immunizations, so I got to see a lot of adorable children. My job was to weigh the babies, record their weights on the chart, and administer the oral polio vaccine. Having seen a patient suffering from polio in the hospital, my appreciation for the vaccine has increased tremendously. Although children are vaccinated routinely at home in the States, as I watched these children receive their shots and the 2 drops I placed in their mouths, it really hit me that this makes a difference. These children coming in are the future and if they can be spared from some horrible preventable diseases, then that is one step closer that Kenya, and other impoverished countries, are to saving the next generation.

On Sunday, 5 of us volunteers went to Hell's Gate National Park. We rented bicycles at the entrance and cycled along bumpy, rocky paths through some amazing scenery. It is a fairly dry area, but has breath-taking rock formations and some wildlife...mostly zebras and gazelles. But still...to be biking along next to a zebra is pretty great. So we biked until we reached the place where you can go hiking/climbing down into a gorge. A guide took us on this hike...and it was a bit intense for me....at several points we had to climb rocks and there were just small notches upon which to put your feet...but we all survived. The views were lovely...parts of it were inspiration for some of the scenery in Lion King. Fun day out (and still a bit sore).

Yesterday and today I have been in maternity ward at the hospital. It has been quite amazing to be able to see some many newborn babies! I love being with the brand-new babies in the nursery. Today I was on rounds with the doctors as they consulted with a lady, then all of a sudden she was on a stretcher going to "theatre" so I got to go and watch her C-section! Then later baby Neema (which means Grace in Swahili) was brought to the nursery were we bathed her and put on her first outfit. It was quite neat to be able to welcome a child into the world in that way. I have learned a lot being in a new department. In comparison to the men's ward, the maternity ward is a bit nicer and a little better equipped. However, all the women who have given birth are all together in the ward with their beds just separated by some curtains. I have to give Kenyan (and probably all African) woman some major credit because despite the great pain they must be experiencing, they rarely cry out and do not receive medications for pain. I was told a good number of women still have their children in their homes, and that most of the women who come to the hospital either have some money or they have been advised to do so due to a secondary condition or possible birth complication. There was a women who gave birth sometime last night and I learned about her case while the doctors made rounds. Apparently she had some sort of cardiac surgery a few years ago because she has rheumatic heart disease (a complication of a strep infection). She has not been taking her heart medications since the surgery because she said she can't afford them. The doctors seemed quite concerned, and advised her not to have any more children so she "wouldn't risk leaving any more behind." One thing I have noticed is that a lot of the health care providers here do not easily sympathize with their patients. They seem to have a more matter-of-fact and tell-it-like-it-is attitude. I find myself wanting so badly to provide a reassuring word or somehow lighten the burden of the news the patients receive...yet with a language barrier and even my skin color, it is quite difficult to do.

It's kind of the age-old lesson of you think you are going somewhere to serve or to help others, but you find that really they are helping you, that everything you witness is teaching you and giving you a new perspective on pain, suffering, resiliency, health, resources. I do know one thing for certain- I want to move to Kenya and I want to start a clinic...a free clinic... It still seems like a distant dream...and quite a big project for a young nurse from the US, but that's what puts my heart at peace. I think a lesson God has been teaching me for awhile now is don't make too many plans...because life is happening now. And so for now, I am here in Kenya...having an amazing time, learning and seeing and experiencing so much.

As a Kenyan proverb says: Hurrying has no blessing.