Banbu

Sorry. No Jim or Harry tonight. The hospital mixed with the heat has sucked my energy again, which I really resent. I am a personal fan or the Energizer bunny mode, so when I get tired, I get frustrated. However, I am a fighter and that is precisely why I have not gone to bed yet. I have too many things to do.

Dr. Jean had meetings again today, and really, just needed rest, so I helped Kristi with rounds again. We did the ENTIRE hospital, and it went quite well. Because we are not Dr. Jean, this was quite an accomplishment. Not as many crazy things as yesterday, but the day was certainly eventful. There  are many astounding things about life here, but one I keep coming back to is the general lack of education here. There was a very sick, tiny little lady who had to be rushed into an emergency C-section. She has pneumonia and the grandma and aunties of the baby had yet to let the baby eat from the mama because she was sick. It had been over 24 hours! It was just ridiculous, and now the baby has a fever of well over 100 degrees, and things are not looking good.
There have been too many other things going on these last few days that I have not had a chance to introduce you to someone new. Her name is Bandu. She is 9 and has that sweet sparkle in her eye which made me adore her from the first time I saw her. However, the hospital here, or really any place, is not an ideal place to meet a kid you really like. Her situation is difficult. Her right knee has surpassed her thigh in diameter and is filled with a raging, fleshing-eating infection. When I first met her a few days ago, it appeared she may have an abscess  or possibly a tumor. Her family, who has not purchased national health insurance for 9 Ghana cedis a year, took her for X-rays earlier, which showed no indication of serious damage to the bone.

Though her spirits are still high, her knee is getting worse. In only a few days, the infection has managed to dig a whole from one side of her knee to the other large enough I could stick my pinky through it. It is awful. The drainage and odor I observed as they changed the dressing today made my skin crawl. I felt so bad for this little girl. Just the other day I was saying how I do not like wearing long things skirts like they do here because they confine my range of motion so that if the occasion arose, I could not run properly in such a outfit. I had this problem as a child when my mom made me wear tights that inevitable sagged to my knees. I couldn’t run!

And to think, this girl may not have that problem because this knee may hold her back for the rest of her life. It is so hard because we do not have what she needs at this hospital, her family cannot continue to afford treatment and she could very well need an amputation. These things make me so sad.

I went to visit her this evening. She had moved outside with her family to eat supper, so I sat in the cool Saboba breeze trying to talk to my friend. We had to have a translator which makes small talk an entirely too big because it draws an audience. She was happy I took her picture today and said she wanted a copy. I am pretty sure that is because I gave her a bouncy ball a few days ago and won her over. The mother invited me to eat with them, which was very kind. Not that I would have accepted anyway, but I this typhoid is just really something. It is everywhere and I can’t take chances.

I prayed for Banbu before I left and I prayed she would be healed. The girl needs a miracle, and I hope you will pray too.

I will write more tomorrow when I am actually awake. I just had to at least tell you about Banbu.

Much love to you!

Oh- Precious got her hair down yesterday so now she has little braids all over and it is the cutest thing. Picture to follow. I just put up new ones on facebook today so you can see some more pictures!