Monkeys!

Vervet Monkeys in Lake Kariba! They were everywhere. We would sit in the mornings to watch them bounce in the trees. We would creep closer and closer. :)

Pediatric Ward Tour...Part Two!

This is the other wings of the pediatric ward. The first room is the malnourished kids room. These are the very severely malnourished children and often the room can't hold all the kids. The rest of them will get put in the TB wing or the main wing. The next room is the TB room. This is usually the stable tuberculosis children. The really sick ones are in the main room. Yes, they only isolate TB patients once they're stable. Scary, I know. (My ppd will definitely be positive). The next room is the burns room. The burns are half accidents, half child abuse. And that is pediatrics, where I spent almost 6 weeks of my life!

Pediatric Ward Tour...

This is the main wing of the pediatric ward. At first I show you the nurses' station. Then you see the small emergency room with 3 beds. Then its the main wing which is anything not burns, not just Tuberculosis, or not just malnutrition. So the kids mainly had AIDS, Malaria, Diarrhea, Tuberculosis, Malnutrition, and broken bones in this wing.

Losing Loved Ones....

So today my Grandma died. It was unexpected and a shock. She died in her sleep. I miss her so much already.

I have seen many people die. Especially when I was in Africa. I actually saw children take their last breaths in front of me. But I've never experienced anyone close to me dying. It is much rawer. More painful.

This makes me only more certain that losing someone close, having someone die, is extremely painful no matter where you live; no matter how many family members you have die. A death is a death. And it is not different here versus Africa. This makes me even sadder about what happened in Africa. I can't imagine the pain that the mothers feel losing their children. Or the children feel losing their parents.

Someone dying in Africa should mean something more, not less. Doctors should care and fight death. People should weep and mourn. Just as we do here. Just as we do for my Grandma.

I am not the champion of lost causes, but of causes not yet won.

Norman Thomas

Come into my hut....

We spent Easter weekend in Lake Kariba. A woman picked us up from our resort to take us to her church. We walked for awhile until we reached her village. They all lived in grass huts, very close together. We weaved through the huts and people looked up astonished to see Myzungas (white people) walking through their village. There were many people cooking over fires outside. The children started following us. By the time we reached the church, there were around 30 children behind us. Quite a parade! The church was a slightly larger hut. The huts have very low doorways, so even I had to duck. The roof is thatched with mud, but there were many holes and bits of grass would fall on us as creatures scurried around. We sat on wooden benches and it soon became packed. There are many holes in the walls, and there were children crowding around them to look in on us. They would stick their hands through to try and touch us. When they did touch my hand, they would squeal and pull their hand out. Many people, especially children in the villages in Zambia, have never seen a caucasian person!!

The church service was amazing. It was a pentacostal church. We had two different sermons. And every sermon is given in Tonga and English. So church takes a long time! The pastor preached about Mark 5, when Jesus took just a few loaves of bread and fish to feed thousands of people. He talked about how even in a poor rural area with few resources, God can do great things. It really touched me because that was during a time I was so discouraged with everything that was going on in the pediatric ward. The worship songs were all in Tonga and the people would really dance. The pastor sat next to me and would tell me what the songs were about. The video clip of the women singing has a worship song that is "when you bless the children, bless me as well".

Afterwards, they had us get up in front and they introduced us. There was mainly couples in the group. When they got to me, they looked around after I introduced myself for my "husband". And so I told them no, no, its just me. So they announced in Tonga that I was single, which caused a great cheer from the church. Haha!! Then everyone danced, shaking those hips, and paraded out of the church to shake hands.

Oh yay, we saw wild zebras including a baby on the way back! :)

Snake Charmer anyone?

So this is a post from Mark's blog, my Dutch friend from Macha. I translated it so some words are strange, but it is SO enjoyable to read.... .


Today Johan and Eveline to Choma. Finally, after 2 weeks in carrots, tomatoes and beans, something decent to eat. Hopefully somewhat differently than local strawberry bread, mangojam, guavejam, tropical fruit jam, peanut butter, or combinations of the above. It is the first day, after almost three months I was alone here in Macha. Such a moment take you. You think about the period. About Behold the events and you use the silence and solitude to the same review and the latest issues and concerns in a row to continue. If course, I enjoy everything about my flies and go deep in thought (that can simultaneously Yes so) the garden at my house. I hear some rustling in the bushes that run parallel to the sidewalk and I'm exactly 3 steps away from my front door. Then suddenly everything very quickly

I feel as through my leg shoot, and when I look down, a tube put in my teeth are beautiful croqs .... At that moment everything stops. My heart, my brains, my sfincterfunctie to urine to keep everything. ... .... A gray black snake .... Sitting with his teeth in my croq ... ... ... ... a cobra. Sitting with his teeth .... In my croq. Apparently, the brains of these cobra faster than mine and, indeed, the reptile in a reflex back. My brains seems this is a trigger for what to do, because I start to respond to the situation I always react in stressful situations: HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK! HOLY SHIT! (and 46 x with a volume of around 140 decibels).

I jump away from the snake and bang at my own door. The cobra is up and SIST with his mouth open. With its wide neck gesperd he look at me, still in place, some meters away from me. I flip, I turn on, I hit I panic. Where are the keys FUCKING! Mn hands trembling really like crazy and I finally find me keys, very strange just sitting in my pocket. I do not for one another to make that door open. Finally shoots the door open and I am inside.

I quickly look through the window and see the cobra is still sitting. I look to my left and see almost no deviation crazy enough to croq. Not only mn hands but my whole body starts shaking. Pfff what is this? Years of Dreaming, and all of Treijen men with me, of a confrontation with a snake. The more dangerous the better. But actually it's not all that great ..

Fortunately, it takes a minute before I come to sentences. My heart starts to beat and the leakage of my pants and hold on. The adrenaline reached a climax. Unfortunately, adrenaline, as testosterone has a bad effect on men. I start to laugh manically, keep "what the fuck" scream and grab my camera quickly. In my closet is also a stick of about two meters long .. That tarantula-webs to get away with sweeping .. I get the stick, turn camera on me and pull me back door open ...

Unfortunately, the hose me a step ahead, instead of waiting for the place of attack, choose the beast once again the attack. I pull my door open and the cobra is literally 10 cm from me. The process begins again. Stop brains, heart stop, day urine (thanks god that the diarrhea is over). Fortunately, I am in my mania so badly that door open, the snake also shocked and road indeed.

Fucking Beast!

Within a second the door closed again. I flip, I turn on, I get in panic. I'll be here no longer. I'm cursed. One of those crazy idiots voodoo has a cobra on me afgestuurd. And the rest is not under the sod before I lie .. The adrenaline is rising again to a climax. And when that happens ... well, I will not repeat the back door!

With stick and the camera door open. This time, however conceived. First with 1 eye around the corner, then two. With a stick for me. A knife in my hand (what the hell you gonna do it .. no idea) to find the cobra.

Again, the leg free bitch me a step ahead. Along the back of the house, corner to the side, adrenaline rises .. corner to the ... ... HOSE! WHAT THE FUCK! HOLY SHIT! (x 87) On the corner of the house ... Saturday we degraded dinootje me to wait .. Sibilant, spugend (cobra's spit!) And again strongly upright. I really within 1 second three photos (otherwise you do not believe ...) and I'm gone ..
Side, back home, door ... see photo.

Shit. Not sharp.

The clammy sweat is meanwhile in deep bilnaad mn. There popt an angel on my shoulder: "Be wise now, you are alone, it's a cobra, small 2 meter long. Do not play games with life! "
I sit quietly ga
Other shoulder: Dad, Rick, Gila, tim, friends, "not even 1 picture !!!!!"

Camera check, stick check, pocket knife ... never mind. Front door open. Check. Step 1 check. Other step check. Snake in step with his head up ... will double check.

Click (x 15 )!!!!

Door. Mat it. Window closed. Colaatje. Croqjes off. Socks off. No injuries. Clean pants. And within to be strengthened!
A small two hours later. Mr slip lama I no longer pelvis. The gecko on the wall let me jump up like I'm on a thumbtack sit. And I can satisfy a photo of a wild cobra (with his teeth in my shoes has been).

Videos of Joseph

Here is a video of my favorite patient. Joseph. I could have easily taken him home. For those who don't know, he was admitted for a broken femur. The physical therapists reset his leg without any pain medication, not even Tylenol. I protested and tried to give meds, but they refused, saying "we can do it without". For some reason there is a resistance to giving kids any type of relief. So Joseph screamed for about 15 minutes. And then started smiling and laughing again. Because thats the way the kids are there. They find joy in everything. And he is like every other little boy...showing his half chewed food, making car/truck noises, and needs some love. His mother was never there, so most likely dead. His dad was there occasionally. But mostly he sat alone, with his leg tied down to the bed.

Get Real About Africa

Yes, this is the real size of Africa. So lets start thinking of it this way....and caring a little bit more!

Back Home!

I'm back in the States. I've been back for one week now but have been battling jetlag. 9 hour time difference is a hard adjustment! It is so so SO nice to be back and see friends and family. But it is also very strange. It is a completely different world from Zambia.

I have many more things to write about. Some things I just never got around to posting. Other things needed time for reflection or were too hard to write about at the time. So over the next few weeks watch for more posts. I thank you all for the support and love you have given me. This was some of the toughest weeks of my life. :)

Culture Shock

So I’ve arrived in Lusaka. And its overwhelming. Much more than I thought it would be. Everything is so noisy. There are cars and people everywhere. Billboards, advertisements, and stores everywhere you look. And the smells are so strong- exhaust, food, garbage. Gone is the quiet earthy village of Macha. Even the language is different here…no one speaks Tonga. And people dress in modern clothes rather than traditional. And the tourists…. I feel like I don’t fit in at all. When I first arrived in Zambia, Lusaka seemed so foreign and exotic: so African. Now it feels too modern, too much like Europe and the USA. Its also very strange to go from seeing people starving for months now, rejoicing over having maize and ground nuts, to seeing people here filling up shopping carts overflowing with food. It is actually very upsetting to see such disparity of wealth in this country. I already miss the children and moms terribly and feel awful for leaving. I wish I knew there was someone to take care of them.

Its going to be a hard transition back to life in the States.

The photos are of the sunset over the Macha Dam.

Last Day in Macha

So today was my last day. It was very hard to say goodbye to all the moms and children. I told them all yesterday that I was leaving. And the flood of questions came: When was I coming back? What was I doing back in the US? How old was I? Would I give them my shoes? They all told me that they would miss me and wanted me to stay. I’ve been teaching one of my favorite children, Joseph, some English words. He knew bye-bye and hello. But yesterday he learned Meghan and would say bye-bye Meghan. He is the one I would adopt and bring home. He rarely has a family member at his bedside and he does not have a mother. I have many videos of him playing. So today I bought boxes of cookies to the wards for all the children and moms. And I bought apples and oranges for the moms of the malnourished children. It was so wonderful . The head nurse of the entire hospital came to give me a letter of thanks and told me it was better than Christmas for most of the kids. I spent a lot of time with some of my favorite children, playing. As much of a difficult time I have had and as much as hate some of the situations I was put in, I loved my time here…because of the families. I love the children and could spend hours on the ward. I plan on returning to Africa during my residency likely in 2 years. Its very unlikely I would ever return to Macha, but I could come back to Zambia for sure!