Today

Today was busy. A little chaotic. A little crazy. Oh the life of a nurse.

Today I helped change Esther's dressing's on her hand and thigh. She is now 16, but when she was three, rebels took her hand and burnt it in a fire. Since then, it's been permanently curled in a ball. Our surgeons preformed and contracture release and skin graph. We pre-medicated her before we started but it did not stop the flow of tears throughout the two hour process. I felt so sad for her. I bought her a crunch bar and took her to an empty room to eat it as a treat when it was all over.

Today Tarwoe told me she loved me. It was said as I left the room but I think it was genuine. This patient is 20 and went home around five pm. She was expecting to go home at 12 pm, but her mother was running late. As I waited be the gangway for her to leave, she and her mother were in a heated debate. I had a translator find out if anything was wrong. Nothing was wrong. Tarwoe was upset that her mother was late. I think my mother and I have had the exact manner of conversation. Human nature is so uniform.

Today I had my third "African lady" lesson. I'm really becoming a pro at carrying things on my head. Maybe I will start a trend in America when I come home.

Today I took care of a patient whose mother had rubella while she was in utero. She is 2 1/2 and came with her little sister who is 6 months. They wore the same size diapers. The little girl is deaf and blind. We are removing her L cataract. We already removed the R cataract and our surgeons as well as the patients mother are pretty certain she is seeing light and large objects. She had never seen anything before.

Today I never made it outside. It's been raining for 1 1/2 weeks strait. It's peak rainy season. Our Internet, which has been shady all week, was completely shutdown all day.

Today I had instant oatmeal for breakfast. A welcomed change from toast.

Today I was suppose to do my weekly load of laundry but the washers were to crowded.

There is always tomorrow.