Kou

Kou is a three year old little girl. Who, by the way, is completely lovely. She likes to smile and laugh and play with blocks. Her dad is completely attentive to her needs and takes very good care of her. Her skin is dark and soft. She’s quite kissable.

Three months ago, Kou fell and hurt her knee. Her grew to the size of a small grapefruit forcing her to walk with an extreme limp. A once active little girl was confined to a small, painstaking movements. Her calf is already starting to whither.
In Liberia there are limited medical resources. Kou was unable to get the medical attention she needed. A minor accident could have caused this happy, active girl to be crippled for the rest of her life.

But the Africa Mercy is in Liberia. Kou won’t have to spend her entire life crippled.

Her little leg is now held hostage by a plaster cast. But she does not seem to mind. She’s actually quite feisty.

Today, I found her hysterically crying. My first instinct was to asses for pain. But Kou wasn’t in pain. She was upset because Tommy, another orthopedic patient, was holding the green car. Kou had the blue car but she wanted the green one. She was basically having a temper tantrum. Like any three year old does. Later she was sitting and eating her lunch, rice with chicken and green sauce. I pretended to eat out of her bowl. As I walked away, her father called my name. I turned around and there was little Kou holding a spoonful of rice. She thought I was really hungry and wanted to share her lunch.

Before my shift was over I was able to hold her on my lap and build with blocks. Nursing can be frustrating sometimes and today had been a bit of a frustrating day. But the last ten minutes of building blocks with Kou pretty much eradicated the previous 500 minutes. It’s pretty great.