Time for home already!

 

With just a week to go before we return to the UK we went full circle this week and took Ivan back into our care. We first had him just after we arrived here. He has gone from underweight.....to too plump.....back to losing a lot of weight in a short space of time. It transpires that they have been forcing him to eat with the result that he now reacts by vomiting. At least we think that is the problem. He certainly has lost his appetite but is it psychological? By slow and careful feeding we have got him to the stage of not vomiting but he is not taking in enough nutrition. We tried him on goat's milk to see if he had got beyond his intolerance. I then had to endure a day of a very grizzly Ivan so I guess that's a clear 'no'. I reinstated feeding from a bottle which suits him no end. They admit he can't take from a cup properly and to be honest, I'm not much good at cup feeding little ones so the bottle was for mutual benefit. The Carers will have the problem of getting him back to cup feeding....Oh dear!

 

 

At last Doreen has her chair.

 

Not to be outdone, the Carers wanted their photos taken too. So poor Doreen is in the background whilst they take centre stage.

 

I am delighted to say I can name all the Carers in the picture....I can't name all the children however. With their haircuts they look very different. It can be hard to know if you are looking at a boy or a girl.

 

 

 

 

Emily returned this week and Ruth, PV Fundraiser came too. We had a meal together on Friday and made the mistake of being lazy and not washing up afterwards. Saturday was Charlotte's birthday cum DVD night so yet more cooking and food preparation.....but with no water or electricity. The only water was from the storage tanks on site and it was green with wiggly things. I momentarily considered if you could boil potatoes with Dettol in the water! I have never been more grateful for running water from a tap, that although still needs boiling, looks ok.

Mike is currently in bed in the middle of the day, having been up with one of the prem babies during the night. We have 2 prems that were doing ok but developed problems to the extent that he baptised them, not expecting them to survive. Two days on and they are still with us. Our latest two had very sad stories. One was born at 7 months on the road. The mum was trying to walk to the Hospital. She had lost 2 previous babies at this stage and it is thought she may have an incompetent cervix. Anyway the baby arrived very cold and covered in gravel. From the gravel pattern it is thought he may have dropped out and landed on the ground on his head. Despite being a better weight than our other inmates, he died. The next was a failed abortion at 6 months. Failed in that the baby was born live. The membranes were ruptured but it was several days before she gave birth. Apparently the stress the baby was under can mature the lungs so that has been an advantage to him. The baby has pulled back from his blip but is still very vulnerable. The mother seems to be ok about his survival but time will tell as it was a mutual decision by the parents to attempt the abortion.

At some stage we will start organising ourselves for our month's return to the UK. We leave here on June 4th and expect to be back in Kisoro around July 8th. Still, we don't need to bring much back just some clothes that would benefit from a good wash in the washing machine.

 

..........is there any room in the Inn?

 

 

 

Babies have dominated our week. First was Dushime. She arrived here on the 4th aged 3 weeks. As we have had a big intake of newborn babies in recent weeks, there was no room or staff for her next door so we took her in. She is gorgeous, very pretty and full of personality. She had been fed watered down cows milk and fruit juice before she arrived so her insides were not in the best state but this rectified itself. She arrived in rags soaked in urine but scrubbed up well! The first night she just wanted to be held...and who can blame her. It was lovely to see her relax as the days went by. We did struggle with the nights....3 was quite enough sleep deprivation but we carried on for 6. Jackie the Administrator offered to take her home for the weekend to give us a break and because she wanted to.

 

Then on Saturday night along came Claire. She was 6 days old. Her mother had been brought in from the streets, very pregnant and very psychotic. She delivered in a Health Centre but although they tried to get the mum to breast feed, it was declared she was too mentally ill to take any responsibility. They are keeping the mother in order to get her treated. This is the 7th child of this ill mother. Her own mother used to look out for her but she has died. Sadly, Claire will be a prime candidate for HIV but the tests cannot be carried out until she is 6 weeks old. So we swopped a 3 week old for a 6 day old! Who needs sleep! I do think of the many African Grandmothers who take on caring for their Grandchildren. I admire them.

Dushime has watched me do the accounts, has surveyed the goings on in the Medical Centre and spent time in the workshop. Leonard finished painting the chair for Doreen and we had Jean Paul up from Rwanda for the day on Wednesday and have cut out the standing frame for Samuel.

Leonard opted for an African look for the chair so decided to paint it in the red oxide powder that they use on their clay cooking pots. On the side is the Potters's Village pot logo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is the change of season here and the dry season is heralded by high winds and rain. This is the coolest we have known it. All that means is that we have occasionally had to wear a jumper.

The Medical Centre has had comings and goings. Yesterday two more children were brought in who had had the local tonsillectomy procedure. Yet another was a parent whose child had been given antibiotics but she thought they weren't working quickly enough. The twin who was born nearly 3 hours after her brother has managed 5 sucks today. It is such a relief as it was a real dilemma what to do as the mum wants to go home. To send the baby home unable to feed would mean death from starvation. To send her home with a nasogastric tube would mean an inevitable infection and subsequent death albeit a better option than the above. It is hoped the mother can see some benefit from staying a bit longer until she can manage a complete breast feed.