BY APRIL BERESFORD

February 2nd

The 'wild' dogs pulled my lime green scrub pants off the laundry line last night and dragged them through the dirt. Naughty dogs! But if they keep the hippos and baboons and leopards out of our yard, I'm willing to overlook it. Once.

I am feeling more lively today. After fighting bad sinusitis all week, and losing my voice for a pretty good portion of the afternoon yesterday, and fighting a touch of homesickness, I am feeling fully engaged again. I was able to talk to Matt and the girls again today. Matt always knows what to say to me when I need motivation, and I'm feeling recharged and focused again. (I am such a lucky girl that I married my best friend!) Phil came back from Nairobi today with Charles and he had brought us a Safari phone (Africal version of a Trac Phone - pay as you go) to call home. He also brought Coca Cola and candy. I don't think a nice cold Coke has EVER tasted so good! I called home and then made a quick call to my parents. Apparently there is a three foot snow drift in our driveway, and all schools in lower Michigan are off today. Matt had to bring all of the farm animals into the barn and lock them up because the blizzard was so bad, with 50MPH winds. I just can't fathom it. All I got today was a sun tan. :o) I'm such a brat.

The clinic was better today. For the first time, there was a good, efficient flow through the process. I am getting used to having to clean up the clinic in the morning following the all-night lizard parties, and the fact that electricity cuts in and out throughout the day, and we sometimes don't have running water. My husband would be proud that I have learned to adapt and 'roll with it', which is not always one of my stronger attributes. Today I worked in the pharmacy with Jen. I counted pills, mixed solutions, gave injections and did about 100 patient education/discharge instructions. Most people are very thankful, and will smile and shake my hand, even after I stab them with a 24 gauge needle. :o)

We are still seeing a lot of the same illnesses and a handful of musculoskeletal injuries. I met an adorable young girl who was HIV positive who probably had tuberculosis (we don't have the benefits of a chest Xray and sputum cultures to assist in diagnosis) and had already lost her parents to HIV. She was living with her grandmother. There are so many sad stories. Anita had a middle aged woman who had cervical cancer that had metastasized throughout her pelvis and who had a tumor so large that it was actually compressing her sciatic nerve. She walked with excruciating pan for two hours to come to our clinic. Another woman came to us with abdominal pain after the 'local' hospital mistreated her during her pregnancy and it resulted in the death of her unborn, full term baby. Women come to us with wounds from being physically abused. There is no police force to settle domestic issues, and no real public stance aginst it like there is in the USA. At least not that I am seeing. I love what I am doing here, but I don't feel like I am doing a lot to drastically improve the lives of the patients who come to see us. I feel like we are just putitng bandaids on a much larger problem. There is not enough clean water, not enough food, not enough paying jobs, not enough clothing, not enough opportunity for education, and not enough love for these people. On a basic enough level, I feel like the people here are my brothers and sisters. I'm getting to know several of the beneficiaries on a personal level; they sit with us all day and translate for us. They are smart and beautiful and precious young adults who have really bright futures if they are only given the chance to fly. They deserve that. They deserve the opportunity to live up to their full potential. Everyone does.

I will never, ever get tired of waking up to the sound of children singing in Swahili. :o) I just hope I never forget that sound.