catching up

My punishment for not writing the last three days is trying to remember everything that has been going on in my life. The internet has not been working well and the prospect of fighting with it every night leaves me very unmotivated to blog. My apologies to all those who follow so diligently.

I’ve officially reached the half way mark and it seems like time is speeding up and everything is being crammed into my last 4 weeks here. I’ve been starting to feel it, as I’ve been somewhat lethargic the last couple days. I’m hoping to get a good night sleep after blogging and be refreshed for the week. It’s only a four day workweek because Good Friday is considered a holiday. The Monday after Easter is Family Day – another holiday, so I will get a 4-day weekend! We definitely need to adopt that practice in the US! ☺

So lets reach way back and dig up the events from Friday…

Joe (Missy’s brother) was admitted back on to the unit. It’s amazing how quickly kids can regress through readmission. Joe had been doing so well. He seemed to be coping more effectively with treatments and always seemed so happy when he visited the hospital. As soon as I saw him Friday morning back in his hospital gown and sitting in his bed, some of his sullen expressions had returned. He was very sad and withdrawn. He did perk up when I came to talk and play with him, but it wasn’t the same smiling kid who had been here for outpatient visits. To make matters worse, he has to be in isolation, so his sister and his new best friend he met at the medical house he’s been staying at have to stay 2 rooms down. Windows separate the rooms, so he can see them but can’t be with them. They keep motioning for him to come down, but we tell them he can’t. It’s been pretty sad for him. He sat a chair right outside his door and just sat there for a large part of the day. We did do some fun activities and he engaged, but he just kept looking longingly at the room two doors down. Joe had a rough time during the dressing again. He tries so hard, but it is just so painful. He looked at me and then just grabbed on to my hand and buried his head against me. I was able to get him to take some big deep breathes by modeling what I wanted him to do, so that felt successful.

I had a number of theatres that went very well today. The anesthesiologist commented specifically on one child I accompanied to theatre. She said Child Life had made a world of difference in his coping – that he was a totally different kid from the one that was admitted a couple months ago. It’s so neat to see the progress. I keep hearing over and over again that we can’t understand the impact we’re making because we weren’t here to see what it was like before. The surveys have been so positive and the staff is so supportive in wanting to fill them out. It’s so great to see that we truly will be leaving a lasting impact here.

Missy had a great day today. She was unattached from tubes, and was able to move about more freely. She sat up in a chair and we looked at a book together. She even talked to me, which was a huge breakthrough. We identified fruits and counted. She mimicked words I said and I tried to copy the ones she said (she was way better at it than I was!). It’s so great to see her improving. I think it helps her to know that Joe is back. She realizes she’s not totally abandoned here in the hospital. Missy has been having a lot of itching from dry skin. I thought she was just always shaking her head no at me all the time, but then I realized she was trying to scratch the back of her neck. I got some lotions from the OT and have been massaging them into her neck daily. She will just sit there with her head hanging, so I can easily rub on the lotion. She seems so relaxed when we’re done. It’s such a simple act that makes such a difference in her comfort and therefore her coping.

For those of you waiting for the update on Othathali’s second surgery- she ended up getting canceled for surgery today. It was too bad because the pre meds she was given this morning totally knocked her out – which will be good to know when she comes back tomorrow.

As my time here gets shorter, I’m feeling the need to find more tangible ways to leave behind lasting change at the hospital. I know that I’ve been able to bring change into the lives of many of the kids here, but I want there to be impact for kids to come. This week I’ll be working on a positioning for comfort poster to hang in the treatment rooms. We’ve been trying to implement those practices in procedures and hopefully a more concrete visual aid will assist with that when we are not present.

Friday night we got dessert at the Mount Nelson Hotel. It was (until the One and Only Hotel just opened up this week) the top notch hotel in Cape Town. All the stars stay there. I ate the best brulee I have ever had. It was amazing!! The hotel is beautiful – I definitely felt the country girl in me as I looked around at how the other half lives (and for the record, I definitely prefer my half!) ☺

On to Saturday…

Tami and I went to Camps Bay in the morning. We were in search of her favorite – eggs benedict….and boy did we find it! It was so good; definitely on my list of top foods since I’ve been here. (why is everything about food in this post!) I don’t ever remember having my eggs this way until earlier this year. I’ve now decided it’s my favorite way to eat eggs. Yummy, yummy! The tall glass of mango juice that accompanied only increased my shear happiness – not to mention the view of the ocean as we sat in the open air restaurant. We spent the rest of the morning on the beach trying to plan for our African safari. A friend of mine contributed money to my Africa fund specifically for me to go on a safari while here because she had always wanted to go and never thought she would be able to. In order to do the real deal, Tami and I are trying to work out a trip to the Kruger National Park. We found a really great deal, but are just finding the best way to actually get there now. I am so excited for that little get away!

Saturday night we attended the taste of Cape Town event. All the top restaurants in the area were there to offer samples of the foods. You got a certain number of tickets and used those to pay for samples. There were some free samples, however, so when we found those, we jumped on the opportunity to eat whatever it was. At one point a woman offered us a free sample of pig’s cheek. The free part registered in my brain first and I put the whole thing in my mouth. That’s when the “pig cheek” registered. I felt a little sick to my stomach. Not because it tasted that bad (definitely not good, though), but because for some reason the cheek of anything makes me a little nauseated. I’d never even thought of pigs having cheeks before – let alone thought of eating them! Anyway, I definitely took a few moments to think before eating any free samples after that. I later found out they were serving a free worm dish at a S. African restaurant’s booth – so sad I missed out on that free sample.

We ended our night of tasting with some crème brulee ice cream served by a couple of guys without shirts (not really sure why). One of the guys heard our accents and asked where in the States we were from. I said Kansas City – and started to explain that was in the middle (since most people here only know the coasts). He said, "I know someone from Kansas City." He went on to explain tell us about a pediatric doctor from the US that comes over and works in the townships around Cape Town. I told him I worked at the pediatric hospital in the US and actually knew another of the guys he was talking about. Small world!! I tried to find out more, but the lady in charge was yelling for us to move on. It was a cool little moment to be a million miles from home and meet someone who knows someone who is somehow connected to you – no matter how stretched it is. ☺

And finally, Sunday…

This morning my friend Jamie and I decided to go to church at the Mormon church in town. I’ve never actually been to a Mormon church, but my sister’s friend from Illinois served his mission here in Cape Town, so I thought I would visit the ward. The website said it started at 9 am. I tried to call the number and confirm the time, but there was only a machine. So, early this morning, we headed out (with another girl named Liz) to find the church. We had to take a taxi to one of the suburbs, but it only ended up being R55 (about a 5 USD cab ride). When we got there the church appeared all locked up. The gates were locked and everything. We tried to find people to ask, but no one was really around. Luckily we’d asked the cab to wait, so he took us back to town. We asked him if he knew where any churches were, but he didn’t. He even radioed his taxi friends and no one could help us. We thanked him for a R110 Sunday morning drive and began our search for a church (fyi. As you know, I’ve been attending the Hillsong church, but they were not having services this morning due to the jazz festival). We asked one of the guys that works in the coffee shop under our apartment, but he was Muslim and said he didn’t know of any churched around. The security guard wasn’t much help either. Liz dropped out of the search at that point, but Jamie and I were determined, so we started walking toward an area we thought had a church. We looked and looked and could not find any churches. I was starting to feel like we would never find a church and felt very sad about that. I said a little prayer and kept walking on faith. Finally we saw a woman and her daughter walking down the street. The woman was carrying a book called, “The Harvest.” That sounded churchy enough for me, so we started following them. We caught up to them at a light and asked if there was any chance they were going to church. I’m sure we caught them off guard, but our American accents make us less threatening. They said they were, so we asked if they would mind if we tagged along. I know – you all are probably thinking… Cara? YOU did that? You can’t even call the Pizza Delivery Guy! I never would have done it alone, but with Jamie we were feeling pretty brave. ☺ They took us to the Calvary Chapel church which meets in the gym of an old school. They made us feel so welcome! We sat with Dawn and her daughter Diandra (the ones we had followed). Everyone made us feel so welcome. They are a small church and could immediately tell that we were visitors – especially after hearing our accents. They loved the story of how we had found them and invited us back again. We are planning on joining them for the sunrise service on Signal Hill on Good Friday. When one thing doesn’t work out – God opens other doors for us to receive a blessing!

I wish I could be more insightful tonight, but I’m struggling to keep awake. Only 4 weeks until I come home. I am missing you all, but so excited for the remainder of my time here. I love you more than you can imagine! God bless.