Adventures in Kenya: Day 3-- still going strong.

Day 3: 8/8

Today we visited an orphanage about 5 minutes from our compound. It was a great way to relieve some of the stress from the hospital because even though these kids have nothing, they smile like they have everything. A student in our program has a medical relief organization that provided a free clinic for the orphanage today. There are over 300 kids here, but we were only able to see 200 due to time and money restrictions. I am so glad I had the opportunity to take part in it. They people were so welcoming and appreciative of our support. The kids are more adorable than you could ever imagine. I sat down on a bench beside a few of them and they immediately started jumping all over me. Hugging me, touching my hair, wanting to sit on my lap—it was so much fun. They all had little booklets that we wrote in, for the littlest kids we took their temperature and weight before they went and saw some of the doctors. Every one of them had a smile on their face and no matter what language you speak or culture you come from, happiness speaks without words. I can’t wait to go back and see the kids again! The woman in charge, Jane, said we can come play with them whenever we want.

Trisha, Jeff, and I wanted some more time in the hospital since we hadn’t been there all day, so we went at 9pm. We were a little hesitant since Joel and Mia weren’t coming because they have been such a huge help with guiding us through what happens here. Despite this, we thought we would give it a go anyways. Once we arrived we walked right back into casualty even though it had been a nightmare the night before. I don’t feel like there are enough words I can write or pictures I can take to really give anyone a full insight on what it is actually like here. I’m doing my best, but reading through everything I just wrote doesn’t seem to give the actual experience justice. Casualty seemed to look a lot like last night. Patients in pain, being ignored, bleeding all over the floor, and everything moving in slow motion. We asked a doctor if he needed help with anything and he said, “Yes, come follow me.” He took us to a corner with a lady laying on a gurney in shock. He wanted us to start and IV and draw blood, but none of us had ever done that before. We decided to at least prep for it. He brought us the supplies and we tied a glove, yes a rubber glove to use as a tourniquet. He also brought us a wet cotton ball and when we asked if that was alcohol on it he replied, “No we do not have such things here, this is just water but it will work.” The woman was ice cold and her veins were nowhere to be found. The IV was finally in, but no obvious improvement was noticed at first. About a half hour later the man she was with came running up to us complaining that there was something wrong! We rushed over and she was lying stiff with her eyes wide open. Trisha lifted her shirt to listen for a heartbeat, but there was a huge open wound. I felt for a pulse, but there was nothing. We knew she was gone, but we had to find a nurse to confirm it and to tell the man she was with—his English wasn’t very good. After seeing this, we had enough for the night and took a tuktuk home. It took me awhile to fall asleep that night, but I know the exposure to this horrible element is going to make me stronger and a better healthcare professional someday. It’s not always fun, but it is rewarding when we do get to help someone. Hospital again tomorrow morning, I’ll hope for the best!