At one with the animals

Before I start this post please let me apologise for not posting at the usual time for the past few weeks- we’ve been extremely busy here with the celebration day and lots of other projects so getting into town for the internet didn’t some how fit into my agenda! Well this week I’ve had some time off just to chill and recharge my batteries. I’ve felt so tired and a little emotionally drained these past few weeks to be honest so I really needed the break. Last weekend we went to a few Game parks in Northern KwaZulu Natal and had an amazing time. We saw lots of different animals and birds and generally had a restful time away. It was extremely hot but thankfully we had an air conditioned car so all was well!

Unfortunately we have 2 little boys in hospital at the moment. I admitted them both and have visited them as often as possible. Each time I leave them both they scream and my heart just breaks for them. It really does bring home to me the situation we are in here. The hospital is not getting any better- it takes me on average 4 hours to admit each child. I’m definitely learning to be a lot more patient and understanding as losing my cool and getting angry really gets me absolutely no where. Last Wednesday afternoon we had a memorial service for our beautiful little boy who is now with our Father in heaven. I had to leave to go to the hospital as soon as it was over to admit one of the children. I sat in the admissions queue for more than 2 hours. I was 6th in line however an old lady behind me in the queue soiled herself so I let her go before me. Then a lady who was in labour started bleeding and was visibly in agony so of course I made sure she went first, then a lady with severe chest pains again needed to go before me. Of course I was more than willing to let these people go before me even though it was now 6.30pm. What really frustrated me was that they had to sit in the queue in the first place. I have no idea if the lady who was in labour successfully gave birth or if the lady with the chest pains is now well. People in Africa literally do die in the queue waiting to be seen to. It just serves as a reminder to me just how amazing the NHS is really! I’ll never complain again!
One of our volunteers is leaving us on Sunday and as she leaves another volunteer arrives from America. She did a similar degree to me so hopefully we’ll have a lot in common and finally I’ll be able to have some “geeky” conversations with her! Also she will be eventually taking over the role of running the clinic we have and admitting sick children to the hospital so that when I leave in March (6 weeks time argh!) she’ll be able to do everything for herself straight away! Also it will lighten my ever increasing workload a bit so I can spend a bit more time with the older children! Fingers crossed!