01 January 2016

YUSUF (not his real name) How old do you think he is?

1st JANUARY 2016

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR PEACE

 

     The nurse had seen this little boy five days earlier and she thought his cheeks were a little swollen.  However, he had malaria so she treated him and told him to come back to see me.  He and his mother have HIV and both are on treatment.  In just five days the swelling had greatly increased along with swellings in his jaw and leg.  I was sure he had cancer but it was only two weeks to Christmas and this is the worst time in Kenya to get sick.  Everyone goes home and few staffs are working.  The mother refused to tell anyone in her family about the HIV infections because she was sure they would exclude them from the family and blame her for getting sick.  We don't charge them for their treatment but she didn't have money to get to the hospital.  So, we gave her the equivalent of $25 to go to the district hospital to get x-rays and I went to hospice to get morphine.  He had terrible pain, especially at night.  He is now in the provincial hospital where they have confirmed he has cancer.  He does not have a very good chance of survival with all the family and financial problems.  We can treat his pain and make him as comfortable as possible.  Perhaps if it is a Burkitt's lymphoma he will respond well to treatment and surprise me.  He is five years old but looks more like three.  Mother and child...such a hard life.

      FEAST OF MARY QUEEN OF PEACE

     In another clinic before Christmas I saw an 18 year old young woman with a pelvic infection.  Treating this problem revealed a litany of social challenges.  She finished five grades in school.  She was impregnated at age 15 by a married man.  He gives her some support for the child so she continues to meet up with him.   She gets treatment for the infection but he refuses to be treated so she gets re-infected.  She's really just a girl trying to survive.

     I sent her to the social worker who is very gifted in helping with these challenges.  We both encouraged the young mother to leave the married man and go back to school to finish eight grades.  Just as she was ready to leave she asked me if there as a chance she could have another albino child.  I was dumb founded.  After all of our interviewing and counseling we had failed to find out that her three year old son has albinism, a genetic disorder where the skin fails to produce pigment and the person looks white.  Exposure to ultra violet rays of the sun can easily cause cancer.  It is not uncommon here and there is tremendous social stigma attached to the condition.  In the most severe instances albino children and adults have been killed by witchcraft and their body parts used by the witch doctors for their evil machinations.  And yes, if she becomes pregnant by the same man again there is a 25% chance the child will have albinism.    

     All during this Christmas season I have been thinking of Mary and Jesus in light of these mothers and their children.  Why do so many young women and their children have one problem after another?  More importantly, what can I do for them?  When I am creative I find there is always something I can do for them.  In this coming year let us look at possibilities and be creative.  Let us not be overwhelmed by all the evil and troubles that seem to sprout like weeds.  Let's be hopeful and do what we can...with love and compassion.                                         

WISE OLD OWL

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PEACE OF THE WISDOM AND CREATIVITY THIS COMING YEAR WILL BRING