The new school has just started which makes everything around here much quieter. Teachers are happy to finally have a purpose in their Finca life. Smaller jobs have also started, for example I have study hour with houses 6 and 1 three days a week, I am review applications for next year’s volunteers, and will be starting PAVI work hours soon. The kids are split, some and supper excited to be back in school and others really struggle with the structure of the classroom and tareja or homework.
Things in the clinic have been going well. In fact tomorrow two 4th year med students from Indiana will be coming to observe and help out. They stopped by on Sunday to drop off extra medications they had from their brigades and asked if they could come and help out when we had clinic hours, sa-weet! So I am super excited about that. I had only two patients on Monday so I hope they will have more to see what rural medicine is all about.
Though only having two patients was a nice. It gives me a chance to do other things like research in this past Monday’s case CLEAN! I had been smelling something funny for a while and thought maybe it was a mouse or rat from the poison I had been putting out, but the Decon is supposed to make it not smell. I had asked volunteers as they came in to see if it was just me and everyone seemed to think so. I started cleaning the Dentist’s room since he will be coming in a month. Once I got to the second shelving unit and opened the back side there it was….the dead rat I had smelled, maggots and all. I have seen some pretty disgusting things in school and clinical and even here but in the following half hour it took all my strength to keep from vomiting, to clean it all out! SO gross!! But the great part is now it is clean and no more smell!
Stories about the kids: Maria my special friend, it is her birthday on Friday and all she wants is to go to a Posa, a watering hole basically, and have chocolate cake and ice cream! One of the older boys, David, his pills had been melting in his pill box, so my solution was to put them in there whole and have him cut them himself. This week when I checked in I asked him how it went and he smiled from ear to ear as he told me great! That was a huge surprise. I love seeing the kids doing things themselves or learning to take care of themselves. Joel, is my favorite at this, he is 10 and is always wanting to do it himself from cleaning his granos, infected bug bites, to sticking himself to check his sangre (blood) for anemia (Before you freak out about that, it is a pen like device in which you are unable to access the needle and I was with him instructing him the whole time, all the diabetic 8-16 years at camp did the same thing to themselves)!
Stories about Volunteers: For our last community night we did speed affirmations, like speed dating except telling the other what you appreciate about them personally and about what they bring to the community. This was really rewarding. It was interesting to see what other people thought of me and to see what it was that I had noticed in others. It was a good reminded to continue to point those things out to others because it really does make a difference when someone says thank you for being you! Magdalena, one of our special needs child, needs to have some testing done to determine what she has and what form of treatment then we can move forward with. Her tests consist of and EEG, CAT scan, and some blood tests which will all cost about $200 US dollars. The problem is the Farm does not have the money now to complete this test so we are stuck. If there is anyone who would be willing to pitch in something or know of anyone else who would please let me know!!!
Exciting things: My family is coming down in one month! I am super excited to have the come to the Farm and see where I live. They will be able to understand so much more what this place is like when I talk about the clinic or the kids or going here or there. I can’t wait for them to meet the kids, other vols, and house parents and tias (aunts). At the same time St. Joseph’s will be having a Saturday Event Bingo or Spaghetti dinner, I can’t remember, to help raise money for the Finca, PLEASE GO!! Lastly three months from now I will be on Minnesota ground, wa-hoo!
Hope everyone nis doing well. I am still receiving Christmas cards, thank you, which tells you how long it takes things to get here! I really appreciate you taking the time to send even a letter to say hello, it truly means a lot! Much Love and Prayers from Honduras...Deirdre
