Buckets and Baby Wipes

Someone stole our bucket as we were carrying water from the tap.

 

While this may not seem important to you, we are in a hospital that doesn't have any running water. Before you gasp, try to wrap your head around the fact that 70% of the people living in Cameroon don't have access to potable water. For the few who are blessed with "indoor plumbing" it usually only works a portion of the time. (my house has been without running water for a week now.)

 

We are entering dry season and water is even more of a precious resource. Many people trek to taps or rivers several times a day to collect water for their homes. It's a sad day when the taps themselves run dry. We had  filled empty water bottles and were taking them to the room while the water filled the bucket when ours was stolen. Here in the hospital, we are gathering water several times a day for just about everything. There are no nice CNA's to come change you bed sheets and to bathe you. No nice person with a food cart coming by 3 times a day with "wonderful hospital food." All of that is left to the care-giver that you bring with you to the hospital.

 

So while a bucket may not seem like much to you, it is our saving grace on many occasions. We bathe with it, flush the toilet, wash our clothes, our sheets, and dishes with it. To say the least buckets are a HOT commodity in Cameroon. If I were a poet, I would write a poem entitled, "Ode to the Bucket."

 

Fortunately, I am from America and we have these wonderful things called Baby Wipes. I had the good sense to purchase a case before coming and the thieves who stole a good portion of my other things were nice enough to leave these on the ship. Being the anal person that I am, I packed some before coming to the hospital. They became our second saving grace after our bucket was stolen. Just as we were depleting our stash, some friends dropped by with more...

 

Once again, we "washed" dishes, our bodies and anything else that we needed to disinfect with them. My second poem is going to be entitled, "Ode to Baby Wipes." I am very grateful that the good Lord gave someone a serious master mind to invent them.

 

Hospitals in third world countries always amaze me. They don't seem to have half of the resources that we do and yet, people's lives are still being saved. Mind you, the ways that they go about things here still make me very angry but I realize that in most circumstances, people are doing the best they can with what they know and have.

 

Achiever has been blessed with nurses who care and have compassion. I can't say this for many of the hospital staff I have seen in other places. On his second night, he ran a fever. I asked for fever medication. The nurses came with "horse pills." I asked for them to be crushed or to bring a liquid form of the medication. Liquid?? They looked at me like I had two heads... If you want to crush the pills, you must provide paper... It was my turn to look at them strangely but I pulled out my notebook and gave them paper. Someone else came back a few minutes later with the crushed pills. From the screams coming from the room next door, our original nurse was delivering her next round of injections to her next "victim." 

 

We are in a semi-private room. There are 3 beds here with a bathroom attached. The general ward has 7 patients in a room. There are no curtains for privacy. Given that most people here are completely bed ridden, it has made for some interesting moments. (bathing, using the bathroom etc.) None of the patients should be left alone at any time. There are no monitors for blood pressure or to be sure that you are even still breathing. Your care-giver needs to be on hand at all times. In addition to that, since this is a hospital that specializes in bone issues, most people have iron rods sticking out of various parts of their bodies that can severly hurt them if they are bumped in any way. (Iron rods - think metal chopsticks sticking out of your legs or arms, holding your broken bones in place.)

 

Achiever has 3 rods on his left leg and 2 rods on his right. He also has 3 bags or plastic bottles (depends on what is available the day they change them) that are collecting blood and fluid as his swelling goes down. This makes life interesting when changing his diapers and bathing him but so far he has been a trooper and we have figured out a system to try not to hurt him too much. It is definitely a two man job. Mama Grace and I make a good team... Achiever still fights to want to use the bathroom and not a diaper. He has found interesting ways to "rebel" against the diapers but I think we have finally convinced him that the diapers are in his best interest.

 

We switched his I.V. port from one hand to the other in hopes that the pain would be reduced a bit. He still screams bloody murder when he gets his injections but today he isn't fighting. We have told him that the medication is necessary if he wants his legs to get strong so that he can go back to his house. Yesterday I played videos of the children at the orphanage singing and showed him pictures of all his friends. He smiled for the first time. A friend of mine from childhood is living in the U.K. and sent cards a letters to the children. We saved one for him and we read that and played with the stickers enclosed in the card. This was his second and last smile so far.

 

As I type, he is laying on the bed next to me, sleeping soundly.

 

His legs have stopped "jumping" consistently and for the most part he is able to rest in peace. He is still pretty drugged so that he isn't constantly feeling the pain. The nurses come like clockwork 4 times a day. I hate it but it's a necessary evil for now.

 

The mother of a child I raised money for a surgery on a previous trip has been faithful to bring us food every day since we arrived. Lydia herself came yesterday to try to encourage Achiever a bit. She showed him her scars and told him how fast he will run when he leaves the hospital. It was way too much for my heart to take. Happy tears are coming as I write this.

 

We don't have water. Electricity has gone out every day that we have been here but people are as happy as they can be under the circumstances. There is an odd family that has come together among the many care-givers. Everyone does their best to help the other person out. There are a few patients who don't have care givers here full time and people band together to help them as well.

 

As a ministry we are working to bring the Living Water of Jesus to the people of Cameroon. We will also do our best to help provide access to clean drinking water and water in general. In the future, we have plans to build a medical clinic to help alleviate some of the pain many people in this country suffer and they do not have the resources and finances to take care of their medical needs. Sitting in the hospital with Achiever reinforces our goals more and more. People are desperate for help. They are looking for a way out of their ruts. While assisting with help for their physical healing we hope to introduce them to the Ultimate Healer and hopefully change this nation and many others around the world.

 

This morning while boiling water outside to bathe Achiever, Mama Grace saw our bucket. She immediately went to go and take it back. The older gentleman who had it told her that the bucket was hidden in the bathroom of his room when he arrived last night. She explained that it was our bucket and we have been without for several days. He explained to her that he is keeping the bucket and we can have it back when he is discharged....

 

Good thing I went to the house yesterday and picked up a few more packages of baby wipes...and another bucket... :-)