Last Week

Last Monday I went back to Pineapple Land and Dr. Karla and I gave the anti-parasite teaching and medicine to the high school kids at the school there. On the way there, we got a little lost. From the highway to the dirt bumpy road and then to…we didn’t know where the next turn was. So we asked a few people and got some mixed directions but finally found it. It is a beautiful drive up, up, and up to the top of a big hill. In the states the fences are made of posts and wire but in Pineapple Land and other rural areas here in Nicaragua the fences are made of thick rows of cactus…so thick that nothing can fit through. The cactus fences are effective.  The dust up on the hill is everywhere and when we left it was all over us…in our noses, in our eyes, in our shoes and ears….all over.

Tuesday Dr. Karla and I went to the school in the market called Tabernacle Agua Viva and we did physical annual check-ups on some of the kids but, then once teachers realized we were there, the rest of our day was filled with attending to the sick kids. It was a busy morning. Then for the afternoon we went to visit Heysi. Today was her first day of chemo and we wanted to check up on her and bring her all the info about how to manage the side effects of chemo. She is depressed, weak but smiling and praying as often as she can. She had a little bit of a cold and an eye infection. We made sure she got medicine to treat both of those. Also, she was lying outside because the stuffiness of the inside of the house and the heat makes her nauseated. We are working on a plan to fix up her house to make it better for her to be in regards to both comfort and infection control. Also, Courtney (a dear friend of both Heysi and I) brought lots of gifts for Heysi…including an iPod Nano. I gave her the gifts and we listened to the tunes on the new toy. She is only 16 and is already dealing with so much…I can’t imagine.

Wednesday was a big day! Not only did we have another dentist/lab fiesta but a group of students from TCU (my alma mater) came to learn about the Nicaraguan health care system. The special needs kids from los brasiles at the Josue 1:8 school came to the dentist/lab clinic. We had the chairs for them and the teachers and Dr. Karla organized the kids while I organized the TCU group. It is always so neat to see the special needs kids meet and interact with new people. They are so loving and genuine always. Also, for them to receive a dentist appointment and get their hgb/hct taken is a great opportunity.  The TCU group was fun to have around. I definitely realized that sharing my passion for helping is one of my favorite things. The nurse at the clinic talked to the group about her experiences as a nurse and I loved seeing how proud she was to talk with them. Go Nurses! Also, they got a tour of the public children’s hospital nearby. There are a lot of differences between the care received at a public hospital here and the hospitals back in Fort Worth.  Then everyone was super hungry so we went to a Nicaraguan buffet and had good Nicaraguan food. I had some excellent conversations that were encouraging and supportive of my future as an international nurse. 

On Thursday, the same wonderful optometrist came to the school, Rey Salamon, and did evaluations on the special needs kids while Dr. Karla and I attended to the sick kids. She did the assessment and I documented, distributed the medicines she ordered, and explained how to give/take the medicines.  Then we got a call from Heysi’s mom that Heysi had strong heart palpitations that morning and they couldn’t give her the chemo. She was in the hospital again and they were running a bunch of tests to see what was wrong. Soon after, Courtney arrived at the school with her daughter to visit Heysi that afternoon. As soon as we could, we left the school and went to see Heysi in the hospital. She was said to have another kidney infection. We called the Internal Medicine Doctor who was treating her for the last kidney infection and set an appointment for 5pm that evening. Dr. Karla dropped Courtney, her daughter, Heysi, Heysi’s mom and me at the internal medicine doctor’s office to help with the appointment. Dr. Karla went to Masaya (about an hour drive away) to meet with a Doctor there and pick up some anti-convulsant medicines that are super expensive here and were going to be donated. At the clinic waiting for Heysi’s appointment, Heysi vomited a couple times and could not keep any liquids or medicines down. She had to give a urine sample to re-run the urine test and she couldn’t fit in the bathroom with her wheelchair so her mom helped her take off her diaper and do pee into the cup in the hallway to the bathroom. It was really sad and humiliating but at the same time seeing the love of her mother and the strength of Heysi was lovely. To distract Heysi  from the pain and discomfort we told her stories of Texas and played “I spy…” for at least an hour. The appointment finally arrived and he reviewed her and ordered antibiotics and other medicines to give IV since she was vomiting everything else. Then it took us about 2 hours to finally find all the medicines she needed. Taxi, after taxi…we were all squished and giggling…it was good to hear Heysi laugh.

Friday, I left for Costa Rica for the weekend. Tourist Visas only last 90 days and so Dereck and I went to Costa Rica to get the stamp out and the stamp back into Nicaragua so our Visas wouldn’t expire. Also, we went on an adventure through the rainforest there. The bus ride there was 9hrs and back was 9hrs too. Our Hotel was really nice and not too expensive. We saw lots of bright colored butterflies, fast lizards in various sizes, lizards that puffed out their red necks, an oversized rodent that was actually cute, an armadillo, and….I almost stepped on a 3 foot long iguana, and….we saw a Macaw! The hike was exciting and fun. San Jose was cold. The rainforest was hot. The rainforest was part of the National Park Carara. Fun trip!!! Good to recharge and refresh!

Love,
Ayla Landry

"Give us this day our daily bread."  The Lord's Prayer