After Dr. Karla and I got Heysi settled back at home all has been better. She does not have the kidney infection anymore and has gained a little bit of an appetite back along with strength and hope. She even put on a dress and her wig the other day. The plan is to start chemo on Tuesday.
So on Wednesday I went to one of the school called Josue 1:8 in an area called Los brasilles to complete clinical histories on all the special needs kids there. An optometrist came to the school to do vision screening on the special needs kids too. The optometrist is amazing because from a 10 minute meeting we had with him last week he decided that he wanted to support us and has jumped on board to help out. In the States there would be so many more procedural steps in place that would make collaboration so much harder to initiate.
Then on Thursday, Dr. Karla and I went to the school called Rey Salamon and did clinical histories and annual physical exams on some of the special needs kids there. Here in Nicaragua Downs Syndrome is diagnosed but any other disorder/condition is just called retarded and parents don't know about why their child has seizures, can’t pay attention, can't hear, can't walk, can't talk, or is different than the other kids. Most mentally and/or physically disabled people in Nicaragua are hidden and not a part of society. Some of the parents at the schools we work with are very involved with their kids and others use the school like a daycare.
While doing the clinical histories with the parents of the special needs kids I learned that most families have at least 7 people living in their home, many to not have toilets, but most have electric lights. I also learned that nobody knows what their relatives die of, and especially not on the father's side of the family because in most families there is no father figure. I learned that most pregnant women do not have prenatal care, and have at least 5 children. Everyone needs help buying milk for their families and they don't understand medicines when they are prescribed to them.
On Friday, I had a boring day of entering information into to computer from all the histories and check-ups that we did. It was uneventful and boring but important.
All is well. I am learning a lot and enjoy the simplicity of life here.
Love,
Ayla Landry
"Empower yourself with love and then share it." ~Anonymous
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