An even longer day....seriously exhausted & hitting a wall...

Ok I am not sure when I have been more physically or emotionally exhausted...I know there have been times like this for me before but the passage of time has graciously erased the memories...

It has been about an 18 hour day from wake up til now when I just got back to the hotel.  I decided to quickly do a SHORT blog entry before I shower then I will eat a granola bar & trail mix & go to bed!

The day starts at 5:30, breakfast is at 6, there's a team meeting at 6:30 & we leave for the hospital at 7 & the 1st five surgeries start at 8.  Being in the Recovery Room we don't get our 1st patients til about 9 so this morning I went to the Post Op ward to see some of my little patients from yesterday & that was SO FUN & SO REWARDING.  When I have them they are "coming out of the black hole" of anesthesia & while their faces look "fixed" they are drowsy...this morning they were awake & smiling & happy & wonderful!  Even little Joyce was there in that area with fresh bandages over all her burns, in a little dress & while I dont think there was a smile yet her eyes looked just a little brighter :)

By 9:30 things were hopping in recovery & unlike yesterday when we got lots of patients in & then had a lull today was just a steady stream of patients with occasional chaos for one reason or another but multi-tasking is something I can do even in another country!

One of the highlights today was when Salome came to recovery after her surgery (the 14 year old I blogged about on Saturday).  we have 3 beds & rotate the patients to each bed & she came to mine :)  She looked great with her cleft lip fixed! I found out that someone helped her mom get busfare to Nakuru from Nairobi so she was there with her daughter...we had her mom come into recovery once I had her settled (as we do with all the kids whenever possible) and as soon as her mom came in she teared up & then bowed her head & started praying aloud in Swahili. All of us in the room also bowed our heads as she prayed & there was such an amazing spirit in the room. Florence (a Kenyan nurse I am working with in recovery) translated the prayer & said that mom thanked her Lord for this miracle & all those who have helped "her girl" an asked for blessing for everyone involved & prayed the Salome would take this good gift & go on to make a difference in the world and pass the kindness on to others...it was definitley the best part of the day.  A KSL news crew (the Salt Lake City affiliate of NBC) has been here with us all week (they leave tomrrow) & Brooke Walker the reporter is darling & has been so fun to get to know.  They picked 3 stories for an Op Smile series they will be airing in April & Salome's story is one of them...so I may have gotten some camera time in recovery & then they did interview me...so friends in Utah may see me on the news or maybe not - I will keep you posted when it airs they also said the local NBC affiliate in the LA area was interested in picking up the story so who knows...none of that really matters but I do want to see Brookes series about this mission & Op Smile.

Because of all the "add on's" the day went on much later than expected & honestly I do think I have hit a wall...I am feeling SO GRATEFUL to be here & be haing these experiences but I am a little homesick & miss my family (altho I did talk to all of them today), I have been gone for 8 days living in a very different environment, I am not getting alot of sleep & am working hard & long days...I am not sure when the "getting more rest" will be a possibility so I just keep moving forward as does all the team.

My last tender experience happened late tonight...we have been doing some adult patients but with the influx of new kids yesterday the adults have been delayed until the end of each day.  Tonight we had a 20 year old girl who was getting surgery for some old burn scars on her face & neck (burns are a huge issue here because they cook indoors over an open flame with oils...there are so many people & children with burns I have been amazed!)  Anyway she was to have this done & then be able to go home. I recovered her & then walked her to Post Op to gather her things & in pretty good english she told me she was married & had 2 young children. When we go to the post op area because of the add on surgeries it was over crowded & they had some babies sharing beds. As I told the night nurse she could go home the young woman said she lived 12 km away & had walked her but now at 9 pm it was unsafe for her to walk home so she would need to spend the night.  I had to go back to recovery but as I walked back there I thought "really she has to share a bed in a hospital & not be home with  her kids & husband?" So since I had taken a cab back to the hotel last night & it was 300 shillings (about $4) I asked the Kenyan coordinator Diana...can't we just call a cab for her I will pay???  Diana said that others might want the same thing etc but I felt like I just needed to push the issue & advocate for this young mom.  I asked Diana how much she thought a cab would be for 12 km & she said maybe 500 shilling ( $6) I said let me do it please so we went back down there & I found her doubled up in a bed with another teenage patient.  Diana talked to her in Swahili & then took her to a more private area where other patients wouldnt hear the offer & she said yes she really wanted to go home & all she needed was 200 shillings ($2.50)...I already had given Diana 500 shillings so she gave her 200 & the girl thanked me profusely & I just said "go home to your children" & just that got me choked up.  It was a very simple thing..anyone would've done I am sure; I was just the one put in the position to meet her & then help her...there was no reason for her to stay & I am glad she got to go home...it ended my very long day on such a positive note :)  How many times do I misplace a few dollars or waste it on something or buy a large diet coke & I never think twice about it & here in Nakuru $2.50 made a difference.

There were some other intersting parts of my day...like the ventilator tubing I saw hanging out to dry on a clothesline or the fact that I never imagined myself walking 50 yards from teh recovery room on slightly pave but very bumpy & on some placed dirt paths to get a patient to the post op area at 9 at night in the pitch dark using my flashlight to guide me! (not logistically the best but it is one of the nicest buildings here), that I would be so excited to have the a "Tuna Lunch Kit" & right now that taking a shower & getting to bed is almost as good as Christmas! so goodnight!