Today was our team day & we took the exact same 2 hour drive up toward Axom to the same Rock Church but it was a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE!!!!
This year there was no one there, the church was quiet - the Sunday service had occurred before we got there 7 there was just one priest there & a few other worshipers Last year was the pilgrimage & literally hundreds of people were all there - I am now realizing what an AMAZING opportunity we had last October to be there at that time. Today I did get to see the church more since it wasn't jammed with people & it was a more quietly sacred experience.
We went straight from the church to Karibu for pizza lunch...really I am eating pizza more than anything else in Ethiopia - by my choice :) After that we came back to the hotel & had 20 min to change into scrubs to go set up the Recovery room, OR. etc...but a slight glitch...all the Cargo hadn't arrived. So after waiting for about 2 hours they sent us back to the hotel & we will set up tomorrow & perhaps get a little bit later start on surgery.
we noticed the 3 week old & her mom sitting in the hallway of the Emergency Dept (which is where the Recovery Room is...I didn't think too much of it but mentioned it to both Leila & Dottie (the 2 who had been most involved) when I got back to the hotel that maybe she needed $$$ for "transit" which we had been giving some people & they were heading to the hospital anyway & were going to check on her. A few hours later at our team mtg I sat with Dottie & the story just got more heartbreaking...after staying overnight the hospital sent the baby (& mom) home...through a translator they found out that she lives 120 km away & has a 9 year old son at home who has some sort of leg deformities that a neighbor is caring for & that when this baby was both with a cleft lip & palate the dad/husband left her. I am not sure how she got to Mekele but in Ethiopia once a woman is married she cant return home to her parents or it is a disgrace to the family so this poor woman literally had no money, no support & NO WHERE to go....Leila & Dottie talked to some Op Smile leaders & there is an orphanage called SOS but they only take children where both parents are dead so they baby could be "placed" as we would think in the states & there are no "shelters" or any of the resources we would think about in the states so literally she was sitting in the hallway of the hospital & had no options & with the chaos of that hallway I am thinking she could sit there for days without anyone noticing her or doing anything for her.
They decided to take her to the patient shelter for the week to buy some time but as Dottie said...then what? We are all saddened & upset, Leela is especially tearful as she has been the most invested - the goal is really to keep the baby nourished & alive to 5 or 6 months of age so she could have surgery. BUT the awful reality is that there is so much poverty here (someone said Ethiopia is the poorest country in the world???) & situations like this are likely rampant here & we are only seeing this one instance & there are no resources so there is a real possibility we can do our VERY BEST to help this woman & her baby but there still may not be a positive outcome for them - it is a very sobering thought She can stay in the shelter for a week & then what? Perhaps we can get her back to her son but she doesn't have a place to live there???. There are some things that no matter what we try to do we cant change. we could maybe get the baby to Addis but is that the best option to take the baby from the mom - it is obvious she loves her baby...these are situations we just never think or experience in developed countries....yes hopelessness is felt I know but resources are available...not in Ethiopia :(
We had a brief team mtg cause everyone was a bit tired & our day tomorrow will start early & go late with set up & the 1st day of surgery/ Quite a few people are already feeling queasy or getting sick. I am sticking to my "safe diet" of Oatmeal for breakfast, protein bars, tuna or pnut butter & crackers for lunch & dinner & a few other snacks...trail mix, krispie bars etc (thanks to Cheri I did venture out & get tomato soup tonight at the team dinner :)
Tomorrow is GO DAY....the start of surgery week :) I am excited to be a art of this mission. It is Mothers Day & I have gotten sweet posts on FB, messages & texts from my kids...it is weird to not be home for Mothers Day - the 1st time ever...my kids have not been home on Mothers day if they were away at school etc but I have always been there??? We will celebrate next Sunday & right now I have the opportunity to give some moms in Ethiopia every mothers wish...a brighter future for their child as we correct their cleft lips/palates so missing this one mothers day for other mothers seems like a good option although I do miss my family :) Happy Mothers Day...I am so grateful for the 4 wonderful kids i Have for for my wonderful husband. Being a mom is what brings me the greatest & most eternal joy....
This year there was no one there, the church was quiet - the Sunday service had occurred before we got there 7 there was just one priest there & a few other worshipers Last year was the pilgrimage & literally hundreds of people were all there - I am now realizing what an AMAZING opportunity we had last October to be there at that time. Today I did get to see the church more since it wasn't jammed with people & it was a more quietly sacred experience.
We went straight from the church to Karibu for pizza lunch...really I am eating pizza more than anything else in Ethiopia - by my choice :) After that we came back to the hotel & had 20 min to change into scrubs to go set up the Recovery room, OR. etc...but a slight glitch...all the Cargo hadn't arrived. So after waiting for about 2 hours they sent us back to the hotel & we will set up tomorrow & perhaps get a little bit later start on surgery.
we noticed the 3 week old & her mom sitting in the hallway of the Emergency Dept (which is where the Recovery Room is...I didn't think too much of it but mentioned it to both Leila & Dottie (the 2 who had been most involved) when I got back to the hotel that maybe she needed $$$ for "transit" which we had been giving some people & they were heading to the hospital anyway & were going to check on her. A few hours later at our team mtg I sat with Dottie & the story just got more heartbreaking...after staying overnight the hospital sent the baby (& mom) home...through a translator they found out that she lives 120 km away & has a 9 year old son at home who has some sort of leg deformities that a neighbor is caring for & that when this baby was both with a cleft lip & palate the dad/husband left her. I am not sure how she got to Mekele but in Ethiopia once a woman is married she cant return home to her parents or it is a disgrace to the family so this poor woman literally had no money, no support & NO WHERE to go....Leila & Dottie talked to some Op Smile leaders & there is an orphanage called SOS but they only take children where both parents are dead so they baby could be "placed" as we would think in the states & there are no "shelters" or any of the resources we would think about in the states so literally she was sitting in the hallway of the hospital & had no options & with the chaos of that hallway I am thinking she could sit there for days without anyone noticing her or doing anything for her.
They decided to take her to the patient shelter for the week to buy some time but as Dottie said...then what? We are all saddened & upset, Leela is especially tearful as she has been the most invested - the goal is really to keep the baby nourished & alive to 5 or 6 months of age so she could have surgery. BUT the awful reality is that there is so much poverty here (someone said Ethiopia is the poorest country in the world???) & situations like this are likely rampant here & we are only seeing this one instance & there are no resources so there is a real possibility we can do our VERY BEST to help this woman & her baby but there still may not be a positive outcome for them - it is a very sobering thought She can stay in the shelter for a week & then what? Perhaps we can get her back to her son but she doesn't have a place to live there???. There are some things that no matter what we try to do we cant change. we could maybe get the baby to Addis but is that the best option to take the baby from the mom - it is obvious she loves her baby...these are situations we just never think or experience in developed countries....yes hopelessness is felt I know but resources are available...not in Ethiopia :(
We had a brief team mtg cause everyone was a bit tired & our day tomorrow will start early & go late with set up & the 1st day of surgery/ Quite a few people are already feeling queasy or getting sick. I am sticking to my "safe diet" of Oatmeal for breakfast, protein bars, tuna or pnut butter & crackers for lunch & dinner & a few other snacks...trail mix, krispie bars etc (thanks to Cheri I did venture out & get tomato soup tonight at the team dinner :)
Tomorrow is GO DAY....the start of surgery week :) I am excited to be a art of this mission. It is Mothers Day & I have gotten sweet posts on FB, messages & texts from my kids...it is weird to not be home for Mothers Day - the 1st time ever...my kids have not been home on Mothers day if they were away at school etc but I have always been there??? We will celebrate next Sunday & right now I have the opportunity to give some moms in Ethiopia every mothers wish...a brighter future for their child as we correct their cleft lips/palates so missing this one mothers day for other mothers seems like a good option although I do miss my family :) Happy Mothers Day...I am so grateful for the 4 wonderful kids i Have for for my wonderful husband. Being a mom is what brings me the greatest & most eternal joy....
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