Busy busy busy...

Day 2 & 3

The last two days seem to have moulded into one.  Day two I was very home sick and ended up crying for 2 hours straight in the evening, but the girls were great and comforted me so well.  Pretty sure I would still be crying if it were not for them!

Both days I spend in hospital and clinics. I should explain that because I have a drivers licence I will be Bethany’s main driver for the year.  This means taking the 8 school goers to school in the morning, then taking any children on hospital visits, collecting the groceries and any other errands that need to be done.  I am now driving a Toyota Avenva, which is a big difference to my nippy little Seat Ibiza that I am used to at home.  I now look like a soccer mum in my new car filled with children (but I have to say I am loving it)!

Today 4 children need to go to hospital to see the doctor: two 2 week old twins whose mother has passed away and they have been exposed to HIV at birth; one is very ill and rapidly loosing weight, another 4 month old child who was abandoned and came to Bethany who need to get the results from her HIV test and lastly a 2 year old who has been suffering from seizures and needed a CT scan.  When we arrived at the hospital I was carrying one of the twins while the other two girls had the other babies.  As we entered the waiting room I couldn’t help but notice everyone was staring at us.  At first this was very uncomfortable and quite isolating but I guess it’s not a normal sight for three white girls to be holding three black babies.  Many asked if we were their mothers (to be honest, with how super cute each of them are, I wouldn’t mind being their mother!!)  When it was our turn to see the Doctor, the three of us had been left alone so it was down to us to explain to the Doctor why each child was here and their backgrounds.  Thankfully most peoples English is very good, so communication wasn’t so bad.  But it was a weird feeling to be given so much responsibility, especially children who are so young and also it was only our 3^rd day.  I guess it goes to show how much Bethany needs us.  After 7 hours of waiting, and many nappy changes in the waiting room, the 2-week-old boy had to be admitted into hospital because an infection in his lungs and blood was discovered.  This was hard because it was out of my control and there was not much I could do for him.  However the good news is that the 4-month-old babies HIV test came back negative so we were all very pleased.

So after a hectic day, the three of us are very tired.  As I sit here writing this, I can hear all the children crying because they don’t want to go to bed and Danielle running around with the kettle and pans of boiling water to fill the bath (our hot water has decided to pack in again!)  We also had a power cut last night, so every night so far has brought us a surprise… Oh the adventures of living in rural Africa, I wonder what tomorrow brings…

Miss you all but I’m having an amazing time!

Lots of love,

Sally xxx