"Storytellers, by the very act of telling, communicate a radical learning that changes lives and the world: telling stories is a universally accessible means through which people make meaning."
I've been told that it's a trait of my generation to connect and communicate by telling stories. I'm not an expert, but I know that it's true for me.It's been almost 3 years since my last Moments post. If you haven't been following the blog for long, I find it easier to share a moments than to tell a story. (See here or here for a couple previous Moments posts). Since I've been here for nearly 2 months, it felt like a good time for another one. Here we go.
-I look up from the desk and see the kids sitting on the bench. I don't know a thing about them except that they are cute. I smile at them, and they hide their face in mama's skirt. I start to walk towards them, and they do a little half laugh/half shriek. I hide behind the counter and play peek-a-boo. They don't know whether to play with me or to be scared of me. The mamas are laughing. I slowly work my way closer and eventually end up squatting next to the bench. The little one toddles over and falls onto my knees. He tangles his fingers into my hair and pulls. Hard. Then he reaches up and grabs my nose with tiny, grimy hands. Mama pushes the bigger one over, and she reluctantly lets me teach her how to give a fist bump. They find my phone and are fascinated when I turn the camera around to show them their own faces. I get 2 little hugs as I stand up to leave.
-After 3 years of disuse, I am expected to put in IVs again and had to relearn that skill. After a few speedbumps, there was a day when I got 4 on the first try-including 2 kids.
-I use the full extent of my broken French and get a blank glassy stare from the mom in return. I do some creative miming to communicate that the kid still needs the feeding tube, but this time only get a little shake of the head. I do some intense pointing with exaggerated facial expressions, and this time I get some pointing in return. Only now I have no idea what she means. Finally, a woman across the room sighs exasperatedly and starts quickly and loudly speaking in a language I don't understand. The mom turns back to me and nods. I thank the other woman in French, and she responds. It took a long time, but we found a (not very private) way to understand each other.
-I'm sure this happens everywhere, but kids do not want to take their medicine. One of a few common solutions is that the parents take their kids, lie them down, hold their arms, and pinch their nose while I empty the syringe into the back of their mouth and pinch their cheeks shut so they can't spit it out (sometimes they still manage it). I feel like a jerk and a villain, but if it's a decision between being a villain or having the kid die of malaria, I'll choose being a villain any day.
-The doctor rounds on his patients, changes dressings, writes orders, and then prays out loud with each of his patients every morning.
-Families staying in the same ward share food, get each other water, translate for each other, and sometimes share babies. It gets harder to decipher who belongs to who...
-It's an emergency, and everyone is rushing around in a frenzy around him, but the nurse takes a few seconds to bow his head and pray over the tiny arm he holds in his hand. Then he gets the IV that no one else could.
-The nurse brings in a coloring book and crayons into the pediatric ward. The kids have to be taught how to color, but once they get it, they sit all together and are busy for hours coloring every inch of the page. They are so proud and show off their creations.
-We perform CPR on yet another baby who doesn't make it while mama holds the twin.
-A group of 4 men come in to get tetanus injections. I get all of the shots ready and then perform an efficient tetanus assembly line as one gets a shot, stands up, and the others scoot down the bench for their turn.
-The little girl who had lain still for days, barely breathing, plagued by seizures, with fevers of 104 sat up in bed. Her mama fed her a little bit of food, and she smiled at me.
-Countless conversations occur where pronunciation is overlooked, each word is said individually, verb tenses are misused, pointing is essential, kind corrections are given, misunderstanding is overcome, and communication is achieved by caring about the other person more than clarity.
That's all for today folks. I love ya. Miss ya. Send me a message sometime. I love hearing from you peeps back home.
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