marshmallow hands

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These kids are a parent's worst nightmare.
a) for their perpetual runny noses
b) for their icky sticky hands
haha

This is my third week into "saving kids" at the hospital. And by "saving kids" I mean saving them from EACH OTHER.

The hospital is quite small and separated into two wards: one for the itty-bitties (<1yr old) and one for the other kiddies (1-12ish years). In the kid's ward there is also a section at the back for the burn children. There are play areas/rooms in each ward and an on-site school for the older kids or the ones who are too much to handle and need some structure.

As Sarah Fox is a convalescent hospital, the children are generally returning to health and/or undergoing long medication regimes (like 6 mos of meds for TB) or are recovering from acute surgeries or conditions (strokes). They can return to another hospital if their problems increase or proceed to a hospice if their condition necessitates.
Some of the children may be affected by meningitis, TB, HIV, the list goes on... and the burned children may have been burned from various sources such as oil or water or shanty-fires. Some, you can imagine, have likely been burned deliberately. All of the children are black or coloured and many come from the area. Some children however must remain at the hospital even after they have recovered (terrorizing other kids because they are healthy). This is because they either don't have family to take them or do not have a safe home situation to return to.

All seriousness aside, on most days you couldn't tell that these kids are ill children (apart from the green streaks coming from their noses and their hacking, chesty coughs). They get to ride trikes & bikes, play with blocks & trucks & dolls & prams & balls, break the blocks & trucks & dolls & prams & balls, play with each other (rarely) and bite and hit each other (more often), share (NEVER!), shed tears and pierce your eardrums.

They get fed exceptionally well -lots of fish & veggies & milk- and lots of afternoon snacks of cookies, chocolates and marshmallows. Some of the smaller ones, only to wail if left out, do nothing but hold onto the candies while they melt... then proceed (of course) to climb all over you with their sticky icky hands. Projectile vomit is also another fave .. had a couple today. haha The nurses & wash ladies (god bless them) have to deal with reusable diapers. This can't help the spread of germs...

1 in 4 South Africans are afflicted with HIV... we are supposed to treat each child as potentially infectious... yet there exist no bio-hazard bins in which to dispose of tissues or anything! Incredulous.

An "average" day for us volunteers consists of helping serve and feed the kids, playing & stimulating them and on sunny days, taking them outside.

ok, I am sick of writing, 'nuf said.

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