The burns unit

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Hello readers,

Here is the task I put off a bit yesterday as I was still a bit emotional about my experiences in the hospital. Gonna make a start today (14th) about how yesterday went.

When I arrived at the children´s hospital yesterday morning, I had tried to prepare myself mentally for what I would see, but I was way short of what was needed! The hospital was frighteningly basic. For some reason, when they built the new hospital 3 years ago they left the burns unit children, theatre etc in the old building, which is fairly awful. How they don´t get more problems with infections I don´t know, but they do the best they can with what they have, and maybe kids here are somehow more immune or something!

When I first arrived, I encountered the physiotherapy part, where a few physios (mostly volunteers) were massaging or otherwise giving physio to some children who looked really in terrible pain, but this was still nothing compared to the ward. I now understand that these first children were mostly out patients who had come a long way since their accidents.

In the ward itself, there are 4 rooms each with up to maybe 6 children. The room which needs complete isolation (though in fact I could go in there) was so awful I haven´t been back yet. And what´s most needed there is medical care, the kids are too out of it and in too much pain to converse with a useless foreigner and her weird accent. The next room back is nearly as bad but I was in there a bit, just stroking the kids where they are not burned, holding their hands, giving them something to drink (for those allowed), that kinds of thing. Again, building real relationships is kinda hard and again, more immediate medical care is the biggest need.

In the other two rooms, I have started to get to know the children. The room I have spent most time in yesterday and today has 5 children: Nelly, Cristal, Gladys, Alex and Sonia. Nelly is on the que rico website and has come a very long way, but she´s in hospital an awful lot for surgery. She is very dominant but also very lovely - she wants attention but also will help feed the other kids in there, will talk to them and comfort them and helps me when I can´t understand what some of the younger ones are trying to say to me (either because they are talking through big sobs or because they are speaking Quechua, the indigenous language which is totally incomprehensible to me).

I feel very sorry for Gladys. She is 11, seems very bright and really above the more childish books and games that the ward has. More on that later. She cries quite a bit through boredom, through missing her parents (visitors are only allowed in for one hour a day, which is terribly harsh for the children) and because her injuries are still terribly sore.

Cristal is a little darling, very badly burnt but very smily and endearing. You want to hug her but can´t as so much of her body is burned. It´s the most amazing thing in the world when she smiles and she´s so affectionate. I think she´s about 4 or 5. Alex is the only boy in this room, and not old enough to speak. I have held his hand, fed him and tried to make him a bit more comfortable, but with one so young, I don´t know much what else to do. I am determined to get a smile from him before I leave, the dear little chap. He has only just been admitted, so he is in a lot of pain. Yesterday I was reading Blanca Nieves (Snow White), Cenicienta (Cinderella) and Capucerita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood) at the top of my voice to the girls while he was screaming yesterday, and to tell you the truth I found it really distressing.

In the next room are some very small children that I don´t yet know well and a few boys but I played with this morning. The eldest, Eleutorio, is 14, has really terrible burns from head to foot, but is again really smart and struggles a lot with boredom. Today I read Asterix with him, we did a puzzle together and chatted a bit. It´s nice and easy to understand him. I also have played a lot with Jaime, who is about 10. We played the memory game together, he read to me from a book I bought for the older ones and I left him doing a Shrek jigsaw. He´s lovely and again, terribly injured.

This morning I left the family early and took a bus into town. I was in search of more stuff for the children. Those of you who have transferred me money (we´re at 600 pounds so far: thank you so much!!), I spent a first amount today, buying 8 packets of coloured pencils with pencil sharpeners, and a dozen books for educational play: letters, numbers, animals, sticker books, puzzle books, and 3 story books for the over 10s who so blatantly are not catered for with the fairy tales, baby-ish toys and other few bits the ward has. I have already used the books for the older children and I can tell they are enjoying them. I need to read some of the activity books so that I can get the most out of them with the children.

The last thing to report on is the first English lesson I gave last night. As the head doctor has been offered a trip to the US by some doctors specialising in burns injuries etc out there, we´re trying to get him from zero to something in the five weeks I¨m here. The afternoon nurse is taking part too - she´s lovely and doing well, while also encouraging him. I think it is weird for him to be trying something where he isn´t the boss and the expert, but I hope to overcome his shyness and hesitance. We´ll have another tonight. The plan is to give lessons Mon, Weds and Fri. The lovely psychologist here wants to join in too. He does an amazing job, and I think on a voluntary basis. He told me yesterday that my playing with, loving, and treating the children in a different way to the medical staff makes a big difference, and that really gave me a boost, when feeling kinda useless in the face of so much suffering.

Right gonna stop now. More later maybe...

Liz
xx

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Comments

[Sam]

You are making a difference
Blimey I can barely imagine what it must be like to see those poor kids. I get squeamish at casualty and often shed a tear - and I can switch it off when I want. It must be an incredible feeling to be there adding a bit of comfort and friendship to the children. Keep up the good work. Sam

[The Constant Gardener]

Squeamish
I get squeamish too, and I wondered that first day if I was going to cope. It´s not just the sights, but the smells as well, that I found hard to cope with. But this is day 3 and I already can feel it´s getting easier. It helps a lot feeling like I´m making a bit of a difference, playing with them, loving them, teaching them - anything that takes their minds off their wounds and the unpleasantness of what they´re having to go through!