Adventures in Uganda Part 6...The Children

Wednesday, October 31, 2007
“Suffer ye the little children”

But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Luke 18:16

Children are everywhere here. They play naked in the mud by the road. They chase goats on the hill side. They fight with their siblings over a ball. They stare out their school room window as I walk by. They carry heavy loads of wood or food or supplies. They knock on my door looking for my roommates. They play in the kitube outside my front door. And they greet me every morning in the pediatric ward.

Uganda is full of beautiful things, but I think perhaps its greatest beauty lies in its children. Thus, it is fortunate for me that I get to spend a good portion of my clinical time here treating pediatric patients. Each and every one of the children we see in the pediatric ward has a unique story, but there are two which have captured my heart and that I would like to highlight.
Zawadi Kabugho
Kabugho is a six month old little girl who came to ARV (Anti-retroviral) clinic the first Wednesday after I arrived here. She was severely malnourished and anemic, so Dr Jennifer admitted her to the paediatric ward not expecting her to make it through the night. To all of our surprise and delight she was still with us the next day. You see, Kabugho’s mother died of TB and AIDS shortly after her birth and her grandmother has been caring for her as best as she can without any assistance from outside. Being a good grandmother, she had brought the child to the clinic to get her HIV mdications. Praise the Lord that she did, as Kabugho could not have survived much longer without out help. She weighed less than 8 pounds at 6 months and had a hemoglobin of 3.2. After two transfusions, gifts of milk and formula, TB and malaria medications, and two weeks in our ward, she has perked up, her eyes have become bright and she is eating well. I am not sure just how she will do once returning home, but with her grandmother’s love and care there is hope. She is truly a living example of the widow in Luke 21:1-4 who gave everything. Lord, please make me more like her.

Masika
Masika has been here since before I got here and now, on my last day, is headed home. I remember the first time I saw her. She was being placed into the woven basket by her mother for the morning weigh in. Her skin was patchy and pealing with large areas of pure white in stark contrast to the rest of her dark skin. Her hair was sparse and what little she possessed had an almost reddish hue instead of the usual black. Not to mention she was frighteningly thin, weighing only 6.4 kg (14lb). All of these I have learned are signs of severe malnourishment. As the weeks have progressed, I have seen her skin heal, some hair begin to grow and she has gained almost 2 kilos. For about a week now it has been a goal/challenge to all of us to get her to smile. We have made faces at her, danced in front of her, tickled her, given her toys and candy, and today for one brief second, I think I almost saw the corners of her mouth turn upward as she looked at her mother. We work on small miracles around here, so I am considering that a smile.

There are so many other children here I would love to tell you about, like our little 1.8kg infant with a cleft palate and severely disfigured feet, or little Bakechura and little Sharoni who are being treated for Kwashiorkor malnutrition, or Dina in bed 7 who was born without a completed scalp and we are slowly treating as it grows together, or Michael Ngonzi in bed 18 who has TB and is HIV+ and we are waiting to get his ARV’s so we can send him home, or sweet Friday Lezunga who suffers from seizures/convulsions, or Chance or Creation or Jovia or the twins we just sent home.

I think these kids are stealing my heart…and I don’t want it back.
With much love,
Rachel