You know what 'got' me today? I tended to a little boy who was not quite 2; who had the cutest little 'please don't hurt me' smile... I used ointment on his many infected bites all along his feet and legs... then I turned to cleaning up his multiple boils on his head... Now anyone who has had a boil knows they hurt like the dickens... but this little guy was so patient... and so undisturbed by the whole process... what made me so sad was that he was just used to being in pain.... His mom said he'd had those infected legs/feet and head for more than 9 months... basically half his life... he didn't really even know what it felt like to NOT live in pain. This just stinks... and I was happy to give her medicine and instructions that hopefully he will start enjoying pain free days.
Another patient is a mom who has brought her little girl to us maybe 4 or 5 times...I wrote about her before... The little girl is 7 (although she looks about 4) and has a very high possibility of having TB of the skin. If you look back to how long ago we started working on getting this little girl her test... you can see how long and frustrating it is to get things done here! We were able to find out that to read the test would be between about $5 to about $11 US,it seems like nothing to us right? But the mom is struggling hard core to come up with that money in just a couple days... we told her that we would front the payment on what she couldnt' and then she could just keep a balance.. she was so thankful that hopefully soon she will have answers for her daughter. So if you think of her.. the little girl is call Pamela... and tomorrow we will scrape her owies and insert a needle into her back... no fun for any kiddo! Pray for wisdom and pray for answers soon!
And now... after seeing my 19 patients before lunch time (to only see 2 after the doctor actually arrived)... I am heading to BED!