nursing : indian style

on sabbatical...reflections on the year thus far part two

there have been numerous occasions over the past five months where my nursing efforts have been somewhat unconventional. here is one.

living in a rural area of a country whose medical resources leave much to be desired, it was never going to be the same as my cosy little graduate year at flinders medical centre.

out of nowhere would come nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, fainting, fevers, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, lethargy. sometimes the symptoms would last for 24 hours. some a few days. there were times when the viruses were spreading so fast, the term 'dropping like flies' demonstrated it's true meaning.

the worst of this scenario is when one, or both, of our little twins - shavani and saloni - would catch something. the now 15-month-old girls were severely malnourished when they first arrived on the farm a year ago. they have spent their first year fighting numerous infections and setbacks but are now well on their way to being thriving, walking, talking little toddlers.

i remember one evening finding out that shavani, the older twin, had been sick for most of the afternoon. she had a fever above 39* and had been brought into one of the only bedrooms on the farm that have air conditioning, and failing electricity, at least have the capacity to run the fans and lights.

as 'the nurse' it was my job to share my bed with shavani, constantly feeding her, changing her nappies, checking her temperature, giving her medications and nebulisers, and trying to get her some sleep. twice that night i ended up having to fully shower her off and change our bed sheets, post-vomit.

this went on for a couple of nights, with the older girls taking over her care during the days when more help was readily available. but night shift was just me and my baby-patient. i really didn't sleep much during those nights, but the desperation to make sure my baby was breathing, hydrated and keeping her temperatures below 40* ruled sleep out as one of life's common necessities.

needless to say, i have the utmost admiration for mothers and their newborns, and likewise, parents who have literally been 'up all night' with their own sick offspring.

xx

moments that make it all worth while

on sabbatical...reflections on the year thus far

around easter time, as i was taking the nursery kids sunday school lesson where jesus ascends to heaven, we started by learning how to say 'goodbye' in different languages

when we came to the end of the bible story, i asked the 3-8 year olds what jesus would have said to his disciples when it was time for him to leave them

the answer was a resounding 'SAYONARA!'

it always amuses me how cute the little ones are when they are sick

one evening i was looking after four-year-old kevin

it was just after dinner and i his temperature was 39.2*

the conversation of me trying to figure out what was wrong went something like this

nurse tahnee : 'kevin, is your head paining?'

kevin the patient : 'no. i have fever.'

nurse tahnee : 'yes, you do. is your tummy paining?'

kevin the patient : 'no... my tummy is full.'

elephants in the jungle

last night, in an an attempt to finally see some elephants before they move on to greener pastures, literally, we went to the plot. me, my didi (big sister) filly and her daughter eddu, my mummi saru (filly's mother-in-law), her youngest son rodney, and aunty esther and her son micah.

the electricity had gone off and i was over at filly's when her husband (my jija) eugene phoned to say the elephants had come back to graze through the harvested pastures for whatever skeric of nutrients they could find. he was already there with their two youngest daugthers, eli and angel and their house-helper ashvani, as well as sunny - one of the farm boys, and the guards that work at the plot, protecting the crops.

i ran to get my camera and mozzie spray and off we went, all seven of us perched upon a 5103 john deer tractor. through the taru village, across one dry and one almost dry riverbeds, through the jungle and into the plot. it was bumpy, to say the least. but we had a lot of fun.

while we did see elephants that night - only 20-40m away grazing through the harvested crops, the reality of their strength and brutality was felt only by one of the workers. as we had been on our way, he had decided he was too drunk to stay at work, and set off for home.

for some reason, partly due to his alcohol consumption but also just his general nature, he decided to chase the elephants that were grazing along the boundary. he was on foot and throwing things at them. at some point, he fell. no one really knows what happened next, but at this stage it seems like the one of the elephants intentionally or accidentally stamped on his chest.

he was brought back to the small straw hut and as he muttered the story about being trodden on, no one was sure what quite to believe. but the boys emptied the straw out of one of the tractor-trolleys, hooked it up, transferred him in and off we all went back to the farm.

in the car on the way to the hospital, he pleaded with the men not to let him die. despite all the promises that they so desperately wanted to believe, there was nothing they could do. before they reached the nearest hospital, 20 minutes away, uncle naresh breathed his last and was pronounced dead on arrival.

today is a sombre day. one of sadness. lessons. post-mortems. disbelief.

a day that makes me realise life in india is not only hard, not only a struggle, but a huge risk.

we live off the land. but we have taken the land from some very big and powerful creatures. respect for nature has taken on a new meaning.

seeing the elephants was pretty surreal. and an experience i'm sure i'll look back on and be thankful for.

but knowing a man died a relatively slow and rather painful death right before my eyes - where even as a nurse, i could do nothing; and as a woman, i could do even less - has hung heavy on my heart today.

it's about time...x

It’s taken a cold, a bout of gastro and 2 migraines in as many days to tie me to my bed… so, Namaste! It’s been a while and needless to say I am very much ‘into’ life here in India.

More than ever, I am being called upon as the ‘Camp Nurse’. Just tonight, Job came in with blood pouring from his head, after the small boys thought it was a good idea to throw mud, and then rocks at each other. Apart from that, plenty of accidents to attend to when the hostel boys are cutting grass or falling off their motorbikes.

My 3 little ones started school this week as the new school year began. I was a little lost, to say the least, on Monday morning without my playmates, and dread to think what it will be like when the children are my own!

Had a moment sightseeing another of the mission properties this week, and made a detour a little higher into the foothills of the Himalayas and a little closer to Nepal to see a magnificent glacial-fed river that marks the border between the two countries. A very peaceful and breathtaking morning drive.

It’s definitely starting to heat up, the electricity stays off for a lot more of the day and being a hydro-electric system, we often run out of water.

Aside from taking the Youth Meeting every second week and the Nursery Sunday School and Small Girls Bible Study, I have had some great conversations with the young adults around the farm and God has provided me with amazing ministry opportunities.

xx

back to being mother tahnesa

When i returned from my first trip to India in September, my brother welcomed me home as Mother Tahnesa.

By virtue of the time I spent in India, the comparison to - the now beatified Blessed Teresa of Calcutta - but more commonly known Mother Teresa, seems a little far fetching. Herself, a citizen of India, founder of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata and winner of numerous awards and recognitions for her humanitarian work including the 1979 Nobel Peace prize.

And as for me, I live within the life of the Good Shepherd Agricultural Mission, home for destitute and orphaned children in Northern India and Nepal. The work I do in cooking, playing and spiritual teaching does not feel like a world saving contribution, however as Mother Teresa came up in our dinner conversations this week, I was particularly encouraged by one of her most famous quotes,

if you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.

In cooking for the staff and volunteers, playing with the nursery kids, taking small girls Bible Study, teaching the weekly Youth Group and simply spending time with the older girls, I take heart in knowing that I am either impacting each of these people's lives or allowing them to do work which I can not do, and thereby allowing them to further impact others.

It is a truly humbling experience. Last night as I sat on my bed reading Psalm 100, I was reassured that it is because I know I am working for my God that I am able to do this work, that I have received such generous support and that I have gone from my home under blessings.

Particularly verses 4-5 which read,

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the LORD is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

I am confident in what I am doing, because I know the work is of and for God. And He is good.

birthdays ... india ... me ...

im back!

today is my 24th birthday, yippee!

and in 3 days, i'm getting back on a plane to india.

at this stage, i have a visa until december and have plans for a few months out in europe.

i've got some baby sitting lined up in northern ireland. a dressmakers blank canvas in england. maid of honouring a wedding in switzerland. translator and tour guide barbie to my parents through germany.

and a year full of adventures in an orphanage laying at the foot of the himalayas.

how wonderful. how exciting. how strange. how huge. how fulfilling. how ... life!

it's been a wonderful journey to this point, and it's only going to get better.

so - stay tuned!xx