Today it was my turn to work with the medical team and on Wednesdays the medical team takes patients up to a private hospital in Chennai that has agreed to accept leprosy patients. We were schedules to leave at 8am but, this being India, we didn't leave until closer to 9. Raygan is the volunteer coordinator over the medical team. She is only 19 but has really stepped up and started doing an amazing job. There was a lot of miscommunication about who was supposed to do what and where everyone was meeting but we eventually figured out that we were supposed to take four kids from the school who needed treatment and prescriptions at the hospital and meet Dr. Kumar at one of the colonies and then all go to Chennai together. So we grabbed the kids and headed out to meet Dr. Kumar. For medical trips to Chennai we have to take RSO's old van that has definitely been through quite a lot and doesn't have any air conditioning but everyone has such an amazing attitude here that we all just kind of go with it and chalk it up as part of the experience. On the way to Dr. Kumar we picked up the nurse that would be helping us and two leprosy patients. When we finally got to the colony where Dr. Kumar was he informed us that he would not be joining us at the hospital because he had to treat a patient in the colony. So we picked up two more leprosy patients in that colony and started heading to Chennai. The fact that Dr. Kumar wasn't coming automatically caused problems because he is the only person that speaks English and Tamil fluently. Without him it was just four Americans all under the age of 22, 4 Indian children, 4 tamil speaking leprosy patients, the Tamil speaking nurse (who knew what was going on), and our driver TJ who speaks a little english but not much. We were in for quite the adventure.
After picking up the last two leprosy patients we stopped and got gas and headed to Chennai. Getting gas is not as easy as it is in America because there is no sense of order or lines. All the cars cut in front of one another and just weasel their way in the get gas first. TJ had to try about three different times before he was able to get into a spot to get gas. Once we got gas we were on our way.
The trip to Chennai happened without any error or excitement. When we got to the hospital, though, things got a little nuts. We hadn't been told beforehand what we would be doing at the hospital so when we arrived we were expecting some direction--what we got was "Here's a patient, here's 1000 rupees, Go." I felt like I was about to do a challenge from the Amazing Race. So I headed inside with my Amazing Race partner and was immediately overwhelmed by the hospital. Indian Hospitals are like the DMV on crack. There are people everywhere, lines everywhere, tons of noise, and you have no clue where you're supposed to be. On top of all this, everyone was speaking Tamil and Soren, Anne Marie, Raygan, and I were the only white people in the whole hospital. Indian people have very different social standards than Americans and they don't think it is unpolite to stare. Because of this, every room we walked in people would unabashedly stare at the crazy Americans following around the leprosy patients. Thankfully, the nurse that came with us (who helped Raygan most of the time) was able to guide my patient and I to where we needed o be first. We got all checked-in then my patient headed off to find the next room. My patient had no clue where anything was so we wandered around the ground floor, then we wandered around the first floor, then we finally found where we needed to be on the second floor. My patient got examined (he has been having stomach pains) and then the doctors started telling me all the tests he needed to get done. If you have never heard an Indian accent, let me assure you, they are pretty hard to comprehend. Before we headed off, the doctors were able to at least tell me what rooms we needed to go to: 6 and 8. So after a little more lost wandering, we made it down to room 6 but they would not admit him for testing, they said we needed to pay first. We headed into the lobby and I had no clue where to go pay. This is the one thing I had to do and I had no clue where to do it. Thankfully, a very nice man noticed how lost we were and pointed us in the right direction. I love India SO MUCH and today reiterated two more reasons why, 1. the people are really nice. 2. medical care is DIRT CHEAP. My patient got examined, got blood work done, a urine sample, and an x-ray...all for 140 rupees--that's about $3.00. I could barely believe it. After we paid we headed in to get the urine sample and the blood work done. After those were finished we went a couple doors over and got the x-ray done. After the x-ray we were finished and I couldn't have been more relieved. We walked out to the van where TJ and another patient were already waiting. When I reached the van TJ shook my hand and said thank you and I honestly felt like I had completed a mission or something. I made it through the Indian hospital and got everything done that needed to get done--Sweet Success! I waited outside the by the bus as everyone slowly trickled back from their own hospital adventures. We got lunch for the kids and waited for them to finish before boarding the bus for what would be an epic drive home.
My Amazing Race partner through the hospital--such a trooper!
The drive home from Chennai consisted of 7, yes 7, stops. The first was for our driver to grab some lunch. Apparently he felt it was ok to have us all wait in the car while he went inside to enjoy some fried rice. Once Raygan went and got him back we were off again. Next we made two stops in Chengalpattu trying to find this face cream that two of the children needed to clear up a virus they had gotten that manifests itself in the form of white bumps all over their faces. They did not have the medication at either pharmacy in Chengalpattu so we decided to try again tomorrow. Please note that during these first three stops the van was still full with 4 children, 4 volunteers, 4 leprosy patients, the nurse, and our driver. After our search for medicine was unsuccessful we stopped and dropped off the nurse, then stopped in two colonies to drop off all the leprosy patients. They were amazing throughout this whole adventure. Two of the men we took to the hospital had extremely deformed feet (if you could even call them feet) and yet they were still able to navigate and walk throughout the hospital and help us volunteers figure out where they needed to be. After we dropped off the leprosy patients we stopped at the store to buy fruit for the hostel because we were fresh out. Buying fruit is quite the process here in India so it took awhile. While Raygan was taking care of the fruit buying, I danced outside with Priya and Nagu. Priya showed me her Indian dance and I showed her some ballet movement. It was one of the highlights of my day. After the grocery store we made one last stop at a gas station. We had gotten gas on the way so we asked TJ why we were stopping. He replied by telling us he needed to get gas for Vale's (one of the other drivers) motorbike. Since we obviously didn't have Vale's motorbike crammed in the car, TJ grabbed an empty water bottle from under the seat and went and filled it up with gas so he could get it to Vale. By this point all of us volunteers were getting pretty punchy and we thought this last stop was the best of all. It doesn't get more ghetto fabulous than filling a water bottle up with gas and sticking it on the dash to give to a friend--it was awesome.
Nagu rockin the ray-bans with Priya next to her
Our rockin awesome jankety bus that we spent the whole day in.
We finally made it home after this stop and I immediately wanted to lay down and rest from the craziness that was that trip to the hospital. Looking back on it, though. There were some pretty amazing things that happened that day that I will definitely take with me. The first of these is the kindness of the leprosy patients that continues to shock me with each day I work with them. After our adventure in the hospital, Soren and I and three of the leprosy patients were all sitting in the grass waiting for everyone else. All of the patients had packed lunches for the trip and as soon as they took their food out they immediately started offering it to Soren and I and making sure that we had lunch. These people have so very little yet they are always thinking of others and not letting the sadness of their situation get them down. I believe there is truly a special place in heaven set aside for this amazing souls.
The second part of the adventure that made it ALL amazing and worthwhile was the children, particularly Priya. Priya is an amazing little eight year old girl with more love to give than any person I have ever met in my entire 22 years. Priya's father is severely affected with leprosy--his entire face is nearly flat (a common side effect for leprosy patients). As soon as Priya was born her mother left her and her father to fend for themselves. Instead of turning to alcohol and giving up on the situation (like a lot of leprosy affected men tend to do) Priya's father tried his hardest to give her everything he could--this included letting her go and sending her to Rising Star to get a top notch education. Priya and her father have an amazing bond and it is obvious he loves her more than anything else in the world. Heavenly Father also blessed Priya's father by sending him such an amazing precious spirit. Priya is one of the most angelic, sweetest children I have ever seen. She loves to cuddle and be near you and her laugh brings an automatic smile to everyone who hears it. The fact that I was able to spend the day with her on this trip is reason enough to relive this day over and over again. The minute she saw me on the bus she ran over and snuggled right into my arm. When we had to split up to make room for the leprosy patients she continued to look back at me from her seat and smile at me, it was almost like we were in our own little club. On the way home she came back and sat on my lap and even though it was blazing hot outside I didn't even care. She sat on my lap and looked out the window and listened with one ear to Anne Marie's iPod (turns out she really likes Rihanna. As she said it, "This is a nice song"). When we stopped for groceries we danced outside and joked and laughed and it didn't even seem like we had been gone all day and I had had to finagle my way through an Indian hospital. Her hugs and smile made the whole trip worthwhile and a precious memory to me.
This is not the best picture of Priya and I but it's the only one I have uploaded to my computer.
Once we got back I headed straight to the playground to make the last few minutes of playtime. After playtime I headed to the roof for dinner and then re-joined my family to help get them ready for bed. The girls that are in my family are AMAZING and I am continually shocked about how loving they are. Between Kristin and I we read about 5 stories. We also had a little dance session that was AWESOME!! Indian kids have natural rhythm so when I started teaching them a few tap steps they immediately picked up on it and were SO GOOD. We also did plies and tendus and they showed me their Indian dances. Then we helped to tuck them in and get them to bed. Spending time with my "family" before bed is my favorite time of the day. I have started a pattern of going around to every single girl before they go to sleep and kissing my hand and touching it to their forehead and telling each girl individually good night and I love you. This is my way of showing that I know each of them individually and that I love them all--just like their Heavenly Father does.
One last story before I end this epic blog post. One little new girl in my house named Sundharalakshmi has just started her first year at Rising Star and has been having a really hard time adjusting. Can you really blame her though? Here you are, four years old, your mom drops you off at this crazy place with tons of kids where people keep speaking at you in a language you don't know...I know I would be pretty overwhelmed. Sundharalakshmi has cried literally everyday since Sunday. I sat down to tutor her in the mango grove on Monday and as soon as I started talking to her she started crying. I pointed to the school and asked her if she wanted to go there. Apparently she got the jist of what I was saying because she nodded her head emphatically and practically ran back to her classroom. Suffice it to say, Sundharalakshmi has been having a hard time. Tonight was a break through, though. As I was going around giving everyone goodnight kisses I came to Sundharalakshmi and gave her my kiss then held up the sign language sign for 'I love You' (this is a staple around Rising Star). She looked at my hand then looked at hers and was obviously confused how to get her hand in that sign. I reached down and helped her form her little hand into the sign and she held it up to me with a huge grin on her face. I smiled and told her great job before continuing on. As I was leaving the room to go back to the volunteer hostel, Sundharalakshmi help up her hand in the 'I love you sign' and smiled at me. This was a huge break through and yet another memory from Rising Star that will stay with me forever.
Phew!! This post is ridiculously long and you should get a gold star for reading the whole thing. More to come tomorrow about my day working construction and another amazing night with the kids...yes it has taken me two days to finish this post and I am now behind again. :)
Namaste!
kenady!!! you are amazing! i loved reading this post!!
ReplyDelete