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ELSABETH BEFORE SURGERY (photo by Juan Rameriz)
FIRST JUMP SEAT TO SUDAN
SECOND JUMP SEAT (ALMOST SAME EXACT OUTFIT)
>After 8 flights. 7 movies (Trouble With The Curve, Bernie, Arbitrage, Hope Springs, Looper, Bourne Legacy and Taken 2). And 2 jump seats…I’m home. I brought home some scarves, some Ethiopian crosses, bonjo drums (so I can play naked like Matthew McConhaughey) and a cold. Also images I will never get out of my head. Lucky for you we are not allowed to take photos hospitals and orphanages.
Our Mending Kids doctors work in a small, clean (even pristeen) private cardiac hospital. Across the street is the public hospital called the Black Lion. It took me two trips to Africa to venture into the Black Lion. Black smoke pours out of the chimney day and night. They say they are burning trash but it’s got a Sweeney Todd feel to it. The hospital has gone years without hot water. Some equpment is held together by duct tspe. And maybe a prayer. The Emergency Room waiting room is outside. Inside it’s people and bodies bodies everywhere. You pick a path through the pain. It looks more like a jail than a hospital. Dark, decrepid but not dirty, just steeped in suffering. They burn Frankincense which helps with the smell (one of the Wisemen who went to see Jesus was Ethiopian. He brough the Frankincense).
We made our way up to the children’s floor. Sad, skinny, sick kids held by sad skinny parents. There is a room for kids with TB. Tuberculosis is very contagious. I held my breath and tried not to cry. Then one of the kids started to sing Happy Birthday to another. Things seemed slightly less hopeless.
But it’s a scary place and everyone there knows it.
I was heading to our hospital by myself one day. I tried never to be alone but I wanted time to blog. There was pretty much one chair in the hotel lobby where you could get WIFI. When I got in the cab I told the driver Black Lion. He did not understand me, He pulled the cab over to the side of the road and locked the doors (OH Lord why was I by myself?) he kept saying Black Eye?? I kept saying Black Lion. He called 3 friends till he found one who could understand me. When he realized I wanted to go to the public hospital he looked at me like…WHY??
Later we went to see Saint Mary’s Oprhanage. There were so many kids I thought it may have also been a school but no…all orphans. I held an 11 month old. She tried to grab my hair with her one hand. She had one arm and no legs. She was smiling, squirming and making sounds. The nun told me “she thinks you’re her Mommy”. She showed me a photo of the woman who was adopting the baby. We both had blonde hair and are probably the only blondes she has ever seen. The little girl’s new Daddy is a prosthetics specialist. She will have a new arm but no legs. She will be in a wheel chair for the rest of her life. But she will have a family.
Back at the cardiac hospital Elsabeth was having surgery. She is 13. She showed up all alone on the first day of our clinic. She already lost a leg to her heart defect but the doctors were able to mend her heart. By the time I was leaving Africa her Dad had come. She was in pain after surgery. But she let me sit on the edge of her bed and hold her hand. A tear came down her cheek but she smiled.
Please God let me never complain again. Yes my luggage is still missing and I have a cold. But I will NOT complain (at least not a lot)
Dorothy, this is the most beautiful and humbling piece I have ever read. Thank you so muh for all you do for the children. Now I will go and sob for awhile.
What a beautiful and heart-wrenching experience. The experiences at the hospital (both of them)) must have been profound. Thank you and Mending Kids for the work that you do so that a few can experience life to the fullest.
WOW…all I can say is wow.
And that is what true service is. Lucky you. Welcome home.
Ann
Oh my God, Dorothy…there are no words…what a sheltered life we lead…bless you and the moments of pleasure you brought to these children and they to you.
How extraordinary you are…you have been blessed with a gift few ever know or would understand.
Love and hugs to you, Dorothy as you adjust back to your life…it cannot be an easy thing to do.
Lynn
So glad you made it back! You are so wonderful to be able to give those children a little piece of Dorothy. I fit one am proud of you;) sorry you are feeling sick, I am big on Natural healing. If you are into essential oils take a warm bath with sea salt and some Eucalyptus drops. Then hop into bed, add some lavender with almond oil on your bottom of feet . Sock up and sleep. Ps hot tody works wonders get well oh have you heard of my dr he goes to help often . Dr Mesawali great guy
OMG Dorothy. WOW. Don’t know where to begin. My heart is breaking, my eyes stinging with tears. My heart is overwhelmed with your kindness and bravery. what a difference you make in these kids lives. Elizabeth, 13 years old showing up for heart surgery all by herself. Dear Lord the fright she must have been feeling…..I so admire you Dorothy. Thank you and what a wonderful world this would be if there were more like you. God Bless you always. Now I will go and have a good cry of appreciation for being in the best country in the world.
You are amazing Dorothy… such a giver! A very good friend of mine, Lynne Friedman, was also on the mission with you all and has similar images of life in that area of the world. Bless you for being there to experience and assist and feel and relate. Thank you. Reading your blog juxtaposes with my feelings while reading two front page articles on today’s LA Times – one article about the hundreds of Americans who flock to the oceanfront park in Santa Monica to experience the sunrise and gulp the fresh air and exercise and that “picture” runs smack against the other article about a day in the life of a family in Pakistan who are forced to make clay/mud bricks in order to work off an ever-increasing debt to the brick company that loans them a pittance to live on in their 11X11 hut with their 5 pitiful children. My God what a wonderful country we live in and what wonderful people we have in America who are willing and able to give like you Dorothy and Lynne!!!
What you might have lost unjustly last year. Has given others. The possibility of fulfilling their dreams of living a simple and healthy life. You are one remarkable woman Dorothy Lucey. You are a living proof. That God has bigger and better plans for You. (Now those are truly Just Rewards)
…Tommy
I think you are so awesome! beautiful spirit inside and out!
Thank you all for all the love. And Ann…what did I see in the first moments of my first trip to Africa? Your smiling face right by baggage claim ( and yes they lost our luggage this time too). xo PS Sandra comes back next week .
I am in tears after reading this post. Thank you for reminding me of those things that I sometimes forget…things I don’t like to think about. But it is important to make ourselves remember those little ones that are every bit as important and loved by our LORD. I was praying for you and them and will continue to do so. Thank you for being so bold and showing God’s love to the precious little ones.
So sad.