Recovery...

Susan is walking again! :-)

I went to see her with my friend Carolyn (Joel's preschool teacher) on Wednesday this week; this is the photo.

Although still in hospital, Susan is in amazingly good spirits and is recovering well. She has a stunning smile- it was lovely to see her smiling so broadly! Each time people from MAF have visited her, she has had kind friends and family with her, who are doing a fantastic job caring for her. Susan hopes to be allowed out of hospital soon, as long as the healing continues and the paperwork can all be filled out by the appropriate medical staff.

I also went to visit Susan with 2 other MAF ladies on Christmas Eve. We walked into Ward 5 to visit her, which was the place that had so shocked me on my very first experience of the hospital here ("Christmas Angels" blog-post). To our surprise, Susan had gone! Her bed was occupied by another patient. We knew she was still in hospital, but now we did not know where!
I stood in the ward, unsure of what to do next. Opposite her old bed, I could see the man on the floor, still handcuffed to the bed-leg, but he had covered himself with a piece of light "kanga" material. To my shame, I was too scared to look closer. Ward 5 frightens me. The ward was busy, there was a sense of suffering from people with dire wounds and sad tales to relate. There were many visitors crowded around beds, but no staff around to ask where Susan had gone. As we headed out of the ward again, past the overflowing, lid-less bin, stuffed with discarded medical gloves, needles and stained cotton wool, my legs were shaking. Two young men with bleeding head wounds and limp bodies were carried from a motor-bike trailer into the ward and lain by anxious friends on matresses on the floor as we got to the exit.
We got outside into the fresh air, away from the heavy, odorous confines of Ward 5 and then called Susan on her mobile. She had walked, with the help of friends, from Ward 5 at the bottom of the hospital area up to Ward 3, at the top end of the hospital.
Susan had arrived at her new ward tired, but her wound had not bled and the healing process was well under way- horray!! :-)

Ward 3 is a complete contrast. Calmer, more spacious, with high ceilings and open windows, all of which are covered with mosquito netting; as the ceiling fans whirr incessantly overhead, the air is circulated and feels fresh. The whole atmosphere is lighter and more tranquil in this recovery ward.

There are still sad stories, like Rhoda, the older lady we met on Wednesday in the bed beside Susan, who is waiting for her operation on Monday. Her leg will be amputated in an attempt to remove the cancer found there. However, there is not the same tension or fear that I sensed in Ward 5.

Since my first visit to the hospital, I have not been able to forget the suffering I encountered. It felt so wrong just to walk away and try to forget it all. I have been wondering what I can do, rather then just ignoring something that had so distressed me. So on Wednesday, before visiting Susan, Carolyn and I decided to return to Ward 5 to see how the troubled patient was doing- the man with the tragic story.

I was a bit scared.... but the ward was fairly quiet on Wednesday. The patient (he can't speak and there were no staff around to ask, so we do not know his name) was still in a bad way, still locked to a bed leg, but somehow more peaceful, lying on a mattress rather than sliding around the floor in distress on a thin mat.
His facial injuries were much improved, with the skin around his jaw no longer hanging jaggedly off the bone in bloody chunks but knitted together to form a chin and restore the shape of his face.
A medicine vial taped intravenously to his arm was evidence of some sort of medical relief (painkiller or anti-biotics perhaps?).
Since he knows English, we spoke to him, prayed with him and Carolyn helped him drink some water by pouring it into his damaged mouth as he lay down. He still has a gaping hole in his throat where much of the liquid pours out. It must be hard to get any real nutrition.
He indicated an empty stomach- but how can he eat? Carolyn had a great idea- we went to find him some milk and Carolyn found some soup at a cafe on the edge of the hospital which we dispensed (with some difficulty!) into a bottle.

We told him that many people are praying for him in England as well as in-country.
I asked if I could take his photo to show them how he is doing. He agreed; his wave is for you.

As we left, he wrote the note below. If I had any doubts that it was worth while visiting, this shows how much a simple visit from strangers meant to him. (I think "gat" means God)

Please keep praying for him. I am not sure what will happen to him- but prayer is powerful! Look at Susan's amazing recovery and the progress made by this man so far. I believe your prayers can help to bring peace and salvation to this troubled soul. Carolyn has promised him a Bible in Arabic- I hope he finds the peace of forgiveness and great comfort as he reads it.

At the end of the visit, Andrew, Ben and Joel came to fetch us in a 3-seater MAF van. We are lucky. We can drive out of the gates and go home to comfort. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't tell you that I was relieved to be able to leave. But it is with a renewed sense of appreciation for all we have when I come home after being at the hospital...

...even when travelling home in this sweaty, squashed ride, 4 people on 2 seats in the African heat!