"A True Home - A roof to keep out the rain. Four walls to keep out the wind. Floors to keep out the cold. Yes, but home is more than that. It is the laugh of a baby, the song of a mother, the strength of a father. Warmth of loving hearts, light from happy eyes, kindness, loyalty, comradeship. Home is first school...for the young ones where they learn what is right, what is good, and what is kind. Where they go for comfort when they are hurt or sick. Where joy is shared and sorrow eased. Where fathers and mothers are respected and loved. Where children are wanted. Where the simplest food is good enough for kings because it is earned. Where money is not so important as loving-kindness. Where even the teakettle sings from happiness. That is home."
First of all...I found out late last night that I will officially be adopting a family here in Peru!!! I got a surprise email from my Dad with a copy of the letter that he sent to the parroquia about joining the family-to-family program – I honestly started tearing up I was so happy. We were literally on the same wave length because I’ve been thinking about it a lot since I got here. For just $25/month nuestra familia will get a package of food each month to help them make ends meet. Many of the families that I have met here at the church already have padrinos; however, I talked to one of the staff members today who will pair us up, and I will get to meet my family at a picnic next Wednesday! I can’t wait. :)
This morning I was assigned to work with “social services” to help the missionaries build a house for a family in La Legua. I’m glad that we get an opportunity to do this type of work, in addition to the typical nursing stuff, because it addresses the environmental determinant of health! I observe the often unhealthy living environments of my patients during home visits, so it’s a blessing to have the opportunity to actually intervene. The family that we were building for (father and mother with 5 children - 4 girls & 1 boy) was absolutely adorable. I could hardly believe what the 7 of them had been living in previously – a small one room shack, not much bigger than my freshman year dorm room. The house that we would be building would take one day to build and only costs $550 – crazy to think about the large gap between this one and the houses we build in the U.S.. We quickly got to work measuring for the walls, cutting bamboo and wire, digging holes, and hammering together walls. The majority of the volunteer work I have done in the past hasn’t been extremely labor intensive, so I had a ton of fun getting dirty and using some hardware tools. And it wasn’t just us, the missionaries, and people from the parish helping – it was a whole family affair. The four little girls started off by curiously watching us, then started handing us nails, and then jumped right in hammering in nails. The oldest daughter I swear was better than all of us. :) The second youngest daughter, Fernanda, was my little helper the whole day. I called her my sombra pequeñita (little shadow) because she was following close next to me all morning. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go back to finish up the house in the afternoon because I had clinical at the hospice. My heart broke just a little bit when it was time for lunch, and I had to say goodbye to the family and little Fernanda. However, I was so happy that they would finally have a solid roof over their heads.
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| The "before" picture. |
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| All four sisters helping us nail together walls! |
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| "Caa-yute!" |
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| Fernanda & I <3 |
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| The "after" picture before we headed back for lunch. |
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| La Legua |
Today was mine and Ellen’s first day working in the free hospice run by the parroquia. There are 12 patients at the hospice with a variety of illnesses – blindness, stroke patients, hepatitis, pneumonia, hydroencephaly, cerebal palsy, etc.. It is different from those facilities typically found in the U.S. because not all of the patients are necessarily terminal. Little to no pain medication is used (mainly because they can’t afford them). Furthermore, it is hot, sweaty, and we have to use mosquito nets to keep the bugs off the immobile patients. I literally screamed when I looked up to see a large grasshopper-looking thing on Maxamino’s bed. Our duties for the day included position changes, personal cares, tracheostomy suctioning, NG tube feedings, and taking vitals on all of the patients. One of the biggest challenges we face at the hospice is the utter lack of resources; however, it really forces us to be resourceful, creative, and conservative in using the supplies that we do have (since most of us are used to having everything we need at our fingertips in the U.S. hospitals). The nurse that we worked with today, Deysi, was so sweet and thankful for our help. She is honestly an angel, and I don’t know how she is able to care for all these patients by herself, without our help.
When we returned to the parroquia after our shift at the hospice, we had a mother approach us outside of the church asking us to please look at her son. We took a look at his finger and explained to her that he had a webbed finger that could only be fixed with surgery. She asked us if we could fix it, but she didn’t want to believe us when we apologetically told her that he would need to see a doctor. She then started to tell us about how he wouldn’t eat, but we were rushed inside the parroquia by some of the church staff. Being a nurse really is a full time job, especially here in Peru. Everyone knows us as the enfermeras de Marquette, and the people are so happy to have us here.
At mass this evening, the girls from Madre del Redentor came to visit because one of the missionaries visiting this week is a huge sponsor – they call him “Grandpa Reggie.” Anna came and found me right away, so that we could sit together at mass. I was actually an Eucharistic Minister today! After dinner, Hope & I met up with two girls that we met a few days ago and recently became facebook friends with (lol). We chatted with them for a while, and when we were saying goodbye, Ambar gave me a little regalito – a cute silver bear necklace. The kind gesture was much appreciated. :)
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| Anna & I |
Besitos,
<3 Lisa
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