flesh wound

Knock. Knock. Knock.
I knew it was Abraham.

"Megan! Bandage!"
"Who are you?"
"Abraham."
"Where do you need it?"
"Musa!" (one of the other boys)

I walk out of the door with a band-aid and some neosporin.
Abraham quickly corrects me, "MEGAN! It is BIG!"

"Well, crap." I think to myself. I grab a bigger band-aid and skip on over to the boy's dorm where Musa is located. No real rush. The second the dorm is in my sight I realize the situation is a little larger then I was expecting. Almost all the boys were gathered around Musa and he was bawling. (Kenyan's don't cry in public.) I see the gash in his forehead. It is huge and deep.

I grab his hand and tell him to come to my house... this band-aid is not going to cut it. I luckily have gauze and advil on hand. I hook him up with both. I patch up his head the best I can do and inform the staff that he needs to go to the hospital.

This is so Kenyan... We had to wait for the driver to finish eating lunch first before they were willing to ask him to take us to the hospital.

Also during almost this whole time Kaleigh is in the shower.

Innos, Musa and I get into the van and a bunch of random people jump in the van too just to go for the ride. We are off. Kaleigh stays back. We get to the hospital like 5 minutes later. Musa is checked in and they tell us that the doctor is on a lunch break and we will have to wait. Luckily the lunch break only had 3 more minutes to it.

We are called into the room. Innos and Musa explain the situation to the doctor. The doctor tells Musa to jump up on the table and lay down. The doctor takes off the bandage that I applied and his forehead gushes out blood. It is flowing everywhere... even making a puddle in his ear.

As a preface to the story: Kenyan doctors are ruthless and they live by the motto, "man up."

The doctor first squirts some isha all over and into the cut. Musa HATED this. He was crying hard and squirming all over the place. I got put in charge of holding down his feet and Innos got his arms.

The next step was to numb the area with a shot. Musa saw the needle and FREAKED out. His blood splashed on the wall and got everywhere. He did not want this to happen. We had to hold him down. My heart hurt so much for him. They started the shot. They had to put in a lot of places to make sure the whole area was numb. It hurt him. There was this one area that obviously hurt the most. He was screaming that it hurt. My heart was screaming for them to stop.

Eventually that is what happened. They stopped. They numbed everywhere they needed to.

Next was the stitches. I have no idea how many were put into his head. I am guessing 6 or 7. Musa said that he couldn't feel too much of the stitches going in. Thank heavens. I could not handle anymore of his pain. He calmed down. They cleaned and bandaged him up. He sat up and the back of his shirt was covered in blood. I brought a blanket. I took off his shirt and wrapped him in the blanket. The doctor told us how to take care of him and we were on our way.

Since the manager was not around they were not going to take him to the hospital. The manager pays for everything. It was dire that he got to the hospital. I offered to pay and that is how we got there. It cost 2100/= for everything. It was the best money spent in Kenya thus far. I paid and then I was broken the news that they had to give Musa a tetanus shot too.

"You have to be kidding me," I thought to myself. We are called into the injections room and he is sat down on a car. I uncover his arm. Tell him to close his eyes but it was too late... he already saw the needle. I had to hold him down as they gave him the shot. He started crying again. Poor child.

Enough is enough. We left. It was all over. Musa and I could not handle anymore.

Side note: Innos is a worker at the orphanage. He is really cool. He was there with me and Musa the whole time. The second the doctor would pull out any tool he would just walk away from the situation. He was a baby. This huge Kenyan man cannot handle a little needle that is not even going into his skin. He would close his eyes and try to leave as much as possible. He said that I am super brave. Shoot... someone has to be. Musa can't feel alone.

I wish you all knew Musa's character. You would all LOVE him. Musa is one of the happiest kids on the planet. He makes Kaleigh run for her money with taking nasty pictures. He giggles constantly. He is just so great to be around all the time. It was seriously so hard to see him so hurt and broken down.

It took him about 20 minutes of laying in his bed in the dorm before he was just as happy as ever and back to normal. That is all I could have asked for. He is a rock star.

everyday

Freddie (an 18 year old boys with acute special needs) always tells me:

 "Megan, let's go Nairobi everyday. Mango. Everyday. Nairobi. Nairobi. Nairobi. Mango. Mango. Mango. Everyday!" 

This boy has me figured out before anyone else. Shoot. He nailed it... other then the mango part. I think I have only had 2 or 3 mangoes since I have been here. 

We have been here a total of 16 days and have spent 7 or 8 of them in Nairobi. I told Kaleigh that enough is enough. We will not be going back to Nairobi area or even Thika town until Saturday. 

We walked to the closest supermarket today because Kaleigh wanted to make salsa and we had no chips. Was that an adventure? Yes. 

(On a side note: I can hear the local mosque call me to pray right now) 

They built this supermarket in the time I was gone. This place is lush. 

They even have a little bakery inside. That is a bonus. 

On the walk home we took the dirt path route the whole time instead of the pavement. We straight up were crossing creeks and isha. 

I took a wrong step and dipped my toe in some form of nasty. I doubt if I soaked my toe in bleach the bacteria would go away. The nasty I stepped in does not even compare to the straight up sewage like sludge that Kaleigh  soaked her foot with while in Nairobi. 

Bless her soul. 

The best part of the adventure is when Kaleigh and I started singing about the nasties we meet. It was so funny. I think the most creative nasty I have ever encountered was the brother who asked me to lick his teeth last year. That was bold. 

niche

Every time I come to Kenya it is a different experience. 

This one has no exception to that rule. 

The first time I came, it was all about the boys. Every second of my everyday was dedicated to them. I was obsessed. I knew their every cut, bruise and bump. I needed to be in Kenya for these boys.

The second time I came, I had a good mixture of the boys here at the center and the boys at church. The weekdays were dedicated to the little boys and the weekends were out with the blessed sons of God. I came to Kenya this time to meet and build bonds with the people in the Lucky Summer Ward. 

This time... I have no clue. I am just waiting for the day where I figure out my niche for Kenya 2013. The weekdays are hectic with a mixture of church and the little boys and the weekends are all at the chapel. I am torn. We haven't found a balance yet. I love the boys both young and old but I am just waiting for that moment when I know this is why I came to Kenya. 

I have a moment like that every time I come. 

Hopefully it comes soon. 

once you go black

you never go back.
I can testify to that.

This is the blog post a lot of people have been waiting for:
We went to church today. (hold on I will tell you why that is important) It was great. The poor elders were so confused why everyone in the ward knew us except for them. Their loss. Everyone that walked in the door gave us huge hugs and were so excited to see us. The elders are never ever greeted in this fashion. I was so so so dang happy to be there. I could have exploded.

Then came the moment we are all waiting for... a certain brother walked in the gates of the church yard with his family. He had on his Euro cut black slacks, fresh white button down shirt and a skinny tie. The swag was on. Game time.

I greeted all his family and friends and then him. (this is where the post is going to get very vague) A hug and a "how are you." Church went on... blah blah blah and it was over. Just like that. It was awkward. I am not going to lie. Not really knowing my place or what to do. Awkward.

Gabby and the boy walked us up the hill to the matatu stop we catch. Everything gets better with time. I am going to see him again tomorrow and the next day. His mom invited me over to their house and I have to go to his work to drop somethings for the kids.

And that's that.
Any questions?

kenyan home

I am back. I am jet lagged out of my mind. My skin has been scorched by the sun. It hurts to sit for too long because my tosh has not recovered from all the plane rides. 

But I am happier then ever. 

We don't really have too many exciting stories except for the one where Kaleigh left a bag at the airport. It was an accident. We went back 2 days later and it was still where she left it. That was a New Year miracle. 

The boys are the same. The management is different... also a New Years miracle. 

Life is good. 

Now this sunburn just needs to depart from my body.