One year after the Coup d'Etat

Last year on June 28th, president Mel Zelaya was ousted from Honduras in his pajamas and dropped on the tarmac in Costa Rica. A year later, Honduras is calm and seemingly unaffected. After much turmoil and protesting, hardly any evidence of the past years struggles remain. Today was a normal day. There was some worry that the year anniversary would bring up unrest and angry sentiments, but nothing of the sort could be seen in Tegucigalpa. I woke up this morning at 4:30 am and made my way to the public hospital. In my morning commute I encountered no signs of unrest or protest.

June Highlights-

Allie and Andrews Wedding: The past three weeks have been a whirlwind. I spent a week in the States the second week of June and returned to Honduras on the 13th. My best friend Allie got married on June 11th and I stood up in the wedding. It was a strange kind of culture shock to be thrown from Honduras straight into a full week of wedding preparations, but none the less, I had a great time seeing family and friends. Although I was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I managed to carry a bit of Honduras with me. Unfortunately I carried it in my bowel system. Honduran parasites plagued me from Tuesday night of my trip home and are unfortunely still making themselves known every so often. The worst of it was on Thursday when I nearly fainted twice during the wedding rehearsal. Late Thursday night my dear friend Rachel to whom I will forever be indebted, drove me to the ER. After a few bags of IV fluid and some high doses IV medication I was back on my feet and ready for the wedding. Despite my unwelcome friends, Allie and Andrew's wedding was absolutely beautiful and I was so happy to be apart of it! The good news is I didn't faint during the ceremony or soil my dress! Ask and you shall recieve!

The World Cup: This year Honduras made to the World Cup! Although we were all aware that our little developing nation didn't really stand a chance against the big guys like Spain, Germany, etc. the entire country was still overwhelmed with pride that we actually made it to the "Mundial." Government employees did not have to go to work on game days, businesses were closed, and the kids here at the Ranch got of school early to watch the matches. The entire country was covered in blue and white. In a country where soccer is virtually regligion, the World Cup might just be the best thing that has happened in years. Actually, I am not convinced that people did not act up today, on the anniversary of the coup, becasue they didn't want to inconvinience their viewing of the world cup. Even though Honduras is out the enthusiasm is still there. Regardless of how we played, it was so much fun to watch the matches with the kids. They painted their faces blue and white and sported Honduran jerseys. There was a good amount of trash talking which even the youngest of the kids participated in.

Scarlet: The newest and youngest child at the Ranch arrived two weeks ago. Her name is Scarlet and she is probably about 5 months old. She has no official birth certificate. She came to us because her mother was selling her in the street for 500 lempiras (roughly 25 USD) and the authorities picked her up. She officially became a ward of the State and then of NPH. She is a great baby, and absolutely adorable. When kids first come to the Ranch they spend their first week in the clinic so I had plenty of time to hang with her. I spent a few nights caring for her which definitely gave me an appreciation for mothers of infants everywhere. One night she woke up at 3 am covered in diarrhea from her neck to her toes. Regardless of delightful surprises such as this, Scarlet has been so fun to take care of.

Casa Suyapa: You may be tired of hearing about the Casa Suyapans, but everyday they do something that completely cracks me up. I know that I have become like one of those moms or aunts that continuously talks about their kids and sends too many photos that all look the same. But alas, I love them and I only have 5 weeks left to bore people with stories of my honduran orphans! The questions they ask, the things they get excited about, their innocence and/or their malevolence, never ceases to amaze me. My favorite questions that I have been asked in the past week are as follows (Translated into English of course):

" You are from the United? I thought you were Honduran!" - Its only been a year kids. Plus I am tall, white and speak Spanish with an accent!

"Ana Blauw, what was Casa Suyapa like when you lived here?" - Yasmin, the little girl who asked this was stunned and amazed when I informed her that I in fact, did not grow up on the ranch,

" Scarlet can't talk, but she's not stupid right. She is going to normal right? She'll talk next week right?" They were quite concerned when I told them that no, a 5 month old is not supposed talk.

Also, yesterday I spent a solid 45 minutes dancing to the same song, " Celos" by Fanny Lu, over and over with 9 children under the age of three. They've got moves you've never seen. Its simple and silly things like this that I will miss when I am back in the States for good!

Some days in Honduras are more action packed than others

Currently I am sitting at an internet cafe just outside the Tegucigalpa airport, killing time. I have three hours until my flight leaves, bound for Chicago and then to my best friend, Allie Markland´s wedding. My world here is so different that it is absolutely bizarre to think that in a few hours I will be in the land of the free and the brave. America : ) That is not what this blog is about though. Although America is fantastic, there is still so much to say about Honduras.


Yesterday began as a pretty typical day. I worked in the clinic and went to the primary school in La Venta to do some well child checks. This time we handed out antiparasite meds, multivitamins, and lice shampoo. For those that have read my previous blogs, you will know that I am a highly experienced lice shampooer! We saw 43 kids this time. Over all the morning was relaxed and smooth. Todo tranquilo.


Yesterday afternoon was a different story. It began as a typical afternoon. I started working in the clinic at 3, saw a few patients, patched up some scrapes, and then settled down to a lovely coffee break with the other nurses. It was at this time that the man at the front gate of the Ranch radioed the clinic to tell us that there had been an accident on the road right in front of the ranch. A car and a pick up collided, and at least 2 people had been thrown from the back of the truck. I had a few minutes to gather all necessary supplies and then they sent a car for Dr. Merlin and I to head down to the road. When we arrived, Manuel (a driver from the ranch) had already brought the ambulance. Overall there four people injured in the accient. Three of them were NPH employees that I know quite well. We checked everyones injuries, stabelized them an then took off in the ambulance to the hospital.

Two of the men, who work in the farm at NPH, had various cuts and scrapes, and also possible ankle and leg fractures. Another, the only one not employeed by NPH, had a dislocated shoulder and a few other minor injuries. The fourth man had the most serious injuries. He had been thrown from the truck and landed a good distance away right in the middle of the road. He had various deep cuts on his face, a possible fractured skill, possible fractured ribs, a fractured pelvis, and maybe a fractured femur. We did what we could with the medications we had with us to calm the pain and stablize him until we arrived at the hospital. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes, flying through the rain at top speed, to arrive at the nearest hospital in Tegucigalpa. We took the three ranch employees to Hospital Seguro, the hospital for the insured, and the other man to Hospital Escuela. When we arrived at the Seguro I was amazed. I hadn´t been there before and I was astounded at how much nicer and more modern it is than the public hospitals. Even so, it is not up to par with American standards. Basic supplies still sometimes are lacking, and you have to sign the patients in to prove they have the universal employement insurance before any doctors or nurses will even touch them. It doesn´t matter how gravely you are injured, you still have to wait. We got all of the men signed in and informed the doctors and nurse about what had happened. We waited to make sure everyone was indeed being taken care of and stable and then we took off to take the other man to the public hospital, Hospital Escuela.



When we arrived at Hospital Escuela it was like a smack in the face back to reality. I knew that the Seguro hospital was too good to be true. The majority of Hondurans do not have the benefit of recieving the government insurance and therefor must use Hospital Escuela. The ER was packed with people laying on gurnees and stretchers, many on the floor. People were everywhere bleeding and vomiting with terrible terrible injuries. It was truly disgusting. I have spent quite a bit of time in the public hospitals here, but last night seemed particularly crowded and bad. I felt so badly that this man coming from the exact same town, circumstances, and accident did not have the right to recieve the same quality of care that the others did. One of the residents working in the ER recognized me from all of my previous visits to the hospital. A tall white girl tends to stick out in a sea of injured Hondurans. The resident came over and immediately attended to my patient. It was a great stroke of luck. If he hadn´t recognized me and been kind enough to help, the man could have easily spent over 8 hours waiting in the ER. As it was, the resident signed him in an sent him immediately back to orthopeadics.


It was about 8:30 pm when everyone was properly admitted to there respective hospitals and Merlin, Manuel, and I were ready to head back to the Ranch with the ambulance. We were all so relieved that everyone seemed to be doing well and no one was in a life threatening situation. We made a quick swing through the drive through at Pollo Campero (we were too dirty and bloody to make an enterance in a restaurant) and made our way back to the Ranch.

Last week a woman from a nearby village came for a consult at the external clinic. While I was triaging the patients I asked her why she came for a consult that day. She responded by telling me that she was pregnant and she came for prenatal care. I asked her how far along she was and she did not know, but she thought she was quite far, like 7 or 8 months. Hopefully I did a fairly good job at hiding the shock and skepticism on my face because I did not in anyway believe that this woman was 8 months pregnant. I wouldn't have even guessed she was pregnant if I saw her on the street. She left her appointment that day with a referral for an ultrasound so we could try to assess how far along she really was. She was planning to come back the next week with the ultrasound results. She didn't quite last that long...

Early Friday morning the ranch doctor (The amazing Dr. Merlin!) got a call from a patient saying that she had terrible back pain. He told her to come to the external clinic and that he would assess her when she arrived. She failed to mention the fact that she had just been to the clinic on Tuesday or that she was pregnant. Unfortunately it was my morning off from the clinic, but Laura, another volunteer nurse was working. When the woman arrived at the clinic Merlin examined her and could already see the baby crowning. There was no way that this laboring mother was going to make it to the hospital in Tegucigalpa before the baby arrived. Things happened fast and the external clinic quickly turned into a labor and delivery unit.

All and all, things went very smoothly. The poor mother was extremely tired because she had walked from her village and then taken a public bus to get to the clinic, all while in very active labor! In the end, mom and baby boy both did great and a new life came into the world at exactly 1:30pm on May 21st. The baby weighed around 7 pounds and was clearly full term. He needed oxygen for the first few hours, but soon turned a very healthy pink and did just wonderfully. They brought mom and baby up to the internal clinic where I spent two days and nights with them.

Even though it was a very joyful situation to see this new little guy come into world, it was very bitter sweet. The mother was very young and came from a very poor background. She made it very clear in the first few hours that she did not want to keep the baby. She did not want hold the baby and refused to breastfeed. Also, she did not name him. She was very adamant that she wanted to leave the clinic immediately and leave the baby at NPH. We convinced her that it was important for her health and safety to stay the night. I stayed over night in the clinic with her and the baby boy. I tried to sensitively talk to her and make her as comfortable as possible. I woke up every two to three hours to feed my little friend and make sure that the mother was doing well after the delivery.

Don't judge the hat! I know its ridiculous looking but it was all we had!

I spent the next two days at the clinic as well, caring for mom and baby. It finally came out the the mother had not told anyone that she was pregnant. She was planning to go home and never tell her family that she had had a child. She still lived at home with her mother, father, and sister. It was incredible to me that no one had known she was pregnant. Finally around 9 pm on Saturday she called her father. It was very emotional, but turned out very well in the end. Her family had been extremely worried about her. She had told them she was going to the clinic for a stomach ache on Friday and had never returned. They had even contacted the police and reported her missing. After she hung up the phone her mood was visibly changed. She showed much more interest in her new baby and even held him for a good portion of the evening. She was still wary about taking care of him and feeding him, but I helped her and taught her as much as I could about newborn care. During this time it also came out that she already had another child, a two year old daughter. Her sister, whom she lives with, helps her take care of her daughter. The next morning, her mother, father and sister came to the clinic. They were very happy to see their daughter and even more excited about having a new baby in the family. It was clear that the child was going to a family that would love him and want him very much. The mother's sister, who was currently caring for her other daughter, was more than willing and capable of caring for the child.

Watching my little guy leave was harder than I expected. Even though he had only been here for two days, I had still grown attached. I cared for him, fed him, bathed him, and cuddled him almost from the moment he was born until he left two days later. It was so incredible to see this new little life come into the world. It broke my heart to see that he was unwanted! He is such a beautiful little boy! I wanted to pack him in a carry on and head straight to the US. Also, when I found out that there was a possibility that he would stay at NPH I grew even more attached! I pictured him in Casa Suyapa and having the opportunity to see him grow for his first few months of life. Even though I was a little sad and apprehensive to watch the baby leave, I was glad that he would be supported and loved.

Although I was sad to see my unnamed baby go, my kids in Casa Suyapa soon cheered me up. They continuously make me laugh every day. The chiquitos, the group of the littlest kids, were extremely confused about this child. They saw me with him in the clinic and are still convinced that it was my baby. Every time I encounter them they ask "y tu bebe Ana?" "and your baby Anna?" One little girl was extremely concerned that I had left him alone in the clinic. Were still working on understanding that even though I take care of them, I do not actually have my own children. After 10 months its still a confusing subject for two yearolds.

Update: Rancho Santa Fe

Time continues to fly by, and I get closer and closer to finishing my year of service here. Even so, each day still holds adventure and new opportunities to learn and grow. I have been incredibly grateful for the past few weeks, both in the clinic and in Casa Suyapa. I have just been genuinely enjoying my time here and my relationships with the kids. I would love to update by blog more often and share all that is happening down here but I can hardly remember all of the things that happen on a daily basis, much less everything that has happened in the last few weeks. Here are a few highlights that have stuck with me.

Casa Suyapa: Every night I spend in Casa Suyapa is just hilarious. The kids are always saying and doing ridiculous things and each day I get more attached to them. I love them so much! I cannot imagine what it will be like when they are not a part of my daily life any more. Most recently, the children have taken to calling me by by full name. Usually its just Ana Blauw, with an excentuaded auwww at the the end of Blauw. That noise does not really exist in Spanish words so they think it is really fun to say! Sometimes they even go for the Ana Ruth Blauw. It continuously cracks me up. At any time I may here my name being called from all corners of the Ranch. They other day I was walking by the office and out of the window I heard a little voice yelling Ana Blauw, Ana Blauw, Ana Ruth Blauw. It was a Dulce Milagros, a very vocal two year old from Casa Suyapa.

Clinica: One of the best parts of my job in the clinic is that when new children come to the ranch they first spend a week in the clinic. They do this so that they can be checked out medically, but also so they can ease into life at the Ranch slowly. Through out their week in the clinic they slowly integrate into the home they will be living in, and then on Friday night they move to their permanent house. Recently we had a little two year old girl named Evelyn come to the Ranch. She actually stayed in the clinic for two weeks because it was suspected that she had Tuberculosis. Luckily this did not turn out to be true, and she was negative for TB, but she still remained in the clinic until she was healthy enough to move to Casa Suyapa. It is so amazing to see the transformation of kids when they come to the Ranch! Some are incredibly malnourished or sick, and within a few months you can begin to see a real change in them. Some have been terribly abused or abandoned and are incredibly timid or angry. The change in this children is also evident as they spend more time in a loving and supportive environment. Evelyn, the most recent addition to our large family, came to the Ranch because her mother is in the end sages of AIDS and will most likely pass away soon. Evelyn herself is also HIV positive, but is very healthy and taking a full load of antiretroviral medications. Her story is quite sad because not only was her mother very sick, but she also suffered from a variety of mental illnesses as well. As a result Evelyn was abused by her mother, and even left in the bottom of a latrine. When she first came to the clinic, she was incredibly shy and did not speak a word for an entire week! In here three short weeks at the Ranch she has changed immensly and is such a beautiful, loving little girl. She still does not speak often but smiles all the time.

NPH Honduras sponsers four children who do not live at the Ranch, but who live in the village nearby and attend the local public primary school. Recently our national director went to visit the school and noticed that so many of the children appear to be malnourished and suffering from a variety of health problems. He asked our doctor, Merlin, and a few nurse to visit the school and screen the kids. Yesterday we walked to the school and screend 40 of the 84 children there. We are planning to go back next Thursday to see the rest. This experience was quite possibley one of my favorite that I have had so far in Honduras. It was incredibly interesting to see how different life is just outside of the Ranch. Our neighbors are suffering, and the kids are not getting enough to eat. Many walk miles and miles to school eachday without shoes and without eating anything for breakfast. This lifestyle is typical in most parts of Honduras. Children and families are in need of health care, better nutrition, and health education. Merlin, another nurse, and I weighed and measured all the children, gave out mulitvitamins and anti-parasite medication. We talked about basic things life safe drinking water, hand washing, and the importance of brushing your teeth. We identified quite a few kids who need further treatment and they will be coming to our clinic at the Ranch on a regular basis to recieve further care and medications for free. It was a wonderful experience, and I am looking forward to doing more health teaching at this little public school.

I wish I could add more pictures to my blog, but alas, without my own computer its a struggle to upload photos. I will try to add photos soon!

Peace,
Anna

Oh How Time Flies!

Here I am, still in Honduras, nine months and five days after my journey began last July. Somehow I have survived thousands of communication errors, a military coup, weeks of country wide, curfew, three medical brigades, working in Haiti after the earthquake, and multiple Ranch kid emergencies. I may be prematurely aging, but I think I will come out no worse for the ware in the end.

The past two weeks have been quite a whirlwind. Between returning from the beach, a crazy week at work, and having two visitors, time has flown. First, my visitors came last Saturday. My dear cousin, Mary, and friend, Austin, came to the Ranch. It was really good to see familiar faces from home, and have the opportunity to introduce them to my life here. It was slightly odd to have my two worlds intersect, but it was really great. I am so glad they got to see my kids, the clinics, and Honduras.

Because Honduras has become my home, it is sometimes hard for me to remember the harsh realities and enormous poverty that surrounds me here. It becomes common place and I forget how much inequality and suffering there can be. Last week, a large reminder of these things was carried into the clinic. On Tuesday a two month old baby was brought to the clinic by his parents. He was extremely malnourished, dehydrated, and very sick. He had, had a twin but the twin died the day before becasue of the same ailments. The poor little thing only weigh 7 pounds at two months. He looked like a premature newborn. His fontanels, or soft spots, on his head were extremely sunken in because of the dehydration, and he was two week to even cry. I spent a good portion of the day hold him and feeding him oral rehydration solution through a syringe. His parents did not want to stay at the clinic with him, but we finally convinced the mother to stay so we could try to teach her how to take care of her baby. The mother and father were both very young. They came from a very poor village nearby, and niether one could read or write. They had little to no education and no idea how to take care of their baby. The baby and his mother stayed in the clinic for 6 days. We rehydrated the baby and made sure that he is getting adequate nutrition. The nurses and Dr. Merlin worked with the mother each day, teaching her what her baby needs and how to take care of him. By the time he was ready to leave he was looking much better. Still very small, but healthier! He and his mom will continue to come for weekly check ups for the next few months.

Last Friday brought another harsh reminder of the realities of life. The Ranch is so often such a happy place that I forget where my children came from. I forget that most of them have been abused or abandoned, and all of them have been through some sort of insufferable loss before they arrived here. Usually I just see them as children, happy and easy going, but last Friday I was reminded again of all the things they still have to overcome. Just after my visitors left I was working alone in the clinic. The rest of the staff were at a seminar at a hospital in Tegucigalpa. A 15 year old girl from the Ranch came into the clinic acting very strangely. I knew this girl fairly well from previous visits to the clinic and I knew that she had some severe psychological issues. She was severly abused as a child, lived in almost unlivible conditions, and her mother just passed away 5 months ago. In the past she has swallowed 3 needles and threatend suicide in other ways. After about 15 minutes she eventually confided in me her plans to try to committ suicide again. I really think that most of this was just a cry for attention, but even so it was a serious cry, signifying that things were not ok. I talked and listened to her for a few hours, trying my best to be as encouraging and therapeutic as possible. Eventually she calmed town and went to rest in her bed. After locking all sharp or dangerous objects in the pharmacy, I checked on her 10 minutes later and she was gone. She snuck out of the back of the clinic in attempt to run away from the Ranch. This girl had tried to run away before and I had no doubt that she was serious about her getaway. Thankfully she was intercepted and willingly came back to the clinic. This experience brought to light the terrible places where some of my kids come from. Sometimes they cannot escape them, even though they are at the Ranch. We have a large social work and psychological department working with so many kids, but sometimes it just is not enough to undo terrible pasts. This teenage girl was so desperate for love and consolation that it broke my heart. She stayed at the clinic through the weekend and has been seeing the psycholgoist daily. She is really doing much better. Even so, it is still so sad and sobering to see the lasting effects that her past has on her.

And so, after a fairly emotionally draining week I had the amazing chance to relax in a truly beautiful place. Some friends and I went to La Tigra for the weekend. It is a national park not to far from The Ranch. It is way up in the mountains in a beautiful little village called San Juancito. La Tigra is technically a cloud forest and is home to all types of tropical plants and animals. There is a German couple who live there and own a bed and breakfast. They rent out one small cabin and sell home made wine, bread, and jam. The view from the front porch of the cabin over looks a beautiful valley and the mountains beyond. I am slightly convinced that it is a little piece of heaven on Earth. On Saturday my friend Danielle and I went on a 3 hour hike to a beautiful water fall high up in the cloud forest. It was an amazing way to relax and rejuvinate for another week of work at NPH.

Well, that is all from me for now. I am going to try to update often in my three short months left here in Honduras! Sorry for no photos this time. My lab top officially died its long awaited death and I am now confined to a few very old, very sketchy Ranch computers.

Peace,
Anna

Ya Nos Vamos a La Playa!

Imagine your typical family vacation. Maybe you take a spring break trip to the beach in Florida or a mid summer adventure to a cabin up north on a lake. It is usually a relaxing getaway that breaks up the monotony of day to day life Maybe you swim, read, sleep, play cards, and hang out with family or friends. Now imagine taking a 4 day trip to the pacific ocean with 50 plus children under the age of 7. Relaxing....I think not.

Every year Casa Suyapa, the home for the youngest children at NPH, takes a trip to the beach in Southern Honduras. A generous donor, and friend of the Ranch, graciously lends his large beach house out to the tribe of Suyapans who make a yearly pilgrimage to the beach every spring. We set out early Monday morning and returned late last night. It was a wonderful experience and a lot of fun but needless to say, extremely tiring.

I arrived at Casa Suyapa early Monday morning ready for the beach! I walked in, and immediately a little girl named Karla threw up on my feet. Not a great start to our voyage. We had to leave the poor soul behind because of continued vomiting and high fever. Much kicking and screaming followed the decision to leave her in the clinic, but I eventually made it from the clinic back to Casa Suyapa. We soon all boarded the bus which was packed to the brim with Casa Suyapans, chaperons, food, water, and all the necessary items for a successful beach trip. The first thing we did was pass out Dramamine to most of the children. These kids are not used to riding in cars or buses and often become extremely car sick. Next, we passed out chips and cookies. An obvious choice for car sick children! Please note the sarcasm. Everything we passed was extremely exciting! We oohed and ahhhed over rivers and lakes, planes landing, cows, sheep, etc. It could not have been a more entertaining bus ride for 5 year olds. We arrived at our destination, La Playa de Las Gaviotas, approximately 5 hours later.

I was presently surprised when we arrived at the beach! It was a beautiful private beach on a little cove off of the pacific ocean. The house it self was perfect for Casa Suyapa! there were two large rooms with air conditioning. We took all the furniture out of the rooms and put down pads on the floor for the kids to sleep. Girls in one room, boys in the other. The tios, tias, other chaperons, and myself slept outside on a patio that overlooked the ocean.

Tuesday arrived and we headed down to the beach around 8 am. We inflated what seemed like a million floaty toys and the kids went absolutely nuts! The kids spent all day playing in the water and on the beach! We literally did not leave the beach until 6 in the evening. The Tias brought us lunch and water down to the beach and we ate in the shade of the palm trees. When the time finally to head back up tot he house everyone was exhausted! The first day a the beach was a success! At first I was extremely concerned because there was no life guard and I was by far the strongest swimmer! I immediately reverted back to my days a Camp Geneva of counting children and scanning the water! One tia did sustain a minor machete injury requiring stitches, while cooking, but the kids all made it out of the ocean safe and sound!

Around midnight on Tuesday night one of the Tias woke me up to tell me that one little boy was crying and crying in extreme stomach pain and had a fever. I was pretty worried about this particular little guy because he is one of our HIV positive kids. After a while the little boy confessed that he had been eating green mangoes off the tree outside the house, and that he hadn't pooped in 4 or more days! I was relieved that it was just a case of an upset stomach, but still could not calm his pain or fever. We tried everything from modern medicine to old Honduran remedies such as rubbing lemon water on the stomach to get our little friend to go to the bathroom. He screamed and cried for hours and finally fell asleep on the toilette around 5 am. I carried him to bed where he slept for two more hours. He awoke at 7:30 and we finally met success. He and I rested for a few hours before heading out for another long beach day.

The rest of Wednesday went smoothly. We spent all day Wednesday at the beach as well. At lunch time we had a special lunch of fresh fish, tajaditas ( fried plantains), and pico de gallo. Each kid received a whole fish, eyes and all. The kids were pretty funny. Some of them dug right in, enjoying every bite, and others were quite afraid of their meal. One little girl was talking to her fish and making it move its mouth and talk back. It was quite a scene.

On Wednesday afternoon we continued swimming. As the tide rolled in the kids splashed and played in the water. Suddenly someone started screening "Snake!" Sure enough we say a little head peeking out of the water, swimming frantically. All of the kids ran out of the ocean and on to the beach while two tios tried to catch it and take it out of the swimming area. In the chaos, the tios ended up chasing the "snake" towards the beach where in emerged from the water. To our surprise it was not a snake that came out of the water, but in iguana! The poor thing was immediately pounced upon by approximately 50 children who proceeded to chase it around the beach. It was probably one of the funniest things I have seen in quite some time.

Thursday we awoke with the unfortunate knowledge that it was our last day at the beach. We still made our way down to the beach and swam and played for the majority of the day. After lunch we packed up the bus again, passed out the Dramamine and headed back to the Ranch.

The voyage to the beach was quite the adventure! It was so much fun to spend time with my kids in such a relaxed environment. It was amazing to see the excitement in the children! For some of them it was their first time ever seeing the ocean or large body of water! It was so cute and fun to see them experiencing new things. Although it was not exactly a relaxing vacation, it was a fantastic time at the beach!

Just Another Day at Hospital Escuela

Today I spent the day at the public hospital in Tegucigalpa, Hospital Escuela. This definitely wasn't my first visit to the hospital, nor will it be my last. Today I accompanied a little girl named Sarahi because she had her tonsils removed. Sarahi is three years old, and it is no secret that she one of my favorites. I know that I shouldn't have a favorite but I can't help it. She is absolutely adorable, so sweet, and continuously cracks me up. In fact, her family (she has two older sisters and a brother) are with out a doubt one of my favorite families on the ranch.

I arrived at Hospital Escuela bright and early at around 5:45 am this morning. I found Sarahi and her overnight care giver from the Ranch waiting in line at the bathroom. In the pediatric ward of the hospital each room can house up to 8 patients. There are approximately 5 or 6 rooms of this size. There is only one bathroom stall, and one shower for all pediatric patients. Needless to say, it is not a beacon of cleanliness. My first surprise of the day occurred when a well dressed transvestite stepped out of the shower in the pediatric ward. She (formerly he) was caring for her son who was staying in the same room as Sarahi. This ambiguous mom/dad ( I never heard the little boy address her as either) confused me and made me giggle a little bit all day!



After getting her cleaned up we played a little bit with the other kids in her ward before she was ready to go to surgery. I took her down to the OR and waiting in the hallway with the other parents until she came out. I watched patient after patient be pushed in and out of the OR on cold medal gurneys. No mattresses, no blankets fresh from the recovery room warmer! Finally after about 2 and a half hours they called me to come and push her back up to the peds ward.

She did very well in surgery and very well in recovery. She had some pain afterwards and handled it about as well as any brave three year old might. About two hours after we were back to the room and settled in, Sarahi's mother came to visit. Sarahi and her siblings are at NPH temporarily. They were taken away from their mother about a year ago and she has visited them fairly frequently ever since. I was caught a little off guard, but recognized her immediately because her other daughter, Karla, looks just like her. Sarahi's mother was very nice and cared for her well. However, it was still strange for me to be in that situation. When you work at an orphanage you don't often expect to run into the parents of the children! Also, they were taken away from her for some very good reasons so even though she had permission, I was a little apprehensive about her being there at first.

What surprised me most, is how I reacted to this situation. Like I said, Sarahi holds a very special place in my heart. For the past 8 months I have cared for her in Casa Suyapa and in the clinic. I have watched her grow and play and develop her own personality. I've tucked her into bed, kissed cuts and scrapes, and sung her songs until she fell asleep. I really have grown to love her and so many other kids so much during my time in Honduras. It was great to see that her mother really is trying to get it together and turn her life around. It was also wonderful to see how good and comforting she was with Sarahi. However, I felt very protective of this little girl. It was hard for me not to feel so angry with the mother because of the way she treated, and neglected her four beautiful children in the past. Her children are so smart, and good, and funny. They are all growing and thriving at the Ranch! There is so much that she has missed during the past year. It was so strange being there with Sarahi and her mother. When she cried she often reached for me. When she was in pain, she yelled for Tia Loli, the tia that faithfully takes care of the littlest kids day in and day out. I cannot even begin to imagine how it must of been for her mother to see her baby girl reach and cry for someone else.

I left the hospital exhausted. I did not realize how emotionally draining it had been until I stepped outside. I also left with the realization that I have come to love the kids at the Ranch so much. They make me laugh, teach me, push me to grow, and sometimes frustrate me beyond belief everyday! I have been so blessed that I get to be a part of their childhood, even if its only for a little while.