Little did I know that a text would start a connection with one of my girls.
Characters in the story:
- Elianna: 9-year-old girl from my house (las lilas; the lilies)
- Emilie: My co-houseparent
- Sophia: (Sm) nurse
- Max: Director of Familia Feliz
- Joy: Max's wife
Preface: This story gives details about the blood and pain experienced by a child in a hospital. This story may not be a good read if blood or descriptions of challenging experiences bother you.
Waking up one morning expecting it to be another same day on repeat turned into an eye-opening, traumatizing, bonding, exciting adventure. How could that happen, you might ask? Well, here is the story. Two days prior, my second youngest girl, Ellie, went in with the nurse for a biopsy on a growth under her tongue. Unfortunately, she threw a fit and would not allow the clinic to do it because she refused to open her mouth. The doctors then decided to put her to sleep for the biopsy, which would mean going to the hospital instead. Sophia, our sm nurse, would typically take the kids for procedures, but having come down with Dengue, the Director of Familia Feliz would take her in. He sent a text that morning to Emilie and me asking if one of us could come in with her. After deciding who would go using the rock paper scissors game, I was the one to go.
Within twenty minutes, I was ready to go to the hospital with Elianna, or prepared in the sense of having no idea what to expect. Oh my, was I in for a surprise? On the way to the hospital, the director's car broke down! That was then a delay in getting to her surgery appointment, but as the Bolivian way is, Max texted the Doctor for the surgery on WhatsApp to tell her we would be late. After being picked up by a friend, we were back on our way to the hospital.
Arrived at last! Walking in, holding the hand of my very nervous nine-year-old Elianna, we come into a crowded hallway following Joy. Lots of stares follow being white women walking confidently with a Bolivian child, a strange sight to see. We soon discovered that Elianna was missing an essential document, which she needed for the surgery and insurance. Thankfully, Joy was able get that handled in the next thirty minutes. After some questions I helped answer using my limited Spanish knowledge, we were given a list of surgery supplies for Elianna that we needed to purchase. (Note Below)
The hospital was far from American standards! As we walked into the emergency room Eli was given a bed. We sat there and waited as her nerves grew for more than an hour. During this time, there was a boy, maybe 3 years old, screaming the entire time, which did not help lighten the mood in the room. I stood there holding Elianna's hand and praying for her, and a man walked in to start her IV. I noticed as he stared at it he seemed to have no experience. Only later did I learn from Joy that this was probably the case because this hospital allows people to learn from others without instruction.
The IV went far from well. He stuck her in her hand and dug around in her hand until he had blood coming into the tube. This whole process was done entirely gloveless and with a sobbing Elianna, who was being told not to cry by this stern man. This entire process was difficult to watch, and I felt so helpless. After failing to connect it to the IV tubing, he pulls it out of her hand, and the blood squirts all over the floor and wall. He then left the room, and we waited for another twenty minutes.
After waiting, confused, and ready to get the surgery over with, a nurse walked in and started the IV properly this time. The surgery began shortly after, which I waited outside for. When they finished the surgery, they called me in. Walking up to her, I was horrified to find her face, hair, and part of her clothes covered in blood. They had not cleaned her up at all! I then asked if I could have some rubbing alcohol to clean her up with. The smell of the alcohol started her to wake up as I cleaned the blood off of her. Then she began to awaken; no medicine in her system combined with the effects of the anesthesia was awful to watch. She began to seize and cry louder and louder in pain. We had to wait for medicine from the pharmacy that another volunteer was bringing. The wait was confusing and painful for Elianna as she woke up from the surgery and the anesthesia wore off. I was flustered, not knowing what to do as I waited with Elianna, frequently having to hold her down to the bed as she was trying to throw herself off the bed with the effects of anesthesia.
After what seemed like forever, Joy, the director's wife, arrived with the medicine for Elianna, and we carried her to the car. The next bit of time was an adventure as well. The car broke down on the way home for the third time that day in the 99-degree weather. The following week, Elianna was given around-the-clock medicine every 8 hours, which meant less sleep for Emilie and me. Through all of this, Elianna grew to become sort of attached to me. She now follows me everywhere, always asking to help me cook, do my hair, and more. This story has more aspects, but this blog has become quite the tale. To summarize, Elianna has healed nicely and enjoys doing everyday things. I have not been informed of the biopsy results, and I am still waiting. Please keep my girls in our prayers daily as we navigate life together here at Familia Feliz!
Questions/Thoughts I have asked myself after and during this event here:
Why am I here in this situation?
It is so hard to watch a kid hurt when you have no control to help.
Love and Care exceed any language barrier.
How could a parent put their kid in an orphanage and not care to even ask how they are when it is breaking their kid's heart?
Note:
In Bolivia, Hospitals are impoverished; the more significant the city, the better the staff. Unfortunately for her, it is small, which means horrible quality care. Also, the hospitals keep almost no supplies on hand, meaning you must buy the list of items you need at a pharmacy and bring it to the hospital for your Care. So, you need at least two people, the one who needs Care at the hospital and the other to run errands for supplies. In my case, Joy was the medicine supplier, and I was to stay with Elianna the whole time.
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