You’d be excused for thinking that Christmas is a bit of a non-event out here in the bush but we’ve been determined to bring some festive cheer to Kalene! We started with a Christmas craft afternoon in early December with all the kids which was great fun. Tess and co made a gingerbread house in the kitchen and we had all manner of tinsel and glitter in the living room – cardboard Christmas trees, card making, copious amounts of fake snow etc!
We had a party for the ‘old ladies’ who live in a little of colony just next to Kalene. Years ago they were falsely accused of witchcraft and were made outcasts by the community. Well, the 5 of them had a ball! And they are pretty nimble for ‘old ladies’ – activities included dashing around after balloons (and having them tied onto their head scarves) and running 3-legged races (my idea – just glad nobody sustained a fractured hip in the process as no facility for a replacement anywhere round here!) We also had some Lunda carol singing and then the ladies modelled their new Christmas outfits.
Just a few days later, we held a party for the student nurses. You wouldn’t believe the amount of fun it’s possible to have with a cardboard box! We played the ‘cereal’ game which involves picking up a cereal box with your teeth but it is made increasingly difficult as a layer is cut off the box until you are left with a piece of card flat on the floor. We do know of people who have fractured their noses playing this game but thankfully, we are in Zambia and risk assessment and health and safety is practically non-existent so we risked all and it was well worth it to hear the students scream with laughter! We also played a Zambian version of ‘Chinese laundry.’ This game involves the retrieval of various objects. Wigs and mangoes were all of a flurry in the dash to be the first to retrieve the requested item!
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| Some Kalene 'bush craft' - I made my Christmas cake, complete with HOMEMADE fondant icing (with much help from Marilyn) and candid peel (a 7 day process - thanks to my mother-in-law!) |
Other activities have included a ‘Messiah’ night and carols by candlelight. We enjoyed mince pies and Phil’s mulled Jolly Juice, the most exciting Christmas beverage you can get round here – expectations were high and we weren’t disappointed!
I’ve been getting my hands (and feet!) dirty quite literally on the maternity unit. It is quite hard to imagine the set up but basically, it is like working on the antenatal / postnatal ward, obstetric day unit, early pregnancy unit, obstetric theatre, delivery suite, family planning clinic and special care SIMULTANEOUSLY as one of 2 midwives! I’m gradually acquiring some new skills such as antenatal ultrasound and examination of our tiny babies. Our office has been full of prem / sick babies! We have 3 incubators and at times also have babies in ordinary cots who require nasogastric feeding, IV antibiotics or oxygen.
There’s nothing like working in maternity at Christmas. The delivery suite at Kalene is pretty humble but it’s five star compared to the stable where Mary delivered her son. There's not much fuss made of expectant or new mums here and often, ladies come to Kalene with nothing but a piece of cloth to wrap their new baby in and I feel so desperately sad. And then I think of Mary, another young mum with nothing in the world and I am humbled and amazed that God identifies with the POOR because He himself was poor. 'And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.' Luke 2:7.
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| Little Luwi (which means 'Grace' in Lunda) who weighed 1.2kg at birth |
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| One of our incubators! |
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| The team aspirating the effusion |
A couple of weeks ago, I admitted a primip who was 20/40 with a cough and arrhythmias + premature rupture of membranes. She looked pretty sick. It turned out that she had a massive pericardial effusion (due to TB) which we tapped (took 600mls off initially and more later – she was very close to tamponading - see above pic). She then miscarried the next day. It was very sad but her life has been saved. She has had about 3 weeks of TB treatment now and looks like a different girl.
We've received the best Christmas present ever! After much prayer, we have had Christine's biopsy results from Glasgow confirming her diagnosis of TB! This is great news because we now know what has caused all her problems and can commence treatment. So she will come to Kalene with her granny after Christmas to start her regimen and we will get to spend some time with her before we leave. Praise God!
Christopher and I are on call for the hospital on Christmas Day – I’m hoping for a Christmas baby, which would go a long way in countering my muted enthusiasm for an nshima Christmas dinner! Still, we are planning to have a nice meal in the evening with Tess, Phil and Mark the medical student. Then on Boxing Day, all the mission staff get together for food and presents etc. So, although we are missing home and family, it will certainly be a Christmas to remember!
May the Lord BLESS you as you celebrate the birth of His son.
Happy Christmas!
With love from Emma and Christopher x
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| Josiah and Obvious carol singing by candlelight at the hospital |
