Infant mortality. Its not something uplifting or inspiring but it needs to be addressed. I have witnessed way too much of it, for me not to talk about it.
I’ve seen a lot of tough things since I arrived in Karungu and today the list grew longer. My first patient of the day was a two month old baby boy named Edwin. His mother carried him over from the children’s ward. He came in with malaria, but the doctor wanted a chest x-ray to check his lungs so I was doing a chest x-ray on him. I laid him down on the x-ray table and he squirmed a little as I positioned him. This was a good sign because some of the kids are too sick to even cry or put up a fight. Apparently, before he arrived at the hospital his mother took him to a traditional healer where he was given some herbs to try to cure him. This is a very common practice in this part of the country. Going to the hospital is seen as a last resort, oftentimes the patient is so sick we cannot do anything for them.
Well, around 4:30 just as the work day was winding down, I looked outside the window and saw the man from the morgue. He was pushing a steel gurney to the door of the children’s ward. Oh gosh, which child has he come to pick up? My heart sank as he carried baby Edwin out to the steel gurney. He was wrapped up in a white blanket, about the size of a loaf of bread. The mother walked behind the man as he pushed Edwin to the morgue.
This is 2009, babies shouldn’t die! It really didn’t even phase the nursing staff. They carried in like nothing big happened. To a Kenyan, having an infant die is just a part of life. Most people I’ve encountered have had a child of sibling die. That’s just the way things are. In a way, it appears that human life is valued less here, especially when a girl dies. Why is an African baby dying less mournful that an American baby dying? No matter where on Earth that child is born its still a human being!
If I was born in Africa, that could have been my baby who died today. That could have been me walking behind the gurney to the morgue. Why was I chosen to be born in a first world country where I enjoy clean drinking water, adequate food, free education, and quality healthcare?
Will I ever be accustomed to seeing babies die? I hope not.
The stories of a Catholic Medical Mission Board volunteer in southwest Kenya. Read about the experience of a lifetime.
"Go to the people,
Live among them,
Learn from them,
Love them,
Serve them"
Kwame Nkrumah
Live among them,
Learn from them,
Love them,
Serve them"
Kwame Nkrumah
Contact Info
Address:
Lauren Meisman
St. Camillus Mission Hospital
P.O. Box 119
Karungu 40401 Kenya
(Please no large packages, the mail system isnt the safest. Letters and small packages are wonderful. Put a value of $3 on customs forms, its cheaper for me to pick it up. If you write me I'll write you back!)
Lauren Meisman
St. Camillus Mission Hospital
P.O. Box 119
Karungu 40401 Kenya
(Please no large packages, the mail system isnt the safest. Letters and small packages are wonderful. Put a value of $3 on customs forms, its cheaper for me to pick it up. If you write me I'll write you back!)
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3 comments:
Lauren you won't ever get used to seeing a baby die and it is because of people like you, doing what you are doing, that make life even more precious. You are as we say here at Notre Dame Academy, a woman who is making a difference. Your kindness to people you encounter every day in what may turn out to be a much too short life makes a difference. It is evident by the smiles on the faces of the children at the orphanage. Remember those smiles during the tough times you encounter. With so much pride and love, Aunt Barb
As we would say at HONO, you're "being the change". Witnessing anyone, particularly a young child, die and seeing the pain it causes their loved ones must be absolutely devastating. Take comfort in the fact that you're increasing access to care in a very rural community in Kenya. You're giving chest x-rays to the young child who might not otherwise have had the chance. By sharing your experiences, you're letting people know that there is plenty of work to be done in Kenya and around the world to decrease infant morbidity and mortality. I really appreciate your blog because much of what you describe about rural health care in Karungu is relevant to larger issues lack of access to care discussed in my classes. Keep the stories coming, Meis, and never forget that you inspire us all. So very proud of you!
-Heidi
I'm so sorry you are having to deal with all this. I love hearing from you, and I miss talking to you!
Love,
Cait
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