This Cup of Tea

 The Buckner Clinic

Monday morning we arrived at the Buckner clinic to a sea of patients waiting to see Nurse Gladys.  Taylor and I headed inside, and within 10 minutes Gladys had us counting pills, filling out medicine and lab receipts, and teaching us how to do Kenyan medical paperwork.  I was soon both amazed and inspired by seeing Gladys "in action".  She fills the role of clinic nurse, doctor, receptionist, book keeper, pharmacist and accountant.  She was originally a nurse at a big hospital, but applied for Buckner because she believed the hospital nurses treated the patients poorly and worked only for the money.  As a result she works for less and runs the clinic by herself.  While the clinic mainly attracted from the local area when it first began, people now come from far and wide., some even from across the border in Uganda, just to see Nurse Gladys!

                            Nurse Gladys

The number of patients fluctuates greatly from day to day.  But on Monday the patients just kept coming!  We saw patients with malaria, typhoid, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and a blood infection.  Also, on Monday the new lab tech Moses arrived (the previous one left a month ago and they have been greatly anticipating the arrival of Moses).  He showed us how he pricks the patient's finger or takes an IV to draw blood, rubs it on a slide, stains it with dye, and then looks for an organism or abnormal number of neutrophils in the blood under the microscope.  While the laboratory's instruments are very basic (literally a microscope and a centrifuge - just like the ones we use in Biology lab at school), it is incredible to see the practical application of such laboratory practices.  When Gladys asks Moses to perform a test for malaria, he can take a blood sample and let the patient know if they have the disease in less than 20 minutes!

On Tuesday, our first patient limped into the room.  Albert was 10 and suffering from cellulitis.  He had a respiratory infection a month ago, but the infection moved to his now terribly swollen leg.  Gladys had to cut his shin and remove a large amount of pus, then give him a shot and an IV to treat the infection.  But Albert was terrified!  He started crying the minute Gladys told him what had to be done.  His eyes grew with panic and were full of fear.  I started by holding his hand and singing, but by the end I was restraining a 10-year-old screeching boy, whose leg was being cut without any pain medication.  As Albert took deep breaths, wiped the tears from his eyes, and listened to me telling him he was "big boy" (the Hagan way of saying "I'm proud of you!") Ashley and I decided he definitely deserved a "treat".  So we blew up a balloon for him and sent him, still sniffling, on his way.  On Wednesday Albert returned, but I barely recognized him.  His smile was beaming - from ear to ear!  Although he had to get another shot, he was so happy because the pain in his leg had subsided, he had stopped limping, and he will be back to playing football (his favorite activity!) soon.

     Taking Inventory of the Medicine

It is sometimes a puzzle to figure out what exactly is going on with the patient as they speak to Gladys in Swahili.  But Gladys graciously translates the important things: symptoms, medical history, etc.  My favorite part of the day is tea time with Gladys.  When there is a lull in the line of patients, Gladys gets out her big pot of tea and pours it into three cups -- one for me, one for Ashley or Taylor, and one for herself in a big pink mug.  Then she bows her head and says, "God, we thank you for this cup of tea".  Gladys' tea is the best I've ever tasted!  But I think there is something about the prayer of blessing that makes it even a little bit sweeter!

After the Albert incident, Ashley and I brought Gladys a big bag of sweethearts and plastic bracelets to have on hand for children that must get a shot, test performed, etc.  Gladys thanked us many times, then shyly asked, "Do you mind if I try one of these candies? I've never seen these before."  As she tried her first sweetheart, her expression reminded me of the children's faces when we blew up balloons for playtime, gave them a piece of colored construction paper, or gave them a crayon instead of a pencil.  It is an expression of delight and thankfulness.  Since I was little, I have started every prayer with, "Dear God, thank You for this day and your many blessings".  But the past few days I have said "blessings" with a renewed appreciation.  I ask that for those of you who have been praying for me, please join me tonight in taking a moment to think of the little things and thank the Lord for the blessings that we sometimes take for granted!  Even those as simple as a little cup of tea.  

P.S. - Today was our "day of rest", so we went to a city called Kisumu to exchange money, buy groceries, and visit a "Impala Park" (kind of like a zoo…just a little different :) ).  And besides being five feet away from uncaged zebras and closer than I've ever been to a lion, we also ate lunch on the shore of Lake Victoria and took a spin on a boat!

A "Simba"!