On our third day of clinic we arrived at that day's village the see dozens of children scattering at the sight of us. We would be working in the church that day, and the classroom was next to it. We started handing out Dum Dums (the universal peace offering) to frightened and not so frightened children. A few burst into tears as soon as you looked at them. Most were excited to see mzungus (white people) up close. Soon they were showing each other their tongues to see what color the suckers had turned them. They were also swapping Dum Dums to taste the different flavors. Quite amusing to watch.
The church was an impressive sight. Nicely manicured lawns with flowers beds, windows with glass, and real pews with kneelers! The village obviously took pride in their place of worship. The kids we saw, however, were really sick and malnourished. And there's one that I'll remember for a very long, long, long time.
He was a one year old male (though much smaller than my niece was at six months old) whose mother brought him in for a burn he received the day before from chai tea. The first thing you noticed while examining him was his right hand. Picture a latex glove that's been blown up and tied off to amuse a pediatric patient. That's what his hand looked like. The skin on his entire palm had blistered but hadn't burst yet. The his mother removed the wrap that was covering his lower body. His entire right leg, right buttocks and genitals had been burned by the tea. Luckily the burns were only second degree at the worst, but the skin had already started to slough and he was at risk for infection. We covered him in silver sulfadiazine (something I don't remember having last year and wondered when we would use it this year) and dressed him in gauze and ace bandages. We instructed the mother that he needed to be brought to the hospital within the next couple of days and gave them paracetamol for pain and oral rehydration salts to prevent dehydration. If all goes well, he should recover nicely, as long as he stays away from the chai tea pot.
--Courtney Rome
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