Today's clinic was going to be one full of excitement and emotion -more so than usual as we were heading off to see our friends in a village we go to every year. We had taken a young boy to hospital last year who had been electrocuted setting traps for rats in the field and required a skin graft. His sister had a hole in the heart and required surgery too and their mum had a gynaecological problem too. We had left enough funds for the family to all receive treatment and we were looking forward to getting an update.
We had also arranged to meet up with Kay and Helen from Rotary Cairns North who have supported us with trying to secure better hands for Touch -the gentleman we also met last year in the clinic, and after navigating the morning bustle to pick them up we headed north out of the city to cross over the river.
After a tranquil river crossing and a bumpy van ride we arrived after a relatively smooth 2 hour trip to the village. We were greeted by friendly and familiar faces and the family we had helped were the first in line to see us. The girls who had met this family last year did not have a dry eye amongst them and it was wonderful to see how well each of them had done. The little girl with the heart problem was amazing, last year she was so quiet and was delayed developmentally with very little speech. She was now a different girl, laughing and chatting away and running around the village with her family, it was truly fantastic to see. Her brother came straight up to us to show us his foot which had also healed so well. Considering we had been worried about even if it could be saved last year, he had done well. Mum told us she had had her surgery and was also doing well, had much more energy and was generally better is herself. These wins are what CWC are about, just making a little bit of a difference where we can.
After the catch up the team got organised for what proved to be a frantic day with all types of presentations of coughs and colds. Kay and Helen were put to work assisting with pharmacy and glasses duties which they both enjoyed (and we were grateful for their help too).
Just before lunch we had a visit from Touch and his lovely family. Touch had been given prosthetic hands from a local TV station but unfortunately they were painful. Kay and Helen quickly got on board and will follow up through Rotary how we can get them either adjusted or replaced. If Touch has functional hands he will be able to work and support his family which is something he is desperate to do. He was however much happier in himself and now his baby is bigger, he's able to carry and hug her - lovely and so important for this family. We will continue to update on how they are going into the future.
We once again stumbled across a young boy who scored a trip to hospital after crushing his finger at home. If you're squeamish go to the next paragraph hehe....He had completely removed the skin from the end of his finger leaving the bone exposed and this was as you can imagine very painful for him.
We arranged through our translators about taking him to Phnom Penh with us in the van and at the end of the clinic he arrived to be transported. The families in the villages are so poor and the boy and his uncle (who would accompany him to the city) had no spare clothes to take. We frantically rummaged through Beryls trusty supply of clothes and sourced him some shorts and tshirts and soon we were headed on our way. We dropped the young man at the hospital and hopefully he will soon be treated and headed back home.
The return van rides are always quieter as the team reflect on their day and try to catch a quick nap. For some reason they never seem to take as long on the way home and we were soon safely back in the city to take our guests back to their hotel and us back to our trusty hotel. With preparation for the next day complete and showers finished, we had a simple dinner and all headed off for an early night. Until next time....