Day 27 in Malawi, September 10th

Today was the start date for Savannah-Hope’s Nanny, Violet. She will be caring for Savannah-Hope 24 hours a day 6 days a week. Sundays will be her only day off. Violet will be staying next door to Thandie with Savannah-Hope. I am grateful for the opportunity to train her before I have to leave to go to San Diego. Lloyd drove Violet, Savannah-Hope and I to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for one last ditch effort to get a doctor’s recommendation for a medical visa so that she can come home sooner than 3 to 4 months the adoption will take. We get to the under 5 clinic and they asked me to put Savannah-Hope on the infant scale. You really should have seen this thing. I don’t think it has been cleaned since it came out of the box several years ago. There was no antibacterial spray or exam paper. And to really paint to the picture for you….I have to say that there were about 50 moms there with sick babies wearing winter clothes. It was at least 90 degrees in side the waiting area. It is supposed to be under 5 clinic but today it looked like the under 2 clinic. I was the only white skinned person in the waiting area….and I was holding a Malawian baby. Savannah-Hope had a fever so she was lightly dressed….man was I getting some looks. So in an effort to being more attention to myself, I pull out the antibacterial wipes from my bag and start cleaning the scale. I didn’t need to understand Chichewa to know that everyone was talking about the crazy white lady (Nzungu). You should have seen the wipey….it really was something.

Savannah-Hope weighed only 2.4 Kilos. Which was a bummer because the last weight we had on her from the village from Aug 31st said she was 3 kilos. So it looked like she lost weight in our care, which is not true. Today she was wearing a disposable diaper for the first time due to a cloth diaper fiasco. She was weighed wearing her clothes, which was just a onesie and socks. So I am thinking when she was weighed on the 31st of August she must have had one of the big cloth diapers on and a bunch of clothes. So the doctor tells me he is going to admit her into the malnutrition clinic. Looking back I think this doctor was really trying to help me thinking that if she was admitted to the hospital we could look at sending her to America as part of her treatment plan. Instead of trying to convince the Embassy to send a child that is healthy enough not to be in the hospital to America for emergency medical treatment. I was panicking on the inside though as the cockroaches were crawling on the floor at the thought of having to keep her there.

But I wasn’t given an option so we moved to the next phase of admission the blood test and temperature check. This is a room with about 10 ladies with the screaming snow-suit babies. Only one child was wearing just a diaper and he was covered in polka dots which I am pretty sure were the measles. There were two nurses in the room. The first pricked each child’s finger for a malaria blood test….wearing the same gloves the whole time I might add. Of course I asked her to change them when she stuck Savannah-Hope. The look on her face was priceless. Then we moved over to the temperature check lady, she had just put the thermometer with no protective cover under the armpit of the polka dot kid and then wanted to put it under Savannah-Hope’s arm without cleaning it. So again I pull out the wipes. I am telling you I was not making any friends with the Malawian nursing staff.

Then I had go to the next phase, the admission doctor. This is where the miracle came. His name was doctor Robert from Virginia. Yes an American doctor! We had a little meeting and he said that admitting Savannah-Hope was the worst thing we could do as she was doing well in our care and could catch something worse from the Hospital. It was so nice to finally get a doctor that understands the benefits of medical care in America. It is not fun trying to convince the Malawian doctors that their own child would be better off in another country. He said to give him 2 days and he would see about writing a recommendation. Then he said take this baby and walk right out the door. So we left.

While I was at Queen Elizabeth with Savannah-Hope, Thandie went in the other vehicle to take Simion to the doctor. We were afraid that he had the mumps. Thandie also went to check on her niece Kezia Elliana (7 months) who was hospitalized early this morning with Malaria. Kezia is responding well to the Malaria treatment and Simion was diagnosed with tonsillitis.

In the afternoon the Jorgensons gathered the children from the Children’s Home into the dining hall where they were given sodas and candy.

Tonight Rackson (electrician for Good Samaritan and in charge of the Jesus Film ministry) and his wife welcomed a new baby boy. I was thinking it was going to be a girl, but there have been no girls born on the campus. Eveyone teases that Brother Gentry put medicine in the water so there would only be boys born. Still hoping that Rodney’s wife will have a girl. She is due in November. No name yet on our new little addition.

Savannah-Hope started cooing today!

I thought my cold went away but it seems that it has moved to my chest. I am feeling so tired, thinking bronchitis.