We Come Full Circle

Today we revisited Bharatapuram, our first colony. It was nice to finish where we started and come full circle. I loved seeing the familiar faces that were so grateful to see us. I use that word a lot to describe these people, but it's not overused. If anything it's not used enough. It's hard to describe the joy, relief, and love that these people express to and for us.

I passed medications to the patients with Abarna and Avery. I wanted to spend time with the people I felt I'd miss the most. Abarna taught me some more Tamil. I'm getting better at speaking the little bit of Tamil I do know. It's a work in progress, and I hope to continue learning more Tamil. 

We said goodbye to the medical team and Navamani, our incredible nurse. As you've probably already guessed, we sang a hymn to Navamani before we loaded the bus. She loves the hymns of the kingdom. We sang "God Be With You Til We Meet Again" and were all a bit emotional. We've spent so much time together and we've learned to love the medical team just as much as the patients we work with. 

On the way home we were graced with the familiarity of Pizza Hut. And this was not an Indian style pizza. It was full on American and delicious. I shared a veggie pizza with Dani. We were in heaven.

When we returned, half of us set off to the clinic on campus to prepare to give MMR vaccines to the new admissions and the UKGs. Little Sangita was my patient today. She screamed and hollered and squirmed as Craig held her in his lap. It was all anticipatory fear, but I felt so cruel poking her after I'd worked so hard to build a trusting relationship with her. I stuck her quad with the needle and plunged the syringe. She continued to cry, but crawled onto my lap and hugged me until she calmed down. I offered her some "chocolate" (aka candy) and her tears dried up and she was off to wait for her classmates so they could all head to the hospital for blood typing. The other half of us that didn't do vaccines went to the hospital with students for blood typing and although I had the option to join them, I chose to stay back and play with the kiddos one last time. I played hide and go seek tag with Gopi, Tiki, Valenkani, Dhanalakshmi, Veralakshmi, and a couple other students that I didn't have the privilege of being introduced to properly. I went all out at play time and made sure that all of my energy was left on the playground. 

Dr. Susan

After dinner we took pictures in front of our brand new mural. Dr Susan loves it because she feels it is a great reminder of the work they are doing at RSO. I agree. It's also a great reminder for us as individuals of the difference we can make in the lives of others. It reads, "We are his hands".

Kendra, Janeen, Dani, and I walked over to pick up dinner from the dining hall. We had a specialty dish for dinner since it was our last night. It happened to be fish and I avoided it. That is, I avoided what I could see. Little did I know the gravy/curry had fish in it too. And it just so happens that I'm allergic to fish-- sooo we had some role changes take place and a whole different meaning to the phrase practicing medicine. Instead of coming to India to be the nurse I became the patient. 

The staff was quick to help out. Almost 2 minutes after my professor had mentioned to me that there was fish in the curry, I felt it set in. My skin was itchy, my throat was itchy, and I started to cough. Immediately I left with my epi-pens in hand to grab Benadryl. Ashley followed. Shortly after, my professor met us in the kitchen of the elephant house. 

We ate cake to celebrate our time at RSO. It read "Nandree BYU Nursess". Ah. They always add some Indian feel to the spelling! The medical team arrived to help us out seeing that the last time I had an allergic reaction to fish, I went into anaphylaxis. After Abarna took my blood pressure, I felt so dizzy. I knew the reaction was picking up the pace but I tried to stay calm. They laid me down. They give me an IM dose of hydro-cortisone and some other medications while discussing the options of IVs, medical access, and what to do if my symptoms progressed. Honestly I don't know what made me more anxious-- the reaction, or the embarrassment/guilt. I wasn't careful enough. I usually am. And I wasn't able to say my last goodbyes to the students I've learned to love with every last piece of myself. It's weird to think I'll most likely never see them again, but I know that one day we'll see each other again when we stand at the feet of God.

Dr. Susan and Ashley prayed with me. I love Dr. Susan. She says, "God blesses those who do His work." My nursing friends and other volunteers prayed for me, and Dave and Craig gave me a blessing. I was concerned that they may have to send me home as a policy with BYU, and waiting for answers was agony. I refused to leave India, although I was medically advised to return to the states. I'm in a third world country and an emergent situation isn't ideal here. However, I worked hard for this trip and I wasn't about to let my dream of riding elephants, seeing the Taj Mahal, and experiencing more of the place that has become my home slip through my fingers. So I prepared to leave at 1am for Jaipur with the rest of the group. Abarna bunked with me to ensure medical attention was close by if needed. And soon after decisions were made, bags were packed, and rooms were tidy-- I was swept into sleep.