This week I'm tired and wanting to stay grateful, after visiting some people who have it much worse off than most of us.
A tokay.
John and I visited a patient who was admitted to the hospital recently, who has cryptococcal meningitis and now PJP Pneumonia. She wasn't taking her ARV medications (for HIV/AIDS) for a couple of years, and these are both potentially deadly opportunistic infections. She didn't look so great, but I have seen other patients in similar situations turn around - so keep her and her 9-year-old daughter in your prayers.
I also joined John and the Outreach team for a day visiting people who need help in far villages. A new patient was a 7-month-old baby, who had a complicated birth which resulted in a lack of oxygen and a neurological disorder. During the day, he cries much of the time, and when he does, his body stays mostly rigid. They have been doing various treatments including physical therapy. We only experienced his nearly nonstop crying for forty-some minutes, and I have decided that his teenage mother is a saint.
Recently, I think I have been affected by the limited daylight hours, my own mental game or lack thereof, and a reoccurrence of the skin allergy on my hands (after accidentally exposing my hands to an allergen a month ago).
As I compose this blog, it is Thanksgiving both here in Thailand and back in the states. May I find ways to continue to be thankful and to feel grateful, and I hope you all do the same. I'm at a loss for more words than this, so please enjoy the rest in photos.
Photos from the children's seminar this past weekend.
A large banana flower.
My favorite person and my favorite type of tree.