Malawi Day

People ask me 'What do you mean when you say a typical Malawi day?' Right here it is, the 30th of August 2015.

I arrived back from the UK to a power cut and mains water being off no worries I can sort stuff out tomorrow the 30th of August. Hahahaha 1 to Malawi 0 to Beth.

Woke up at 615am to realise there was no power. No worries I'll head back to sleep, it'll be back on. Woke up at 9am. Still no power, milk in fridge is now off, gas burner has been borrowed for a camping expedition so no ability to boil water. So many dishes from weekend, no water to wash up. So many clothes from holidays that need washing oh no wait no electricity & no water. How many times is it ok to wear your underwear again?!

Right nae bother I will do some study. Oh no wait the documents are on the uni server, I'll research some on line, oh but wait phone dies, Internet dongle not topped up and laptop hasn't been charged.

Ok not a problem I can have a shower. No hot water and no pressure. Lovely. Refreshing you say as the weather starts to heat up.

Ok let's have lunch. Ah wait all products in fridge need cooking and you can only eat so much cheese and crackers in a 3 week space. Ok I'll go shopping. We need some basics like butter, cereal etc.

Ah yes but the shop has no normal butter unless you want to spend the equivalent of $15AUD and no real cereal except cornflakes and milo crispies. No problem I will get eggs. Didn't think that through did you Beth - you have no power!!!!!!

Right return home. Still no power. I'll call friends to go for lunch. Well you would Beth if your phone was charged. Right. Let's do some yoga for deep breaths! There's only so many sun salutations one can do! Right lets read. Ah yes now we're down to candle light. Ok don't burn the pages Beth!  Cheese and pickles and rice crackers for dinner because you bought uncooked chicken for dinner! iPod is dying .... How ok is it to do interpretive dance until you're tired?! 

Neighbour comes to the rescue....they have a generator!! Charge phone for some contact to outside world. Apparently no one needed me during the last 15hours of no power. Home to try not to burn myself reading again. Power is back!!!!! Right load of clothes on, washing up done, chicken cooked for next 2 days, all appliances in every charging spot possible. Opened fridge....hmmm the smells will need to be dealt with tomorrow. Oh wait tomorrow is only Monday and there will be daily power cuts til Christmas?! Hibernation ensues.

Posted this blog.... Then the power went out. Malawi.

Emotions, privileges and bits in between

The 2 weeks prior to my annual holiday were filled with complex, challenging and emotional cases. The cases that make you realise how privileged we are but also how the small things we in the P&O world can impact people's lives in a multitude of ways.

One case we were asked to cast for a spinal brace for a man who had TB of the spine and HIV. The conditions we cast in were not ideal, outside, in the sun, smoke and wind. Our simple hope is that the spinal brace will assist somewhat with reducing the pain and discomfort whilst doing bed transfers. Acknowledging the realistic outcome was and is emotionally challenging for all involved.

A case of neglect has stolen my heart with these children being the first I ever saw for an assessment when I first started going to Malawi in 2010. The internal struggle of realising that none of our interventions have been successful and that the parents have left them in the care of an elderly grandparent. Who knows when they have last been cleaned, fed or simply talked to. The realisation that from our organisation and from the partner who is monitoring them we have done all that our organisations can possibly do but where to from here? The next journey for these children is still unknown.

Finally 2 days at a refugee camp ended the culmination of an intense 2 weeks. The stories that unfurled saw me needing to turn away and compose myself to realise this is not about me and how I react and nothing can change what happened to these people but what happens moving forward is so important. This rationalisation may sound callous yet if we as clinicians let each individual touch us too deeply our emotions would unravel before us and the clients, which would be counter productive to obtaining a rational and realistic treatment approach.  What I have realised is that I am in a privileged position to be able to provide some potential advice and whilst it may not be the initial answer I can hopefully point them in the right direction to hopefully one day find something that works for them. 

At the end of the 2 weeks I was emotionally spent. Ready to embrace my 3 weeks holiday in the UK and Prague. An extreme contrast to the last 9 months. The challenges were different. The inner turmoil of spending ££ verse Kwacha. The understanding however and immense joy when I realised that my life is very exciting. The challenges of living in a developing country yet acknowledging that I come from a developed country and that my experiences and my 'normal' life is ok.   The contrast of my past & present does assist in helping me move forward into an exciting future that can understand and accept both. That each have their challenges yet each help create who I am today.