Day 26

Gave the little one a soccer ball! He was so so so so so happy, it warmed my heart. I don't think he'd ever gotten a nice gift like this before in his life. I kicked around with him outside in my flip flops and him barefoot. I hope he has fun playing outside with it. 

Thathaya showed me his foot while he was cleaning it today. Turns out he has what doctors call "cauliflower." It's this flowery growth that results from a parasite infestation in an ulcer. Thank goodness he can't feel anything. 

Here he's soaking his foot while Suma does SSOD (Soak, Scrape, Oil, Dress) in the background. He told me his daughter's husband left her when he found out that her dad had leprosy. He was afraid he would get it and didn't want to associate with a "disease carrying family." He told me that she won't remarry, and that she doesn't have a real future. He innocently asked me if she could work in my house as a maid in the US. I was caught off guard and told him I would "ask my dad." (!) He then asked me if planes can fall from the sky. So cute. I later told him that you need a lot of government documents to come to the US and that it wouldn't work out, but that I would look into organizations that might help his daughter. 

Went into the MDR TB ward where doctors discovered this patient hiding a secret rash called Herpes Zoster. His family members gave him this green leaf paste to rub on it thinking it would make it better, and for some reason he didn't tell any of the doctors or nurses about it. Turns out the belief that this type of "village medicine," is effective is very common among uneducated people living in rural areas. 

Back shot. You can see the rash more clearly. 

He got surgery on his foot and then had a week long fever immediately after, which Pieter said was caused by malaria. I saw him napping in this position today and found it quite peculiar. It's easy to forget how difficult rehabilitation can be.