Reconnected!

A bit of an update on the 14 year old boy I spoke of…Mpumelelo.

After 3 days of him being in the Respite Unit without eating or keeping meds down at all, he was admitted to the Don McKenzie TB hospital. He was very dehydrated and was in need of an IV, etc. I was of course sad that he left and even more upset that I didn’t get to say goodbye or good luck to him. Anyone who knows me knows that goodbyes are not speciality!

I have been asking MaryAnn if she had heard anything about his condition. She told me that they finally got him to eat, but that he was very scared and miserable there. He told the staff there that he wanted to come back to the Respite Unit. This news did not make me feel any better.

Today (2/23) I went to the TB Hospital to drop off and pick up some of our patients and decieded to look around for my little buddy. It just so happened that he was exactly where I was today. I called out his name (in a sea of hundreds of TB/AIDS patients in the male ward) and he saw me. His face lit up and so did mine! We talked briefly and I told him that I missed him a lot. He said, in perfect English I might add, “I miss you too Jenn.” I told him I’d drop in again soon and he smiled ear to ear. It was one of the best moments of my time here so far for sure!!!!!!