Post Trauma Drama and the Journey Home

Well we came here to do work and that has been waylaid. At least Peter was able to get in a few days more surgery before we started our journey home.

Leaving Dhankuta was bittersweet.  Our wonderful Nepali friends and volunteers made their way to my room at the hotel to wish us safe travels home. I feel bad I wasn't able to help more. So very frustrating to come all this way and be laid up after just the first day.

What I could do was offer support to the rest of the staff. Some would make their way back to the hotel for bathroom breaks throughout the day and usually stop by my room to take rest, rant about the general madness at the hospital and just hang out for a bit. Before each person would leave they check that I had what I needed to get by the next few hours.

On one of the days alone in my room, on older Nepali lady made her way up to the hallway area outside my room. Understand that I was unable to completely shut my door, as you need to latch it shut either from the inside or the outside and it was too much trouble to get up and hobble to the door the first couple days.  So this older lady who I would guess would be from their untouchable caste by the way she dressed. She hung out outside my room for a bit. She started to sing a beautiful chant in Nepali, I don't know what it was. She then came to my door and opened it a bit wider, she opened her hands to me and again sang the beautiful chant. Afterwards, she placed her hands together in anjali mudra (prayer) gave me a "namaste"and left.  I hoped her chant was a healing chant.

To my surprise she came back again the next day. This time a little bolder, she walked in my room, speaking to me in Nepalese (none of which I understand) she left me a packet of papers/documents, showed me a charm she had around her neck and left again. Very strange. The papers contained what I can only assume were her medical records. The documents did mention something about psychosis, so apparently I was blessed by a psychotic:) In this country individuals are responsible for their own medical records. The hospital/Dr do not keep them.  I passed them on back to one of the Nepali Drs to take care of and didn't see my little lady again.

Our last night in Dhankuta was also the night before all our friends get a much needed day off work, which means party time. Lots of food, drink, laughter, dancing and anything else to relieve the stress of the week. Dropping cheese balls from the 3rd floor (you had to be there). A good time was had by all.

The next morning, Peter and I said our heartfelt goodbyes, leaving behind our mission friends to carry on the good work they are doing. We will miss them and yet at the same time anxious to get home get me healed.

The journey home begins.