Brooklyn walked into the bathroom early this morning and was greeted by this. It's a family member of the Krait family, a cousin or something to the big nasty one we found a little while back. He wasn't huge compared to the other one, but they are still very poisonous. We called security but one of the cats decided to start playing with it and before security got there, it has slithered into the ridiculously small crack along the drain. The security guard thought we were crazy when he showed up and there was nothing--but needless to say we have re-sealed all the drains in the bathroom.
After that pleasant wake up call, we went to Putharankottai. I was on toenail duty again, and today it was really cool but also made me a little sick. Of all the things that don’t bother me, I am finding out the build up underneath toe nails that are on toes that are on feet of people who don’t wear shoes very often and don't live in the best of sanitary conditions can make my stomach churn. I can see open ulcers that extend down into to the muscles and bone, and you can sometimes smell those too, but it doesn’t bother me as much as toenail jam. But like the ulcers, I found myself getting a little upset that these people are “destined” to live this way. One of the ladies I worked with had a tick burrowed into her foot. Like the flies that feast on the open wounds, the tick ignited the same emotional response in me-it made me angry, and if not angry at the very least I was really really annoyed with it. This lady is a person and people shouldn’t have to live in conditions that are so unclean that a tick can burrow into you and stay there. Of course Navumani took care of it when she did the debridement, and I know that this is exactly why we are here helping these people-so we can eradicate this disease and the stigma that permeates it-so people can be lifted out of these impoverished conditions-but it is still hard to see though.
The patients were mostly older women, we did the clinic outside in this clearing under the trees, and we had Dance Master doing dance therapy with the residents who would participate. Not a lot of them did, they mostly just smiled and watched as Dance Master and Stella Marie (who is Jennifer’s grandmother) danced their little hearts out. Stella Marie was a riot. She was shouting and laughing and moving like a crazy person. If someone asked her what her name was, she would sing/scream…..I…AM…..STELLA MARIE!!!!!! The world would be a happier place if there were more people like Stella Marie. You can’t help but smile when you are around her.
After that pleasant wake up call, we went to Putharankottai. I was on toenail duty again, and today it was really cool but also made me a little sick. Of all the things that don’t bother me, I am finding out the build up underneath toe nails that are on toes that are on feet of people who don’t wear shoes very often and don't live in the best of sanitary conditions can make my stomach churn. I can see open ulcers that extend down into to the muscles and bone, and you can sometimes smell those too, but it doesn’t bother me as much as toenail jam. But like the ulcers, I found myself getting a little upset that these people are “destined” to live this way. One of the ladies I worked with had a tick burrowed into her foot. Like the flies that feast on the open wounds, the tick ignited the same emotional response in me-it made me angry, and if not angry at the very least I was really really annoyed with it. This lady is a person and people shouldn’t have to live in conditions that are so unclean that a tick can burrow into you and stay there. Of course Navumani took care of it when she did the debridement, and I know that this is exactly why we are here helping these people-so we can eradicate this disease and the stigma that permeates it-so people can be lifted out of these impoverished conditions-but it is still hard to see though.
Besides the burrowing bug that made my blood pressure rise some, this colony was so endearing. These two are my favorites:
HER NAME IS STELLA MARIE!!!!!!!!
