Vanakkum Spirit

Vanakkum is the way the people in Tamil Nadu greet you.  They usually put their hands together near their upper chest and say this with a beautiful smile and a slight bow of the head.  It also can mean do you have enough to eat.  I love this word and the love that is behind it.  

Today I went to the Moot Colony.  There are only a few patients there they sure do have the "Vanakkum spirit."  There was one beautiful lady that was on the road saying this to us as our medical vans pulled in.  Her small, leprosy affected hands were held together near her charming face that had a warm smile on it.  She told me her name, which has left my memory, but her face will always be there.

Some of these patients are deeply affected by this disease.  Krishnan is one of them.  He places his body most times on a wheeled cart and moves himself around.  When not on it he is able to navigate on all fours in a crab crawling fashion.  The disease has taken away his hands and his feet. 

 His sweet wife takes care of him.  She is leprosy affected as well.  The disease has taken away her sight completely on the right side.  All four limbs are affected but she is still able to take care of their basic needs.  She is a tiny woman and her caring spirit for her husband is evident.  I have witnessed this time and time again.  Those with less offer so much to others.  The Indian people have a wonderful way of showing affection.  Many times over I have received a kiss from them.  They do this by kissing their fingers and putting it on your face.  I have adopted that sign of affection.  This woman gave me a kiss like that and I received it and returned one to her.

She had her small  foot bandaged and also had an ulcer on the knee.

My job was oiling the feet.  I love doing this as it is such an intimate way to show love for another.  While I was massaging the small feet and rubbing the oil on the patient's affected limb I was internalizing how this small act makes me feel inside.  I felt love not pity for these people.  My goal was to make their feet feel clean, massaged and show that I care.  I know the act is simple but it is looking into their eyes while doing it that is more powerful.  I may not speak the language but my eyes do.

Carl clipped off bandages and washed feet.

Miranda assisted Navumani with bandaging

I didn't get to do many feet today but as I sat there quietly and watched and listened to what others were doing and saying, I was filled with gratitude and love for the people I was serving with and the people we were visiting.  I saw one of our patients, Jayraj, lifting up the spirits of others by sharing his gregarious laughter and love of song.  He entertained us all and does not allow leprosy to bring him down.  The power of a positive attitude was evident in the way he lives life.  I saw Miranda making friends with a small girl.  I saw Berlyn, Callie and Carl making jokes and putting smiles on our faces. I saw Julie quietly taking pictures and socializing with the people.  I saw the nurses looking out for everyone and taking great care that we all were safely administering care and that the patients were getting all they needed.  I saw Anandon and Velu, our drivers, be at the ready for anything that was needed.  The people that surrounded me today are the embodiment of what my Savior and our living prophet have taught us to be like. 

Berlyn took blood pressure today with every patient.

Jayraj made our time there so much fun!

Isn't she lovely?  They all are.

As we backed away from the colony, I sat in the front seat next to our positive, kind driver, Anandon.  I made eye contact with that same lovely woman who greeted us.  She waved goodbye and blew a kiss.  I felt it and I never want to forget that connection.  Once again, the people of India continue to make their way into my heart ever deeper than the day before. Vanakkum spirit.

So India

I look forward to going to the leprosy colonies on my days off.  When I say a day off, it is due to a Hindu holiday usually. On this particular day I went to one of my favorite colonies and got to see beautiful Maria and her son.  Last year I wrote about her.  She is the grandmother of Bujji, my sponsor daughter.  Her father remembered me and was so welcoming.  She said she recognized my voice.  I was so happy to see them.  Bujji’s dad came by while we were working to show me pictures of his family. I took pictures of them so I could show Bujji later.  I was so happy that they remembered me.  Maria calls me family because I am so good to her granddaughter.  I love this little lady.  Her condition has worsened.  Her feet have become smaller and today was very painful.  She had a huge ulcer on the bottom of her foot that was painful.

 She tried to get out of getting it taken care of but with the coaxing of me and Poongadi, the nurse she agreed to do it.  I sat by her through most of the process.  There were many tears shed as the process was painful.  She also had an ulcer on her paw.  She has no hands anymore.  My heart went out to her.  After I helped her put her little shoes on, I walked her back to her humble, little home.  She has become so unsteady on her little feet.  I am so grateful I got to connect with her and her son again.  I enjoy helping these people.  This little colony is full of poverty but the strength of these patients is amazing.   They have so many challenges but continue to stay faithful. The gratitude on their part is abundant.  The gratitude I feel for them is the same.  Although life is difficult they get on with life.  So India.

After we were done at the colony, we went out for pizza.  I am not usually a pizza eater, but in India I jumped at the chance.  Sarah and I shared one together and also forced Anandan to accept a piece.  I love to share with him.  He does so much for others.  He is a fine example of the Indian spirit as he shows kindness and shares what little he has with others.  People in India greet you with the word Vanakkum.  It means hello but also have you had enough to eat.  So India.

After this Anandon took us to a Hindu temple.  It was a great opportunity to do this on a Hindu holiday too.  This was so cool.  Some random children joined us as we walked up a huge concrete staircase to eventually reach the destination.  The view was so impressive.  What I noticed was how peaceful it felt.  I could have sat up there for hours taking in the tranquility.  The people in India are very faithful.  They also are very accepting of other people’s faiths.  There are many religions practiced in this country and the people respect that. Although, in regards to marriage, they prefer people to be of the same faith.  I like the deep faith people show here.  There isn’t a lot of tearing down of other religions visible here.  America could learn from that.  When we got to the temple a priest let us in and put a marking on our forehead and blessed us.  He was an old, beardy, pot bellied guy who humored us by letting us take lots of corny pictures with him.  He finger kissed me on the cheek afterwards.  It was cute.  On the property we did a few yoga poses.  I avoided tipping over and killing myself.  You can’t go to a temple without performing yoga.  So India.

A week prior Anandan had shared some coconut cookies with some volunteers.  They loved them and wanted to buy some more.  He promised to get some but the store he bought them from was out of them.  He was determined to get them for us.  He was going to deliver on this promise.  With his connections, he took us to the actual place they make them.  It was in the back of a small hut in a large shack.  We walked back there and some men and their kids had the racks out full of cookies in the making.  It was pretty rough, flies all around, guys looking sweaty in their lunges (a wrap skirt for a man).  The kids were fascinated by us.  They took pictures with us.  My camera was in the van.  Darn.  In America this place would never make the health code.  In India it just doesn’t matter.  They offered us a sample.  The cookies were delicious.  The experience was raw and memorable.  A family making a living.  I bought a bag of them.  I ate every one and was perfectly fine.  Things I would be picky about just don’t really bother me here.  It is about the experience.  So India.

I came home to Rising Star feeling happy and blessed to experience this trip across the world.  I may miss my family but I am happy I have one to return to.  I am so blessed to meet wonderful people along the way.  I am so blessed to have my faith in God and know that through him he will bless these people I am serving and serve me daily.  I felt peace and tranquility.  So India.

A Grateful Heart

Grateful.  I'm grateful for working hands.  I'm grateful for legs that can carry me.  I'm grateful for eyes that can see.  I'm grateful for ears that can hear.  I'm grateful for a family that loves me.  Many of those thoughts came to my mind these past couple of days.

This was one of the worse feet I washed today.  He came in with
no bandages and went straight to toenail cutting and then my
washing station.  His skin was very brittle and the odds of there
being much left of this foot within a year is pretty slim.

Navamani is the nurse that comes with us.  She spends her
days trimming the dead tissue away from patients ulcers. 
This can be very painful for them.  She also applies salve
 and packs them with salt when needed. She is so kind,
 patient and gentle in how she treats patients while training
 volunteers on how to wrapthe wounds after she treats them.
  Stacey is doing the bandaging. I did this the day prior.

This is a severely affected hand from
a man that we treated.  All four
limbs were affected.

 We have been doing medical in a couple different colonies.  Out of the two days today I washed the feet and hands of some of the most severely affected leprosy patients I have seen so far.  My heart ached for each one of them as some of the ulcers were so large and open that many of them were very painful.  Majority of the time the tissue and nerves are so damaged that the patient feels no pain.  The volunteer coordinator, Kim, told me about one guy who came in to be served a while back with a nail in his foot that he didn't know he stepped on.  That is how some of the ulcers start and get so bad.

Many of the patients from today had all four limbs affected.  Some only had stumps for legs and stumps for hands.  Some of the fingers and toes are all curled up and deformed.  The flies will not stay away from the affected areas.  I was shooing those away as I washed there feet.  If you look at the skin going up the legs or arms it is brittle and you know that it will become ulcered very soon.  This disease eats away at the body and never lets up.

This sweet lady and I became friends.  We both made
each other smile.  Although there was a language barrier, it
was no big deal.  We managed to crack each other up.  She
smiles even though she deals with the challenge of having
all four limbs affected.

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This is Joseph. He sings Christian songs constantly.
 He has no working limbs and cannot see or hear very well due to the leprosy.
  He is a sweet and handsome man. It makes me sad that he has to live life
 with these physical challenges.
  The other picture is of Quincy cutting away some bandages.
  This patient's feet were in terrible condition.
  

  The colony today that we worked at was made up of elderly, single people.  Most of them have had spouses die or have been forgotten about from their families. This is a new colony that Rising Star has taken under their wing.  They are partnering with the Damien Foundation to help this colony.  This foundation has taken interest in the leprosy problem and draw volunteers from all over the world.  We spoke with some volunteers that were from Belgium.  They were doing some major building projects on site and it was looking good.  It is refreshing to know that there are other organizations making a difference and creating change as Rising Star is.  We are not alone and by uniting change will occur at a more rapid rate. 

Sometimes just having your hands held is comforting.  This man
didn't have a lot of that to hold but the fact that I will touch his
affected limbs is a sign of acceptance and compassion.

Quincy was in charge of bandage removal. 
This can be smelly and very shocking as you view
 how bad the wound has progressed since the
last bandage change.  She was very good at
taking on this job and was so tender with these
elderly patients. She has a special spot in her
 heart for this age group.

One thing I have noticed with the people we have worked on is the gratitude for us being there and treating them as the valuable, precious people they are.  We comfort them when the wounds become hard to bear when being treated.  We look them in the eyes with love.  We communicate with them as best as we can.  We hug them and sometimes even kiss them.  We touch them and hold their hands and feet with compassion. Society has not treated these people like this so they hunger for something as simple as a genuine smile.  It brings me joy to get them laughing. 

Quincy and I and our two room mates Ashley and Savannah made
these ladies laugh.  In our room at Rising Star we do not lack in
fun.  They are always doing something to crack me up.  Today
they blew up gloves, wrote faces on them and at one point they
were turned upside down and made into udders.  The ladies laughed
and enjoyed being a part of our girl group.  It was a special moment.

Everyone has a job in our group. 
Carl had the job of emptying and
replenishing the three water stations.
They are changed between each patient.
Every job is so important for us  to care for
as many patients as we can in an orderly
fashion.  Carl definately earned the title of
"Water boy" as me and Ashley were
 affectionately calling him.

My sweet new friend, Navamani.  I had to post
this because she looked so lovely in blue and
we matched.  She sure schooled me in bandage
wrapping the other day.  We are kindred spirits.

In return we gain and learn so much from these people.  I have learned the value and importance of being touched and the good feeling I always get from serving others. I have learned that people don't need a lot to survive.  Most of these people live with the extreme basic in necessities.  They have food (mostly rice), water (not clean enough for my body to accept) and a roof (sometimes only thatched) over their heads.  What they are lacking in is enough love from their society and physical limits that they admirably deal with. With all this they still smile.  I feel embarrassed that people from back home, including me, have so much, but sometimes want more or can't seem to find happiness in the life they are living.

Here is a couple more pictures of what some of the affects of leprosy have done to these people.  I feel it is important to post as many do not know what this is like and that it still exists.  It is still thriving in many parts of our world, especially in India.  I feel fortunate to be able to be a part of creating change in the treatment and stigma for these men and women.  By serving these people it has fed my soul.  I'm grateful.

Ray was working in between Quincy and I.
His job was to clip the toenails.  The few
that exist on their feet and hands.  It is an
important step as those nails can dig into
the skin and injure it.

This is what is left of this man's foot.
When Quincy took off the bandage, it
was almost all an ulcer.  He went straight
to my washing station.  After that we
put oil put on the area surrounding the ulcer.
When that is done the dead tissue is cut off,
and then they are bandaged.  I had that job yesterday.