My kids and I

i think i'm going to miss paeds

when i started off,i wasn't keen on being in the paediatric ward.The screams..the double complaints.from the babies, their mothers plus the relatives...the sick sight of kids  but as i finish my last week in paeds i'm already getting a bit  nostalgic

I have met different characters in ''my kids''.I call them mine because i have  grieved for them,have been delighted at their recovery,have felt their pain as they take one jab after the other...have sent them off happily..telling them lil ones,aunty doesnt ever want to see you sick again,ok...only come to say hi

there are cheerful ones,the ones who smile through their illnesses..the ones who walk about  in the ward with pants worn so high up almost reaching their chests..the ones who call themselves slizer and dance about,the ones who smile through the missing teeth..the gaps..the ones who feed soo much that their little stomachs protrude soo much it shocks.. they send us into panicky mode,thinking hey,when did this kid develop ascites..when did this kid get organomegaly..when did this kid...only to realise the poor lil thing just developed a humongous appetite

.my kids have a way of brightening my worst day...making me love life a little more than yesterday..they bring things into perspective..they have taught me to value things like having an appetite..being able to pass stool..not vomiting..having parents who have cared enough for me when i was too young to look after myself...My kids maybe little...but they have taught me soo much

they also have a way of making a day i thought would turn out right unbearable...by leaving when i least expected...by going when i just thought ohh,we are making a recovery..some have left too soon..some when we were still ever soo helpful..still trying to find out the wrong that brought them here...leaving us questioning soo many things still

then we have the sulkers,this ones wont talk to you,no matter how nice you are.you could ask them a million questions and they wont answer.This ones have taught me not to take offence easily.I have learnt to look at myself through their eyes.They have been in the system for so long

they have chronic incurable diseases and are just tired of being here.they have heard the same questions over and over again,they dont understand why we have to get their blood,everytime they are here...i wont too,if i was them.they have made me question the compassion of modern medicine..have left me wondering why no one has ever invented ways of assessing someone's hemoglobin precisely and accurately without having to prick a patient every time they are admitted and are suspected to be anaemic..more so patients whose conditions predispose them to being anaemic..

i have learnt to give them space when they need it..and to ask for their permission to prick them,i have learnt to always ask them where best to get blood.To give them a little bit of autonomy over their illness..some control...Im always surprised by their accurancy..they know their bodies like the back of their hands  and will always point to the most favourable place to get blood.

whenever i tell ''my'' kids,especially the boys in the paediatric ward that they are supermen,and they should stay strong while i put in a cannula to put in medications that will turn them into super strong men...they really try their best not to cry and they do their best to keep still.

I tell them that after the procedure,they can go tell their friends how strong they were. It amazes me how words change them...i call them by all these super hero names..the hulk...spider man,you name it..and they become this macho boys who let me do my work and high fi me after..its incredible to watch...It reminds me how we all want to be affirmed ..how positive words said about us can bring the best out of us...


and as i embark on my last week...im happy to have met this little angels..and i do hope and pray that God will throw little miracles,to those whom modern medicine has labelled as living with incurable illnesses...and if not..will make their load bearable..