Update

Man, it is easy to fall behind on this blog. We have had a busy couple of weeks in the house. I’ll see if I can even remember what has all gone on.

Last night Darin and I took Amo to the casualty ward (emergency room). It was an experience I’d be fine never repeating again! We put her to bed a bit after 7 and around 7:30 we went in to check on her and she had vomited and seemed to be having a seizure. We got her to the hospital, saw many things that will leave us shaking our heads for days (be ever so thankful for the access to health care that you ALL have, even those who see Obamacare as pure evil should just be grateful!). Darin left to get Amo’s mommy and daddy. They came back and we all sat around watching her until a little after 1 when she was admitted to the children’s ward. They allowed her mommy to stay with her, which is a total miracle as it is usually only mothers who are still breastfeeding that may stay overnight with their babies at our local hospital (can you parents out there even wrap your minds around that??). We got home a bit after 2 and had a call from Amo’s mommy at 6 this morning that she seemed to be doing better. Now we are just waiting to hear more. Hopefully I remember to update this blog, otherwise check out our facebook page!

**after a few nights in the hospital, Amo is back! She has 5 meds that need to be taken 3x a day for a chest infection. The cause of the seizure is still a bit of a mystery. It could have been fever related, or could be something she’ll always deal with due to her cerebral palsy. She is sore and sad and tired and we hope she will feel better after a good night of sleep. For all the ways the hospital here is different than what we are used to, Amo was cared for by a kind nursing staff and the doctors were great. All the rest could have been better, but it also could have been a lot worse. We’re just thankful to have little Amo back and pray that she will get healthy and remain that way.

Today is Tshwarelo’s third birthday and man is he PROUD. Even in my tiredness, his excitement for his special day makes me smile. He wants to show us all the things he can do because he is three! It is fun to celebrate with these children. We have 4 more June birthdays in this house, including our own two ragamuffins!

We started Koki on a wheat free/dairy free diet last Tuesday. So far he is tolerating the changes about how you’d expect a 4 year old to! It’s hard watching your friends eat bread and spaghetti and not be able to enjoy it yourself. We have been keeping his diet pretty bland and neutral for these first couple weeks just to make sure the changes are working. Next week we’ll start reintroducing a few things, included maize meal, which some people with wheat allergies can’t tolerate. We hope this isn’t true for Koki as maize meal is a staple here.

Neo went to the doctor early last week. He was acting so strange and after thinking hard and doing some digging we came to the conclusion that he’d had two doses of the measles vaccine in less than 2 weeks. This was due to an error at the clinic and we will be watching things a lot more closely from now on when we take kids in for immunizations! The doctor said he had mild encephalitis and was most likely experiencing painful headaches, which explained his behavior; wanting food, then throwing it, running to you, then running away crying, spinning in circles under the picnic table and seeming like he was trying to escape himself. Poor Neo.

Our new baby Buhle is doing fine. She has a cold, which means she isn’t quite so pleasant to deal with at night. We’ve had the aunties do night duty a couple times after a particularly rough night. During the day, she is generally a very happy baby with a ready smile and lots of baby coos and hand waving.

Miss O will be having therapy again this Friday. She is changing so much and her body is just so strong. She loves talking and yelling at her friends. She is always letting loose with a stream of babble and we are praying that one day her words will come back to her and she’ll be able to really tell us what she feels.

Kamo has had some fevers this week. He seems better today. It is just the time of year where everyone seems to be coming down with something. Hopefully he is over whatever he had.

Ann Sofie, a new auntie from Denmark arrived on Wednesday. She is already fitting in and the children are quite taken with her. Auntie Vera left on Saturday. We were all so sad to see her go, but the nature of this place is change (a word that still can make me shudder on occasion). Auntie Nona is on round 2 of antibiotics for impetigo (another word that makes me shudder) and Auntie Anja is at Home Affairs right now trying to sort out her volunteer visa.

Our family is doing well. Darin is so busy with his work and we are hoping that we will soon see the fruits of his hard labor. Please join us in prayer for that! We’ve all had some cold and flu stuff, but nothing serious. Tyson and Jori will be finishing their third term this month. We are so thankful that they both have settled in to school. I’m hanging in there. I still have a tendency to run ahead of God and try to control the future as it feels so much safer to me. However, life isn’t like that, no matter where you are.

Please keep us all in your prayers! As you can see there is a lot going on here and there are still two more houses of people on the property!