Remember when you were younger and nothing scared you? Remember when you would run and jump and
climb trees, logs, swingsets and think nothing of it? Did you ever fall and get hurt? For most of us, if we did fall and get hurt,
we probably cried a bit and quickly got back up and in no time were running,
climbing and jumping again, but sometimes those falls turn out bad, and we get
injured to the point where we can't get up and run and play again. That is what happened to both Kaipa and
Junior.
Kaipa is a 5 yo boy who, while playing, fell and broke his
femur (the thigh bone). Junior, a 3yo,
did the same thing not 1 week later. In
the US, breaking your leg would likely mean surgery, a cast, crutches and home
in 1-2 days. In PNG, breaking your femur
means you get to be in skin traction, in the hospital for 4-6 weeks.
Imagine being 3 or 5 yo and being literally, pinned down to
the bed. You can lay down or sit up, but
that is all. You can't roll on your
stomach, you can't stand, you can't go outside to use the bathroom, you can't
go outside and play, you can't run, jump or climb anything, you are just bed
bound. For Kaipa and Junior, this was
their life for the past 5 weeks. They
were attached to the bed and didn't leave.
They usually had smiles on their faces when I would see them each
morning, as after 1-3 days the pain they felt from the broken bone was gone
with the medicines. They spent their
days singing songs, coloring, playing with cars, and I think driving their moms
and grandmas crazy.
If you can imagine how hard it must be for a kid to be bed
bound, imagine what the moms through during that same period. We are on an open ward, so Kaipa and Junior
are 2 of 16 kids on my half of pediatric ward.
There are no doors, no curtains, nothing separating them from the other
sick kids. If they yell and scream
because they want to get up or are bored, everyone hears it. Their moms and grandmas worked hard to help
them pass the time. They would often be
all smiles for me, but shortly before I would often hear whining, and knew that
their moms had their hands full.
Thankfully, this week both boys were able to get out of their traction
and start to walk again with the help of crutches and walkers. It should be about 2-4 more weeks before they
are climbing trees again, but I am not sure how well their moms will be able to
control that once they leave the hospital.
Keep praying for their full recoveries and for their moms and grandmas
to continue to show patience to them as they recover.