Day 17: Music in the Ward

Music Therapy Session

June 23: The oncology ward held its open clinic today (the open clinic takes place every Tuesday and Thursday). Julio, Allen, and I brought the music supplies over to the pediatric ward, and while they prepared for the session, I went with Noortje to set up a meeting with the psychiatric ward. When we returned to the cancer center, we heard music escaping from the windows of the children's room. In the small room were nurses, a few doctors, and all of the kids and their moms. One of the older patients taught the other children and Julio a local song, and immediately, everyone began to join in. A nurse pulled me over and said, "I have never seen half of these kids smile, and now they are smiling." Adults stopped by and peeked through the windows while the kids took solo moments on their instruments. The one problem we encountered was space! The oncology center has only three rooms (registration room, an adult room, and a pediatric room), and because there is only one room for the nurses to administer chemotherapy to the kids, we had a limited time slot to be with the children. In the future, we will work with the nurses to figure out a schedule, but in the meantime, it was satisfying to see the patients with grins on their faces.
      For lunch, Natalie, James, and I went to Café Arc, which is one of the few restaurants in town that I eat at. Natalie and I ordered quesadillas and James order gnocchi...I think we were the first people to ever order these "worldly" dishes, for it took a good two hours for the food to come out. Natalie and I realized that we had forgotten supplies at the guesthouse, so we briskly walked back to grab the materials (running was out of the picture after eating the quesadilla).

James in the Malnutrition Ward

      At the malnutrition ward, we attempted to make a "Thank You" card for James' mom, who arrives tomorrow, for his parents made it possible for there to be a playroom and an enlarged kitchen for the ward. Our "brilliant" idea was to have the infants stick their feet or hands in finger paint and post them on a large board. Then, we would take a picture of James and the kids and place the photo in the middle. This plan did not go so well. We first poured out a load of red paint, and the kids thought it was blood, so everyone started screaming (not off to a good start). Then, we used blue paint, and the kids were fine until their moms placed their feet in the paint. This lead to more wailing. Finally, we concluded that we had enough hand and foot prints and left the babies in peace.
      For dinner, Natalie, James, Sarah, and I headed over to a restaurant for a cooking lesson. We were making burgers. Once we were all in the kitchen, the chef appeared with his two su-chefs and pulled out the meat. Sarah innocently asked the chef what part of the cow we were using, and the chef's answer made me vomit in my mouth: "the meat 70% cow bone and the rest ground up with flesh." Immediately, I asked if I could make a veggie burger instead...I figured it is best if I do not come down with Mad Cow's Disease while I am in Uganda. By the end of the cooking lesson, I decided that I would not eat out for awhile, and I do not want to see the kitchens of the restaurants that I am eating at. We all went home and ate James' Lucky Charms and Pauline's chocolate cake (that is what I call a "nutritious dinner").