Evie...

When we first arrived at Mount Meru hospital we were introduced to a beautiful little girl called Evie who was being treated on the paediatric burns unit for substantial burns she had received from hot fat to her head arms and torso. Evie always had a smile and a wave for the Mzungu students when you meet her around the hospital grounds, and so it was lovely to be welcomed onto the surgical unit by her and her friends. Evie always wears a headscarf draped over her head and shoulders and the extent of her burns was covered until we were assisting with wound dressing changes one morning.



Mzungu Kerry and Evie

This was taken just after dressing change

 The resources here are very limited and so gauze is used to dress the burns in attempt to keep the wounds free from infection. Unfortunately it sticks tightly to the wounds and on dressing change day, bottles of sterile saline are gently warmed in buckets of warm water and applied liberally to the wound areas to aid removal of old dressings. The children on the ward are so familiar with this routine now that their tears pre-empt the arrival of the saline bucket onto the ward. The mothers assist competently with the procedure, and as we moved quickly around the ward we come to Evie who is sitting quietly waiting.
She slid the head scarf off as we approached and I was shocked to see that her ears were almost completely burned off, with just two small stumps either side remaining. Her sweet smiling face beamed through the healing scar tissue, and I was genuinely moved by the bravery of this young girl as she sat stoically still as her wounds were redressed.

As part of rehabilitation, we encouraged the willing children to join in singing heads, shoulders, knees and toes which promoted stretching and circulation to their healing wounds. Just before I left to come out here, mummy Robbo bestowed many chapsticks upon me to “keep a happy smile” and one Thursday I remembered to give one to Evie for her poor sore lips and showed her what to do. Delighted, Evie hid the chapstick in her pocket and hugged me and whispered a sweet “Asante sana!”. I had moved to Obs and Gynae on the following Monday but popped back onto the burns unit at the end of my shift to find Evie waving and as welcoming as ever. The doctor appeared and said she thought Evie’s lips were looking much better and when she asked, Evie showed her an empty chapstick tube and beamed her biggest smile yet!

Evie had been in hospital for just over 5 months when she was discharged that afternoon. I was really delighted that Evie’s bravery had seen her through her horrific injuries and I believe that her sunny disposition will give her the strength to shine through the physical disfigurement of the burns. It was a sobering thought to compare the level of care and rehabilitation that Evie may have had back in the UK to all that is available here.

RAFIKIS Evie (on my kneee) and Versace (2nd from right)

Evie is just one of the many children who have been the source of such delight and joy during our time at the hospital especially as despair can feel a little overwhelming at times. 2 year old Versace, a brave wee boy who obtained severe burns to his torso after falling into an open fire, would cling onto my leg as soon as I set foot on the ward. One day Versace discovered the drawstring for my scrubs during ward round and decided to pull them down, which proved so entertaining for the inpatients, and a little embarrassing for me!

Some of the children were not so sure of these Mzungu vistors with their reactions ranging from open-mouthed awe, to sheer hysterical laughter. However, a lovely paediatric physio from Australia bridged the cultural differences on production of a bottle of bubbles which could lighten the mood, even during dressing change day and some of the children wept at the end of the shift as it was time to say “Kwa Heri” to them.