NOT ON FB UPATE

I have always been over limber, as a matter of fact, when I first started physical therapy for my back in 2000, I was forbidden to do some of the stretches, because I was too limber, and my joints would slide in and out of position! I am now still quite the noodle, and have to modify the stretches in some exercise videos, because they don't stretch me at all the way they are...

Here is the funny thing, I have been stretching out my hamstrings a lot due to my back pain the past few weeks, and now... i really am not kidding, this 42.5 year old chubby woman can do the splits! Not the side to side mind you, but front to back both directions... I think that is pretty cool! ;)

Not ON FB UPATE

I made a decision last week that seems to have been a good one. I decided to pretend that my back didn't hurt, and just exercise as if I were well. Of course I was careful with some moves, as I do the FIRM series workouts, and they can be pretty intense. But I am doing much better. It isn't completely well, but I am able to move about much more freely! PTL!

NOT ON FB UPATE

Woo hoo! mary is responding to a new drug I put her on, and this morning when I arrived at her house, the whole yard was swept clean, the toilet had been at least rinsed out, and there were sandals on the feet of her children! Victory!!!!

NOT ON FB UPATE

bleh... I ate juSh the other day. Think breakfast gravy but made with goat fat, and lots of it... I haven't spent much time out of the bathroom since them... maybe it was the yogurt... or the almonds from the bra, or perhaps the dust storm kicking up the amount of fecal material in the air... hmm

artillery fire

so, in honor of the former president of Afghanistan who died last week, on Friday, there was artillery fire. Very disconcerting when you live in a war zone, even when you know it was planned!

NOT ON FB UPATE

So, what would you do if a woman you were chatting with suddenly put her hand into her bra and after fishing around a bit, brought out a handfull of small almonds and handed them to you and insisted that you eat them? WELCOME TO MY LIFE!

NOT ON FB UPATE

This is the second time I am writing this... for some reason, the last didn't publish! Grr...

I have two suggestions for ending the nastiness and squalor that Mary and Wanda's family live in. They are poor, but they have access to water, and there isn't really an excuse for them to live like they do.

The two suggestions are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but I have been thinking of putting them together.... Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

The first suggestion is that we go out there with buckets and bleach and roll up our sleeves and clean it from top to bottom to show that it can be done and how to do it.

The second suggestion is to tell thme I won't come back, or that I won't treat their illnesses if they don't stop living the way they do (an incentive to change)

My idea is to go out there, help them clean so they understand that it really can be done, and then tell them, yes children get sick, no matter how clean the environment is, but they do get sick a lot more and are more apt to die from the dirty conditions. So, once we help them get things cleaned up, it is their responsibility to keep it that way. If they don't, I will assume that they don't care for the health of their children, and I will stop treating their illnesses, but if I see positive changes and that they are trying, I will continue to help with their healthcare.

Wisdom???????????

NOT ON FB UPDATE

So, my friend, Mary, is in the hospital with dysentery. I have been trying for two years to get them to keep things clean at their house but they just haven't. I am starting to get angry. One or more of the children is always sick. (One man with two wives and a total of 7 children plus guests). Their bathroom is outside and is just a hole in the ground. The children do not go in the hole though, they go all over the place.

After I got back from the hospital I had it out with the women. All of the children were running around without shoes, and going in and out of that nasty bathroom. I went into the yard and threw open the door to the toilet and made the other wife come and look. There were puddles of diarrhea all over the ground. Then I showed her all of the flies that were all over the yard and inside their house. I told her that the flies walk all over the poop (I didn't pull any punches this time!), then they walk all over their food and cushions, so that when they ear they are eating poop, and when they lay their head down to sleep at night, they are putting their faces on poop. I told them to buy a bottle of bleach (very cheap) and just poor it all over the bathroom to kill all of the germs. And I made the children all go put plastic sandals on their feet. Wanda (the other wife) said that she couldn't make them all wear sandals they take them off and put them down the toilet hole. I said, "You are their mother, and you have authority given to you by God to take care of them! This is your responsibility!" I was so mad!

I told them that the medication we give for diarrhea (usually metronidazole aka flagyl) is bad for their livers and if they keep getting sick and taking medicine, their livers would die, and then they would die. It is far better to not get sick than to take medicine.

I then went in and treated some mal nourished children. Poor little babies.

fun link

ok, this has nothing to do with me what-so-ever, but I read it today and thought about all the kids out there playing video games... perhaps it isn't so bad after all! http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/19/us-gamers-crack-puzzle-in-aids-research-that-stumped-scientists-for-years/?test=latestnews

GRRR.....

Seriously, what is the point of the WFP and UNICEF if they aren't going to help someone. I guess once the kids starve to death they may help with funeral costs!

NOT ON FB UPDATE

I finally decided I couldn't take the pain anymore and called a doctor. He put me on Hydrocodone for a few days to get past the excruciating pain and be able to sleep a bit. Starting to feel a little more human again.

NOT ON FB UPDATE

I cooked some lentils last night for today, but they are really dry, so I am making soup... When life gives you dry lentils... ;)

NOT ON FB UPDATE

Had Lizzie Lou over for dinner last night. So sad she is leaving. Yummy Cajun fish!

NOT ON FB UPDATE

Still haven't found plumpy nut, but am calling the WFP (World Food Program) this afternoon to try to track some down.

NOT ON FB UPDATE

Ok, just a little caveat before I write this. I love all of you my married friends, and most of you don't do this. Those of you who do will have something to think about.

Why is it that when a single woman says she desires to be married, every one says that she needs to make sure she is content as a single before she can get married, but a married woman can complain constantly about having a husband and children and doesn't get told that she needs to be content? I am really tired of the double standard.

Partly, I don't think we are meant to ever be fully content in this life. That verse about being content in all situations, Paul is talking about money, he is content rich or poor, it isn't about marriage at all...

Marriage is a mandate passed down before the fall of man, it was not good for man to be alone, even when man was in perfect relationship with his creator!!!!! So stop judging me for wanting to get married. It isn't good for me to be alone!

great site

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/afghan-faces.htm

NOT ON FB UPDATE

Am just finishing up re-reading Eric Metaxes's biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I think everyone who calls themselves a believer in Christ should read it!

NOT ON FB UPDATE

Whew! That was a close one!

NOT ON FB UPDATE

I am having severe back problems... on a brighter note, most of the babies I am treating are getting a little bit better. Gonna find some "plumpy nut" for them! (google it!)

NOT ON FB UPDATE

So, I have always had trouble sleeping at night. But it is now to the ridiculous stage. It is HOT. I mean still really hot. My swamp cooler burned out back in late June, and now, it is just hot. I have a fan and when it blows directly onto me, it cools me off enough to sleep, but it drives my nerves crazy, like Chinese water torture. It is loud, even on low with earplugs, and I feel like someone is gently slapping me all night long. I just can't win. But, I desperately need to sleep!

NOT ON FB UPDATE

Definition of gaudy: An Afghan wedding.

NOT ON FB UPDATE

Ok, I am ANGRY! So angry! Babies here are dying needlessly of malnutrition. Most of it is ignorance. Pure ignorance. But when we teach them, they don't learn because it goes against cultural norms... GET READY MALNUTRITION! THIS MEANS WAR!