Wazungu!!!

Yesterday afternoon, Ethan, Scott and I headed over to Stephanie's for a Kenyan reunion. Stephanie has a beautiful home with plenty of room for all of the wazungu to mingle. Big thanks to Stephanie and Alan for being such awesome hosts! Alan made awesome ribs- yum, yum!!! It was so great to be together with all of the group again, minus Stan. Poor Stan was not feeling well and couldn't make it. More surprising was Mark's ability to make the party!!! (He lives in Florida).


John & Mark


You have something on your chin there, brother.


BUNNY EARS!!!


Jamey, Joe, and Mark


Wait a minute...Mark got very shiny! I should get him some oil picker upper papers! (*ONE CAMERA, and that would be Fred...*)


My new daughter, Alisha and Me


Mama Nancy, Caroline, and John getting their grub!


Amy's so serious with Joe!


Rut ro...John has a Mark growing out of his head!!!

We had such a great time. Seriously, we missed Stan and Mark so much! But, Mark will be home to visit the week after Thanksgiving and we are hoping to spend some time with him, Chere, and David!

BIG THANKS to Stephanie (again) for lending me her laptop for when Ethan goes in for surgery on Wednesday! I should be able to update regularly if the internet works like it should! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Urodynamics

Yesterday morning, Ethan and I made the drive over to Duke. It was rainy but, surprisingly, people actually drove like good drivers. Oh, except that one darn Toyota Camry who almost plowed into my right side while merging onto the highway full speed ahead. Jerk. Anyway...

We got to the hospital on time and even a little early, but you have to go down an elevator from the parking deck, walk a tunnel walkway that is so long that it has a "you are here" dot to mark your progress of how close you are to civilization again, then up an elevator to the first floor, walk through a walkway in order to get to the Children's Center, then go up the elevator to the third floor. So, we ended up being 5-10 minutes late.

First, I went over Ethan's history with the NP. She explained the test that was going to be done. They would be able to see how much urine his bladder holds and if his pressures are good. This would, of course, involve inserting a catheter.

Because they didn't know Ethan or how he would react during the test, they had Ninna- the Child Life Social Worker (AWESOME!!!), come in and play around so we could figure what would keep Ethan the most calm. I love this woman already. I think that I may send her a Christmas card. LOL!

Time for the test. Catheter-ugh. Ok, it really wasn't that bad. Yes, he yelled. Yes, it was uncomfortable for him. But, she was awesome and got it in without any trouble really. Plus, they had put lidocaine gel on him to in hopes of easing some of the discomfort. I thought that was nice. During this process, we noticed that Ethan has a mild "double barrell", or hypospadias. Again, it is mild and does not need surgical intervention.

Once the cath was in, they started filling his bladder while an x-ray was aimed at his bladder taking pictures. I thought that Ethan would be screaming the whole time. Nope. He watched tv and was overall a good (big) boy. Now, when the bladder was full, full, he cried in pain. That was tough. Then it took forever to actually empty his bladder.

Ok, so all of that to know what? He has a normal bladder. Pressures are good and he empties properly without any reflux back into the kidneys. What isn't so normal is the size of his bladder. It held over 10 ounces of fluid...about what an 8 year old would hold. Ok, so Ethan is 7 so that shouldn't be a big deal, right? Not if Ethan were the size of a typical 7 year old. He is only the size of a typical 4 year old, so his bladder is twice the size for his size. This too, is not a big deal as long as he continues to empty properly.

Lastly, the urologist ordered a renal ultrasound just to make sure that his kidneys are in good shape pre-surgery. This way we have a baseline study of what his kidneys are like before his release on Wednesday. Dr. Wiener (yes, still laughing about that one) was very nice and very efficient. And, he would say "a child with Down syndrome" versus what doctors normally say..."a Downs child". I appreciated that. See, little things like that go a long way with me.

I don't know the results of the u/s yet. I will probably be able to pick up a report on Tuesday.

In true Faulkner Fashion, someone dropped the ball on our Ronald McDonald House paperwork. RMcH has no idea that we are coming, we are not in the system, the paperwork is lost, and the house is full. Great. Ms. Ninna did NOT find this acceptable at all, so she contacted another social worker who is working on getting us a hospital rate at a local hotel. So we may be able to stay at the Hilton or Marriott for $20. Not too shabby. We may stay at Hotel 6 for $20. Either way, it will beat having to drive home on Tuesday after pre-op just to return Wednesday.

That's all folks. :)

Africa, Part III

On Sunday, we got up and headed to Challenge Farm. We were all looking forward to spending Chapel with the children and staff. It was such a blessing to just be able to sit on the benches with these beautiful people and witness them worship God.

After Chapel, the team had work to do. We had taken a bunch of extra suitcases full of t-shirts, shoes, and activities to be given to the kids and to the street kids/mothers. We had to unpack them and organize them. We also had to keep what we were doing, or what we had, a secret from the kids. It should be a surprise, plus we needed to make sure that we had enough for everyone. Jealousy is an issue- if one child gets something while another doesn't, jealousy is a huge factor.

Another great day at the farm.

So, Mark and Stan kept telling me how amazing the sunrise was. But, with me not being a morning person, I have never been the type of person to wake up early just to see the sunrise. It will rise again tomorrow, right? Well, since I was in Africa, I said ok. I will get up at 5:45am in order to see this magnificent African sunrise.

Thank you, Mother Nature, for sending some beautiful clouds for me to see! Can you sense my sarcasm?!??!? Oh well, the men found it quite amusing. At least these clouds were indeed beautiful.



Back to the farm...

The kids were out of school during the week we were there. But, there were still some sewing classes going on. They use non-electrical sewing machines and the iron actually has coal in the bottom. These ladies are very talented. They make all of their school uniforms.


The pattern formula on the chalkboard for the seamstresses to use.

Elizabeth and Lilian outside of the girls dorm


Let's see, this is me with Lilian and Veronica. Aren't they gorgeous!?!? I love those girls. Elizabeth and Lilian are also modeling in their dorm. All of the kids have planted trees on the farm. Here, Lilian, Sara, and Diane (with Stan) are showing off their trees proudly. Then, I am with Elizabeth (she wants to come to America and sing. We all enjoyed listening to her sing! I even sang with her in her dorm.) And, a couple of darlings posing for the camera! ;)










Today, we planned on baptisms at the river. We almost had to cancel due to rain, but the clouds opened up long enough for us to make the LONG and very hard-on-the-ankles, trek down to the river. Cheri says that it was about 3km, which is only a mile and a half, but my ankles were just not having any fun!!! I had great company on the walk down with Emma, a CF social worker. I found her to have an amazing spirit that made her beautiful inside and out. The next pictures follow the journey down to the river, baptisms, after baptisms, and how beautiful the sky was on our way back to the farm.






Before the baptisms began, Stephanie led us in one of my favorite songs:

The River
By: Brian Doerksen

To the river I am going bringing sins I cannot bear
Come and cleanse me, come forgive me Lord I need to meet you there

In these waters, healing mercy flows with freedom from despair
I am going, to that river Lord I need to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready to surrender every care
Take my hand now, lead me closer Lord I need to meet you there

Come and join us, in the river Come find life beyond compare
He is calling, He is waiting Jesus longs to meet you there
He is calling, He is waiting Jesus longs to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready to surrender every care
Take my hand now, lead me closer Lord I need to meet you there
Take my hand now, lead me closer Lord I need to meet you there

I encourage you to google the song, listen to it, and medidate upon the words.

This sux.

Today sucked. Ethan was horrible. I questioned being a good mother to him. All of this sensory stuff is throwing me over the edge. The lack of communication and acting out was just too much for me today. I cried...a lot. My poor Kenyan friends- I arrived to Olive Garden a mess. At least I know that they will pray for us.

I just keep thinking that I have ZERO reason to complain- there are a lot of other people out there going through a heck of a lot more than us, but then I fall into another crying spell. Ethan has just been through too much already. I just want him to be able to be a little boy without all of this other stuff (ie. PDD, tethered cord). I feel like I am in my own world. Not even my local Ds mom's know what we are facing.

Ecki- I know you're reading this...we must chat! ;-)

I also think that the idea of his surgery next week really got to me too. I know that he will be fine, it's just probably the most serious surgery that he's ever had and I am freaking out a little.

Going to bed. Hopefully, tomorrow morning will bring me back my happy, loveable son.

Thank you to all who are serving/have served!!!

With much love and admiration for all who have served or who are currently serving in our military so that we may continue to be a free nation!

Special thanks to:

Scott's brother, Mike Faulkner: Veteran of Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia
Kamrin's boyfriend, Kyle Turner: Veteran from Iraq, Purple Heart recipient
Our friend, Frank Garcia: Currently serving in Afghanistan
Brett Riley: Currently serving in Iraq
Melissa Leonard: Currently serving with the US Army

We love you.

Africa, Part II

We arrived to the Karibuni Lodge around 7pm on Friday night. We were greeted by the owners, Theresa & Ibrahim, Alex, and Whitney. We were all very tired from the road trip and also quite hungry. This night would be the first of several delicious meals made for us by Ibrahim.

We were all very excited to be heading to the Challenge Farm the next morning!!! When I woke up, I was able to actually just sit back and reflect on the beauty of our surroundings.


Amy, Donna, Nancy, Amy, and Kristen's "Villa" :-) So cute.


The excitement that was building within while on the way to the farm was unbearable. Whitney had taken a few of us ahead of "Mama Cheri". We waited on the side of the road until Cheri could enter with us. Whitney had already told us how excited the children were to know that we were all coming, and they always look forward to the times when Mama Cheri can come home to them!

Finally, we are all ready to head down the final stretch of the road leading to the farm. We start honking horns, and then I see children emerge from buildings running with HUGE smiles on their faces. I immediately started crying. I was trying so hard to not cry! But, it was a happy cry. A cry of thanks and gratitude to God for calling me to go and be with the children and staff at Challenge Farm.

Arriving at the farm, Mama Cheri's van first

Meeting the children


I had a few children come up to me and say, "Kristen!". I had sent this picture of me ahead of time so the kids would know what I looked like. Then, I found it blown up into an 8x10 on the wall in the dining hall!


We gathered and went into the dining hall/chapel/classroom/everything room. We had introductions and the kids danced. I LOVED watching them dance! I have video that I will post later.

Meet Sara. She is the youngest resident on the farm. She captured my heart that very first day.


The kids sing to us


Some boys dancing!


This is Jackson. You will lots of him in my posts. The best dancer! Great kid.


Sara, Jackson, and Esther


Esther, Martha, and Sara


With my new friends


Mark and friends


Esther- I *LOVE* this picture of her.


Sweet poses


HELLO!!!


With Sweet Lilian


Beautiful Ruth


Such a beautiful day.


The first day at the farm was full of excitement, introductions, and fun. The kids LOVED my sunglasses and camera. I came home with over 800 pictures taken and maybe a quarter of them were actually taken by me! It was such a great day! We couldn't wait to return to them and have chapel with them the next day!

***To Be Continued...***