A Hole In His Stomach?

Since Juma P. has moved home, we continue to pray and think about what is best for him. While we were gone Juma’s mom, Cifa, took him to either a Clinic or the hospital trying to figure out why he has been so sick. When we met with Cifa, she told Julia that Juma has a hole in his stomach. That was all Cifa said, no details no remedies… just a hole in his stomach.

After that meeting Julia made plans to go with Cifa and Juma back to the doctor to hear from him exactly what is going on. I eagerly awaited Julia’s return that day. I should also remind you that Cifa speaks Macua (a tribal language) and not a lot of Portuguese. There is a chance that the doctor speaks Macua, but only if he is from this part of the country… so I’m not sure.

Misunderstanding would be an understatement. Turns out the doctor told Cifa that Juma has either Pneumonia or Tuberculosis! I’m not sure when, but he prescribed Juma a medication for the Pneumonia. I guess when Cifa went to the Pharmacy they were out of it and because of her lack of health knowledge… she just left it at that and so Juma never got the medication.

It’s times like these that I have to challenge myself to step back and understand the situation. Cifa, like many living in third-world countries just don’t understand germs or sickness. Even though to you and I, it would be common sense to go to another Pharmacy or to ask when the medication would be available… Cifa didn’t grow up taking Health Education in school and she didn’t grow up with a Walgreens on every corner.

At this point,  Julia decides to go with Cifa and Juma the following week to their monthly pill pickup. I’m not really sure what to call it but it’s when they get their AIDS medication… I’m not sure if they see a doctor each time, or only if they make special arrangements. Anyways, Julia wanted to go with to see how Juma’s levels are testing. I guess there is something they test for with AIDS that could also be an indicator about Tuberculosis. Julia is shocked when she finds out that Juma’s levels haven’t been tested since 2010, but once again I just don’t think Cifa understands.

We’ve decided to appoint someone to accompany Cifa on all of Juma’s health visit. It is our hope that this will allow us to keep Juma in his home and teach his mother about this aspect of caring for her children. It’s actually Joao, one of our 17 year olds. He is hoping to study medicine and since he speaks Portuguese, Macua and Macandi (another tribal language)… we think this will be the best solution. I know it might sound strange to ask a “child” to help in this role, but the reality is that if we were to pick an older person their thinking might be similar to Cifa’s. Also culturally a lot more is expected of kids than in the states, meaning when they are around 15 or 16 many are managing their household while a parent is away earning an income.

This week, Julia will be taking him back to get xrays and try to figure out just what is wrong with him. I did see him at church and he looked happier than I have seen him in awhile. So praise God for that! But please continue to pray for him and his family.

Just a few other stories that have come to my head while I’ve been typing this... Last Sunday at church Cifa commented on how she woke up that morning and her eye was hurting in the corner. I flashed back to the day before I knew I had Pink Eye a few months back and what she was talking about was exactly how I remember the onset. I had Cifa on one side of me and Julia on the other and so I shared my thought with Julia and asked her to tell Cifa to keep her fingers out of her eyes because she might spread it to her children. Julia told her in Portuguese and not even one minute later she was wiping her eye. Something so simple but apparently she didn’t understand it or something (I later asked Joao to explain things to her). A few months back when I got Pink Eye, I avoided the kids at all cost, but I had to go into town to get some medicine for my eye. When Nunu and I were walking out of the Pharmacy we ran into a guy he knew. He introduced himself to me in English, I said hello but held my hand back and said something about my eye. He laughed and was like you American’s are crazy, I’m not worried about catching that you have glasses on. My understanding of Pink Eye is that it’s EXTREMELY contagious and no one wants to be around you if you have it for fear of catching it. Not true here. We are definitely worlds apart when it come to our thinking of germs.