Hermano Pedro Tuesday, June 22

It would have been very easy for me to turn around and leave. When I first entered the children's ward I was so overwhelmed I thought I might lose my breath (which might have been a good thing considering the smell). There were what seemed like hundreds of children all lined up against the walls strapped into wheelchairs. Some were covered with mosquito netting so bugs and flies would now crawl into their open mouths and eyes. Most of the children where starring into space and slobbering. I thought to myself I will never make it through this day let alone this trip. There were a few little fellows zipping along in a more open area. Some with stand up wheelchairs and one with a head controlled wheelchair, and they were so darn cute. Angela turned to us and said, "well, ok, pick one". Pick one? Was Angela crazy? This exactly wasn't like going to the pond for a new puppy. These were children, someone's most precious possessions, a little person with a heart and a soul and a mind, no matter how functioning, and I was just supposed to pick one? There would be no way I could possibly help any of these kids. This was way beyond a small group of volunteers. I was starting to think hiking Volvan Agua would be a nice way to spend the day, and then Angela handed me Perla.

She had gorgeous black curls and a total of 4 teeth, all that were fully covered with bright silver mercury filled fillings. She was expressionless, just looking out to nowhere. I sat down and said one of the few spanish things I knew, "hola Perla", and suddenly her face wasn't so expressionless,maybe she had heard me? I was wishing that I had learned at least one spanish song, but since I hadn't I started counting. By the time I got to diez I got a full fledged smile. This precious little girl, who would never walk, talk, sit up, or probably ever eat solid food, she just smiled at me.

I guess I held Perla there for about an hour or so. I sang the days of the week and counted to ten probably one hundred times and she seemed happy the whole time. It was amazing.

Later I held Patita. She was a little more aware than Perla, she could sit up a little with alot of help. She didn't have Perla's cute curls. Instead she had a buzz cut, shorter than most of the boys. I really liked her. She wasn't as cute and cuddly as some of the other children. Dick Rutgers, one of the main volunteers that has been there for years, said that she was one that didn't usually get a lot of attention. I liked her so much that she's the one I went and found after lunch that day and every day after. I sent about 3 hours with her that first day. I even fed her, which basically amounted to me holding her while her iv bag drained through her feeding tube. I sang the days of the week, counted, and shouted fiesta over and over again. I taught her the C-A-T-S- cheer and told her about the Wildcats. When I started moving her arms up int he air for the "Fiesta" cheer and the "Cats" cheer she started to laugh. She started to laugh out loud. What an amazing sound! Angels could have came from heaven up above and sang and it would not have sounded so sweet.

I was so overwhelmed when I had first walked in but by the end of the day I had made several wonderful new friends, Patita being one of my favorites. I guess Angela wasn't so crazy after all.