December:
I moved back into the guesthouse November 30- No electricity - except the very long extension cord that connects a lamp from the clinic. No appliances connected in the kitchen, I have a small refrigerator in the clinic. I woke up early to prepare breakfast of cereal and tea before the clinic came alive at 7 am. Once everyone left for the day, I made dinner- salad or sandwich. Kind of like camping really. The guesthouse wasn’t quite finished but as we were expecting board members and guests to arrive December 4th, the pressure was on. The staff came back to help clean- unfortunately for them, each time they cleaned something, the workers came back to create another ‘mess’. It had to be very frustrating for them but they were in good spirits and excited to prepare the new house for guests! We did it with no time to spare- electricity connected on the 4th along with the gas line for the appliances. A trip to the store to buy food, unpacking furniture, beds made. I don’t believe our guests really comprehended the amount of energy and work that took place in those 9 days prior to their arrival. Our staff rocked it. Our guests were surprised and pleased despite no art work on the walls.
From the 9th, when everyone left, I was alone again. I discovered I don’t need a big kitchen to prepare meals. Also, I’m a bit spoiled having someone to cook for me most of the time and I need to learn how to use a gas stove which I’ve always wanted.
I met the owner of a little restaurant that was planning a Christmas party for children. He invited some of our ‘patients’ to participate if I would purchase the appropriate gifts. Since I had been given a donation for this purpose, I went Christmas shopping. The first place we went to was ‘out of my league’ price wise but at the second place, we went to I was able to purchase 10 gifts for the 10 children chosen by our staff. Our hope was that our children with some disability would participate with the other children in the games however I heard afterwards that only 3 of the children came with their parents but they did not integrate well. I don’t know the age of the children that came or their disability but perhaps that was the reason. Integration is a key issue here for children and adults of all ages. Since the earthquake, everyone is related to, friends with or knows someone that survived an amputation of some degree. This type of handicap has certainly become less stigmatizing and with the number of persons with spinal cord injuries surviving, even as difficult as it can possibly be, most are finding they can be somewhat independent and continue to return to their communities with less fear.
Its clear that we must continue to bring awareness and integration as well as accessibility so that all may participate in community activities and feel comfortable in doing so.
When that happens, it will be a Merry Christmas to all.
