Walking!

The other day I was caught off guard when a patient that I have never seen walking walked up and looked me in the eye. Moutella (sp?) had returned for PT. As long as I have known him, he has had BOTH legs casted.

   

He has a beautiful smile (although, like most Nigeriens you must remind him to smile for the photo) but the best thing about him is his laugh…..wish I had a recording. It is music to my ears.

I love seeing these miracles walking around….three more…Yazid, Rahillah and Ishmeal…they all left today, CAST FREE, I even saw Rahillah put shoes on  the other other day….she looked at me with questioning eyes as if to see if she was putting her flip flops on correctly. Sorry for the lack of pics of non casted friends, I did not have a working camera for about a month. Finally have a replacement!

 

The will return in January for appointments, but they are well on their way to walking!!! Yay! Sometimes it is bittersweet…to see my friends go, but it is all part of the healing process and it is quite amazingly wonderful!

My Garden Oasis

Well, I think rainy season is officially over. It is funny, I was talking to a woman at the grocery store the other night, she was thrilled that rainy season was at it’s end. I LOVE the rain and well, our compound is so gorgeous right now. Living in  the Sahel, I love to see the different plants and flowers. I appreciate the beauty that is ALL around me. God knows that I get energized and find such peace, happiness & contentment through nature!

     

Right now, our compound is green ,lush and bursting with color. Ferdinand worked so hard this summer to plant and replant. He amazes me. Entering our compound every day brings instant refreshment. I do not have a picture that does it justice, but when I drive into the compound, it is shady, green and a host of my favorite red flowers greet me. I have included a bunch of pictures of all the different plants and a few creepy crawlies that have graced our yard this past year….. This vibrant abundant life is truly a wonderful thing!

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Beans Beans (the magical fruit)

This year at CURE, our employees are putting the land at the hospital to good use.  They harvested their first bean (not the tootin  type) crop.  The first few that were harvested were boiled and we ate them out of the pods. Most of the crop was dried. They were put in the hot sun for a few days. After they are dried, they are hard as a rock (as L put it). They are then ground up and used in sauces and recipes.

Now plans are being made plant a huge garden including…tomatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, cabbage…… It was so fun to see Issafou’s list of suggestions from all the employees. I think our employees are quite wonderful and also L, whose certain comments and suggestions made it into this post.