Smiling through your tears

The last while has definitely been the time for coming into the clinic with cuts. From either falling while working in their gardens or from a Machete. I had the joy of doing my first 2 stitch jobs. The one was a young boy who had fallen down the mountain at School. He had lots of little scrapes and knocked out a tooth as well as two nice big cuts on his forehead. Mali did a wonderful job at telling me what to do every step of the way, and making sure I did it right. The little boy was so strong through it all. When I asked him if he had pain, he tried his best to smile even tho he had tears running down his face. 

 This dear lady was on her way to clinic to have her baby, but she didn't make it. The baby was born at a friends house along the trail. 

One of my favorite parts of taking people's vitals is trying to get the dear little children to smile. As soon as I say "Good morning" and ask how they're doing, some of them reply right away with a chipper "Good morning, I'm fine". Others shyly hide their faces, not wanting to let the Mis take thier temperatures. Others tell me that they are sick. 

"The best way to find yourself is to loose yourself in the service of others" 

-Mis Ellamae