(Suzanne) Today I went to visit our baby. When I didnt see her in her room, I noticed our translator had a shocked look on her face. My heart sank to my knees and I felt sick. The translator told me she had been taken to the hospital because she couldnt breathe well and had a high fever. I started asking a lot of questions, none of which anyone knew the answer. They gave me a phone number and told me to go back to the hotel and have our other translator call the Dr. and find out what was going on. I went back to the hotel and had to tell Dave and Nikolai the news. We didnt have our translator's phone number and somehow asked the front desk to call her (Dave has a talent for communicating English to persons who dont speak it! ) Our translator told me she would call and find out some info for me. We didnt hear anything for 6 hours until we were picked up to go and talk to the baby home Dr. In that 6 hours I was going crazy. My mind was spinning and coming up with every conceivable serious or critical illness that could be wrong. When we finally met with the baby home Dr., we found our baby was improving and never even needed oxygen. They took her to the hospital as a precaution since she would soon be going on a long plane trip. We were so relieved! They are trying to get permission for us to visit her in the hospital, but we havent heard anything yet.
Whenever I have some difficulty, I try and think about what I can learn from it. Immediately I thought of those hispanic famiies back at Children's hospital at home. We get in a hurry and get aggravated when we have to wait on an interpreter before we speak to the family. It slows down our work. Today, I was in the same shoes they are in every day: feeling scared, vulnerable, and helpless with my precious child and not knowing anything about their illness . I will rember this experience next time I work with a family who doesnt speak English. It has been quite a lesson
So I can end the post on humorous note, I'm posting a picture of our new friend Tom. It was taken the day he ordered horse meat out of curiosity. Nikolai gobbled it down and asks for it every day! Posted is a picture of what it looks like.
