This is my yellow nightwrite. My dad said I might get extra credit because it is "different". That is why I'm' doing this night-write on yellow paper. Because I am magic if I write on a green paper--I can turn invisible.
If I write on a blue paper I can stop time. If I write on a brown paper bats will come out of the ceiling and scare everyone around you. If I write on a black paper a one-foot tall black spider will appear in front of me, bare it's fangs and then disappear.
If I write on a red paper I will become good at everything. If I write on a gray paper I will get all the presents I want for Christmas. If I write on a purple paper I will get rich!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
My nightwright
by Sam Reed. The latest installment of Sam's excellent writing skills. Written 10/17/10.
How to Gross out your older sister:
1) Eat starberries in little chunks. Put them at the back of your throat, then choke them back up.
2) Put yogurt in your mouth and with your tongue, push the yogurt through your teeth.
3) Pick your nose.
4) Create a drink at chuck 'A' rama with pepper in it, and make my sister drink it.
5) Not taking a bath for a week.
6) Eat with your mouth open.
7) Have a dirty room, burping and farting.
8) Eat mushrooms with tomatos or tuna with chocolate.
9) Cook noodles then snort them up your nose, once you have snorted up most of the noodle reach to the back of your throught and grab the end of the noodle and pull it out of your mouth. (I can't do it but my brother Neil can.)
That is how you gross your older sisters out.
How to Gross out your older sister:
1) Eat starberries in little chunks. Put them at the back of your throat, then choke them back up.
2) Put yogurt in your mouth and with your tongue, push the yogurt through your teeth.
3) Pick your nose.
4) Create a drink at chuck 'A' rama with pepper in it, and make my sister drink it.
5) Not taking a bath for a week.
6) Eat with your mouth open.
7) Have a dirty room, burping and farting.
8) Eat mushrooms with tomatos or tuna with chocolate.
9) Cook noodles then snort them up your nose, once you have snorted up most of the noodle reach to the back of your throught and grab the end of the noodle and pull it out of your mouth. (I can't do it but my brother Neil can.)
That is how you gross your older sisters out.
Friday, December 3, 2010
What I think things should be called.
A night write by Sam Reed. Written 10/21/10.
Home work should be called math Reading writing, torture. Nightwrites should be called daywrites. Class should be called sit down and do your work most of the time.
Recess should be called find something fun to do out-side. Paino should be called get bored and play the keys for a half a hour to a hour.
Swimming should be called swim or you'll get cold because the water heater is broken. Home should be called do what ever you need to your youll get yelled at. Gangs should be called bullies that kill each other and other people. News should be called not veary useful stuff. People likking people, people stealling and doing crazystuff, and also a big waste of your day. Texting should be called get addicted to your phone. Email should be called check the computer every 24 hours and a exuce to not let other people on the computer. Face Book should be called everyone in the world get a facebook accound and spend five hours on the computer and spend the other five on your phone and another five doing you homework and spend the last 15 hours sleeping. Fast food should be called a fast way to get fat.
Home work should be called math Reading writing, torture. Nightwrites should be called daywrites. Class should be called sit down and do your work most of the time.
Recess should be called find something fun to do out-side. Paino should be called get bored and play the keys for a half a hour to a hour.
Swimming should be called swim or you'll get cold because the water heater is broken. Home should be called do what ever you need to your youll get yelled at. Gangs should be called bullies that kill each other and other people. News should be called not veary useful stuff. People likking people, people stealling and doing crazystuff, and also a big waste of your day. Texting should be called get addicted to your phone. Email should be called check the computer every 24 hours and a exuce to not let other people on the computer. Face Book should be called everyone in the world get a facebook accound and spend five hours on the computer and spend the other five on your phone and another five doing you homework and spend the last 15 hours sleeping. Fast food should be called a fast way to get fat.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Order in the court!
This is the second installment of one of Sam's "Night Writes." Written 10/19/10.
Sam is judge. Perky is a witness and a bird. Ruth is a lawyer. Annie is a witness. Rachel is a lawyer.
Sam: Silence in the court!
Mister Perky Bird you are hereby charged of Attacking Annie in the head.
Annie Reed's lawyer: please state what you saw.
Rachel: O.K. So I was in the kitchen with Annie when Perky flew from the top of the refrigerator on Annie's head.
Sam: I see.
Rachel: Once he was on Annie's head he bit her!
Ruthie: Perky was only defending his home mister Sam.
Sam: And?
Ruth: Plus he is cute - can't you see it?
(Perky fulfs up.)
Sam: Yes, so I guess instead of you being charged 1 million dollors Annie is.
Annie: Oh man!
Ruth: Yes!
Sam: Court dismissed!
(everone leves except Perky)
The end.
Sam is judge. Perky is a witness and a bird. Ruth is a lawyer. Annie is a witness. Rachel is a lawyer.
Sam: Silence in the court!
Mister Perky Bird you are hereby charged of Attacking Annie in the head.
Annie Reed's lawyer: please state what you saw.
Rachel: O.K. So I was in the kitchen with Annie when Perky flew from the top of the refrigerator on Annie's head.
Sam: I see.
Rachel: Once he was on Annie's head he bit her!
Ruthie: Perky was only defending his home mister Sam.
Sam: And?
Ruth: Plus he is cute - can't you see it?
(Perky fulfs up.)
Sam: Yes, so I guess instead of you being charged 1 million dollors Annie is.
Annie: Oh man!
Ruth: Yes!
Sam: Court dismissed!
(everone leves except Perky)
The end.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sam's Night Write--Living with girls
Sam has night writes for his 5th grade homework. This one he wrote a couple of months ago prior to Neil's return is really fun.
"I've been stuck with 5 girls for two years! (except for my dad). For two years I have been stuck with with my sisters Ruth, Rachel, Annie, and Alison. My sister Ruth plays with me a lot and taught me some things like:
1. girls that are young like Barbies.
2. girls get grumpy and mean around some of their life.
Rachel has gotten me used to weird questions that I don't understand like: Rachel: "Sodium 23?" Annie: "Atomic number, atomic mass". Rachel "But how would I find that?" etc. I asked them what they were talking about and Rachel said: "Chemistry I don't want to explain it to you".
Annie helps me understand a lot of stuff like math.
Alison talks about what I figured that all mothers that have one baby talk about: birth of the baby, stretch marks and sometimes gallbladders. Yeppy for me! I get to learn a lot of stuff before I want to! Alison sometimes talks about how she was in pain because of rocks in her gallbladder and it hurt more than pregnancy because it lasted to to three hours at a time. Another thing she talks about it stretchmarks she got. These are two of the main things I did not want to learn about.
Mom (or Shelly). My mom helps me in a lot of stuff and is really nice. I've learned a lot about girls and this experience might help me in the future. (And it probably will).
This is my nightwrite and some of this stuff has happened in the past week--like the stuff I said about Alison, Annie, Rachel, and Mom. This is what you get living with girls.
"I've been stuck with 5 girls for two years! (except for my dad). For two years I have been stuck with with my sisters Ruth, Rachel, Annie, and Alison. My sister Ruth plays with me a lot and taught me some things like:
1. girls that are young like Barbies.
2. girls get grumpy and mean around some of their life.
Rachel has gotten me used to weird questions that I don't understand like: Rachel: "Sodium 23?" Annie: "Atomic number, atomic mass". Rachel "But how would I find that?" etc. I asked them what they were talking about and Rachel said: "Chemistry I don't want to explain it to you".
Annie helps me understand a lot of stuff like math.
Alison talks about what I figured that all mothers that have one baby talk about: birth of the baby, stretch marks and sometimes gallbladders. Yeppy for me! I get to learn a lot of stuff before I want to! Alison sometimes talks about how she was in pain because of rocks in her gallbladder and it hurt more than pregnancy because it lasted to to three hours at a time. Another thing she talks about it stretchmarks she got. These are two of the main things I did not want to learn about.
Mom (or Shelly). My mom helps me in a lot of stuff and is really nice. I've learned a lot about girls and this experience might help me in the future. (And it probably will).
This is my nightwrite and some of this stuff has happened in the past week--like the stuff I said about Alison, Annie, Rachel, and Mom. This is what you get living with girls.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Neil's return
My brother Neil got home from his two-year mission for our church in Asuncion, Paraguay October 14. The rest of us Reed kids were excited to see him and we went and met him at the airport. We had made signs and the kids had cleaned the whole house in anticipation of his arrival. As I've said, I was really excited for him to meet Mr. Baby for the first time.He was taller, and two years more the wiser, but he was still the same old Neil, with a perma-smile on his face and grabbing Ruth and Sam up in bear hugs with their feet dangling 18 inches from the ground.
Mr. Baby was a little standoffish with Neil - after all, he's 6 foot 4 - but since then, he's warmed up to him a lot. (It may or may not have to do with the fact that Neil is an expert at making animal noises). Neil is well-liked with LOTS of friends, and I didn't publicize the time of his return because we didn't want to fend off crowds of adoring girls so we could see our own brother, so we kept it to just family. Aunt Robyn, Uncle Blaine and our cousin Nathan came, and with them it was a cozy welcome home.
Neil, we love you and we're glad to have you back.
Neil will be speaking about his mission at the Federal Heights Ward in the meeting starting at 11:45 a.m. on November 14. Hope to see you all there!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Alison's perspective on the Reed family, circa 1996
I was going through some boxes for my mom yesterday and I happened across this masterpiece written by myself. It's typewritten and I present it to you in its pure form, with all forgotten words, misspellings that make me wince and my 9 or 10-year-old tell-it-like-it-is attitude:
This is a boring project. Our sub is making us do this when you can do anything we want. I don't feel very good.
Well you half to do a page and a half. I might as well do this anyway. My dad is really special because he is my hero. My mom is special because we are very good freinds. We like each other alot. My little brother Neil is special because he sticks up for me to my other little brother (Shawn). We always play together even if when my mom does not want us to. Shawn is special because he is cute, he also can be really nice and he can really be mean too. He sometimes can bug me till I explode. Annie is special because she sticks to me like glue. Usally when I go to school my room is clean and neat. When I get home, my room is totally messy! Rachel is special because she usally only lets me, my mom, my dad and my cousin Ashley. My whole family is special because the they love me! I love them too!
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Believe me, there are LOADS of papers like this my parents saved. Oh boy. If you beg me, I just might share them, too.
What Makes My Family Special
This is a boring project. Our sub is making us do this when you can do anything we want. I don't feel very good.
Bye.
Well you half to do a page and a half. I might as well do this anyway. My dad is really special because he is my hero. My mom is special because we are very good freinds. We like each other alot. My little brother Neil is special because he sticks up for me to my other little brother (Shawn). We always play together even if when my mom does not want us to. Shawn is special because he is cute, he also can be really nice and he can really be mean too. He sometimes can bug me till I explode. Annie is special because she sticks to me like glue. Usally when I go to school my room is clean and neat. When I get home, my room is totally messy! Rachel is special because she usally only lets me, my mom, my dad and my cousin Ashley. My whole family is special because the they love me! I love them too!
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Believe me, there are LOADS of papers like this my parents saved. Oh boy. If you beg me, I just might share them, too.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Annie's home!
Annie came home last night. Oh, how we missed her! She has spent the last six weeks in a small village in Paraguay with the humanitarian organization Amigos de las Americas. While living there, she built "fogones" or fuel efficient stoves that take all the smoke out of the house, built a kitchen for the elementary school, and taught classes on the environment.
Doing Amigos has become a Reed family tradition - someone in the family has done it for eight years straight. I went to Costa Rica the first year the Salt Lake City chapter opened in 2003, then to Honduras in 2004. Neil went to Nicaragua in 2005 and Brazil in 2006. Shawn went to Paraguay in 2007, and Neil went as a project supervisor in Honduras in 2008. Last year, Annie went to Costa Rica, and this year, she went to Paraguay. Rachel is planning on continuing the tradition next year.
It was one of the best experiences of my life. Once in country, you are assigned a partner and the two of you (sometimes three) are assigned a village where you'll spend the next six to eight weeks. You live with host families and people in the community you live in take turns feeding you.You are not there to give them things, but to help them realize the changes they want to see in the community. You work alongside the community members, facilitating, organizing and helping them work together to accomplish the change they want to see. This way, they are invested in the work and the developments that have happened during your stay there are sustainable and will hopefully continue to benefit the community long after the volunteers have left.As much as you are there to help the community you live in, the community has its effect on you. You can't help but to love the people, to appreciate the culture and different life circumstances. You gain maturity and independence. You become more fluent in Spanish. You gain a broader, richer perspective on life.
Ethan's and my children will definitely be Amigos volunteers. It's an experience I think every young adult should have. If you know a teenagers or college student who you think should have this experience, let me or my mom know! we would love to get them in touch with the Amigos chapter nearby. Mom and I are also members of the board of the Amigos Salt Lake Chapter, so if that is their locale, we can really help you out! Pretty soon we'll be launching our application process for next summer, with visits to school, informational meetings so parents and students can find out more. So if you know someone who you think would like to do Amigos, get in touch and hopefully they, too, will be able to have an awesome experience.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Camping
We started this last weekend off by camping up in the Alpine Loop with my family. We all decided to on a whim on Friday and it all worked out for us to go.
American Fork Canyon, the Sundance area and the back side of Mt. Timpanogos are so beautiful. We haven't been there for a while and it's funny how quickly you can forget how beautiful a place is.As we were driving up late Friday evening, we were kicking ourselves for not going there more often.
My dad made his famed "camping hash," which is potatoes, carrots, onions and bacon or italian sausage made in a dutch oven and topped with ketchup. We marveled at the stars, roasted s'mores, let Soren stay way up past his bedtime and then sat and listened to the crackle of the campfire.
Mom says that the key to a good treasure hunt is to make the kids tired out from running all over the place, and it worked. We took off after the treasure hunt and drove the rest of the Alpine Loop (Mt. Timp was PACKED! Don't go there on a Saturday!) and Soren was out like a light.
We are definitely going again soon.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Shawn's mission blog, Neil's birthday
Mom set up a mission blog for Shawn this week, where we'll post his letters so everyone can read them. He is already out of the MTC and serving in Orem, Utah until his visa goes through - about 6 to 10 weeks.
Also, today is Neil's 21st birthday. He will be finishing his mission in October. Feel free to send us birthday wishes to pass along to him!
Also, today is Neil's 21st birthday. He will be finishing his mission in October. Feel free to send us birthday wishes to pass along to him!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
What do we do in the summertime?
What do Reed's do in the summertime? Swim team for one. Girls camp for another. We go to Brighton, and this year, got the boat going again so we can go out on the lakes around here. For sure, though, someone goes with Amigos to Latin America. For the past EIGHT years, someone in the family has participated in Amigos. Alison went to Costa Rica in 2003, and Honduras in 2004. Neil went to Nicaragua in 2005, and Brazil in 2006. Shawn went to Paraguay in 2007, and Neil went as a project supervisor to Honduras in 2008. Last year, Annie went to Costa Rica, and this year, she is in Paraguay, with the primary focus of the project building fuel efficient stoves. See if you can find Annie in this picture with her Amigos group. I think it MIGHT be in front of the same lake that we have a picture of both Shawn and Neil in front of, of course, taken at different times and in different years.
Speaking of Paraguay, Mike and I got our tickets to go pick up Neil when he finishes his mission!! This is a trip to "celebrate" our 25th anniversary this year. We leave on October 5th, and will be home to Salt Lake City with Neil on October 14th.
Speaking of Paraguay, Mike and I got our tickets to go pick up Neil when he finishes his mission!! This is a trip to "celebrate" our 25th anniversary this year. We leave on October 5th, and will be home to Salt Lake City with Neil on October 14th.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Mom's (front yard) garden rehaul
For Mother's Day, my mom asked me to give her a garden makeover. Her garden had a lot of potential - cute rock borders and quite a few good plants, but in great need of organization, weeding and a cohesive look. My dad often finds plants on sale and sticks them wherever he feels like it, and it was starting to show. (No offense, Dad).
While Mom was gone in Tonga, I had the perfect time to conquer the project. The week before she got home my siblings were out of school for the summer, so I enlisted their help (mostly Annie's) and we started digging and weeding. My sister Annie helped me most
Overall, I went for texture and a wildflower/country garden look. We worked with the plants they already had in the front beds, namely lilies, irises, daises and columbine. In the shaded areas, we added more columbine and hosta, plus a few other plants. In the sunny garden between the walk to the house, the street and the driveway we added fuschia pink daises, cosmos, iceland poppies, lots of salvia/russian sage, lavendar, a few grasses and a couple more daylilies. We thinned out the strawberries, which had taken over the entire bed.
Isn't it funny how no matter how much you garden, there's always more work to do? I still don't feel like the front yard is finished. I still need to buy some purple fountain grass for the planters in front of the door and one of the beds, and one of my favorite plants had died and I need to get a replacement. But for now, she is happy with what she has.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
50
On July 10 my dad turned 50. To celebrate, we all went up to his favorite place in the world: Brighton. (The apartments come in a close second for him, followed by the gym).
Ethan, a family friend and I went for a walk around Silver Lake with Dad in the morning. When we got back to the cabin, this was waiting for us:
After the surprise we all partied away the afternoon. Mom invited everyone - including my dad's plumber. We had homemade Cafe Rio, played games, chatted, and did the normal party stuff. Dad has been a little bit touchy about turning 50. If you tease him about it, you can tell it hits a nerve. Ethan was relentless about teasing him - and everyone else, too. Poor Dad. But at least he enjoyed the party.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Shawn's farewell
We had a whopper of a weekend. Grandma, Frank, my aunt Laurel and a couple grandchildren arrived on Thursday, and on Friday and Saturday we whiled away the hours of the hot afternoons at the swimming pool. I took Sam and all the girls to a drive-in movie to see Toy Story 3 and The Prince of Persia on Friday. We got home just before 2 a.m.
Sunday was Rachel's birthday and Father's day; it also was Shawn's "farewell" talk at church before he leaves on his mission to Argentina on Wednesday. Grandma Jensen, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends all came to hear him speak and we had a big party at the Reed house afterward. I love big family get togethers.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Seeing a Princess
We got to see Princess Salote Mafile’o Pilolevu Tuita our very first full day in Tongatapu. There was a program for the demolition of the old building of Viaola Hospital. We came about a half hour before it started, and the students were asked to line up with the Queen Salote School of Nursing students. All of the students lined the drive up to the ceremony area right by the old hospital where the princess drove up in her van. In fact, two of our students were closest to the princess!
After the demolition ceremony, we got to tour Viaola Hospital, and at night got to do baptisms for the dead. What a great first day on Tongatapu!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Malo aupito, Vava'u
We finally made it to Tongatapu! The week before we left Vava'u there was a crash landing of one of Chatham Pacific's small planes. All of the passengers and the pilots were uninjured, due to the skill of the pilots. The crash landing happened because the landing gear would not come down. The Tongan government grounded all Chatham Pacific planes until an investigation could be conducted, and until the Tongan Prime Minister signed a document saying it was okay for Chatham's to fly again.
As Chatham Pacific is the ONLY airline to provide inter-island flights, we were also grounded in Vava'u. We were scheduled to leave on Friday, May 28th, and finally left Tuesday, June 1st.
So now we are in Tongatapu, the "big island", which the locals call "Tonga". It does really seem big, especially after Vava'u. We are staying at the Liahona school housing, which is right by the temple. Liahona is about 15 minutes from the main town of Nuku'Alofa. While we are close to the temple and love the area, it is far from internet and shopping. We are glad to be here!
As Chatham Pacific is the ONLY airline to provide inter-island flights, we were also grounded in Vava'u. We were scheduled to leave on Friday, May 28th, and finally left Tuesday, June 1st.
So now we are in Tongatapu, the "big island", which the locals call "Tonga". It does really seem big, especially after Vava'u. We are staying at the Liahona school housing, which is right by the temple. Liahona is about 15 minutes from the main town of Nuku'Alofa. While we are close to the temple and love the area, it is far from internet and shopping. We are glad to be here!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Happy 10th Birthday Sam!!
Sam is 10 today!! We celebrated his birthday before I left for Tonga. We went to Discovery Gateway, and had a lot of fun. Happy Birthday, Sam!! It has been a lot of fun to have you in our family for the past 10 years. We love you!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Playing in Tonga
Vava'u Tonga is an island paradise. Not only is it great for learning experiences for us nurses, but it is simply beautiful. This photo taken from the main street of Neiafu is just one example of the every day scenic beauty abundant here.
We climbed up to the top of the highest peak of Vava'u to see some breathtaking views of the many islands of the Vava'u group of islands.
After our hot and sweaty hike, we cooled off in the harbor right by our hotel
We told the nurses we wanted to take a day off to do a fun island activity. They decided to go with us and planned a Tongan-style activity, which turned out to be more fun than we could ever think of. The nurse in black with the hat is Meleame. She is the chief midwife and acting chief nurse here on Vava'u, and has been largely responsible for our wonderful clinical experiences
We were hesitant at first with our boat transportation, provided by one of the nurse's father. It was great!! Our rooftop view of the islands boating through the calm Vava'u waters couldn't have been any better. As Meleame said, we had the Lord with us to keep us safe
The beach at the final island we came to was amazingly white, and the water crystal blue. We even walked across the shallow water to the smaller uninhabited island
Here is our Tongan picnic. We couldn't imagine so much food!! Chicken, papaya, sweet potato, baked fish, crab, watermelon, and a lot of Tongan food I don't even know the names of. It was SO GOOD!!
And what Tongan feast is complete without a pig, roast in an umu. This pig was Meleame's, just another example of all she has given to make this the best possible picnic, and the best possible Nursing 400 experience in the world
We climbed up to the top of the highest peak of Vava'u to see some breathtaking views of the many islands of the Vava'u group of islands.
After our hot and sweaty hike, we cooled off in the harbor right by our hotel
We told the nurses we wanted to take a day off to do a fun island activity. They decided to go with us and planned a Tongan-style activity, which turned out to be more fun than we could ever think of. The nurse in black with the hat is Meleame. She is the chief midwife and acting chief nurse here on Vava'u, and has been largely responsible for our wonderful clinical experiences
We were hesitant at first with our boat transportation, provided by one of the nurse's father. It was great!! Our rooftop view of the islands boating through the calm Vava'u waters couldn't have been any better. As Meleame said, we had the Lord with us to keep us safe
The beach at the final island we came to was amazingly white, and the water crystal blue. We even walked across the shallow water to the smaller uninhabited island
Here is our Tongan picnic. We couldn't imagine so much food!! Chicken, papaya, sweet potato, baked fish, crab, watermelon, and a lot of Tongan food I don't even know the names of. It was SO GOOD!!
And what Tongan feast is complete without a pig, roast in an umu. This pig was Meleame's, just another example of all she has given to make this the best possible picnic, and the best possible Nursing 400 experience in the world
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Ouch!! Rachel has a bad bike accident while Mom is in Tonga
I heard bad news last week--Rachel was in a bike accident, waking up to a concerned crowd of people, a fire engine, and an ambulance. After several hours of evaluation at Primary Children's Medical Center, she was determined to be okay besides some awful looking scrapes. Alison sent me pictures of those--they look pretty painful. I heard about all of it later, and they tell me Rachel is doing okay.
.
Meanwhile, as compared to healthcare here in Tonga: The Vava'u group of islands are to the north of Tongatapu. They are very beautiful, and much like Roatan, Honduras. We have been working with the nurses and the ministry of Health here. It is really fun. The nurse has a big role here--he or she cares for the person and their family from before they are born until after they are dead. The nurse delivers the baby, and the nurse prepares and dresses the body for the funeral. The nurses here know everyone. The immunization rate is good, almost 100 percent--if the mother does not come to the clinic, they go to her house and find she and her baby. They do very well with very little resources. For example, Rachel's bike injury. I am so glad she is okay, and that scrapes on her side are the worst of her injury. However, she had a CT scan of her head (and perhaps other parts of her body, I am not sure), and x-rays, and I am sure a very expensive ER visit A boy was run over on Friday here on Vava'u. He probably has a basal skull fracture, because he had blood and spinal fluid leaking out his ear. But they don't have a CT scanner here, so they just looked at clinical symptoms to determine what was wrong with him. His hemeglobin was low, so they knew he had internal bleeding. There is no blood bank here, so his relatives came and donated blood, and he got a couple of units. He was conscious, and doing better when we saw him on Monday morning, and he will probably be just fine, even without all of the fancy diagnostic tests we routinely use in the USA.
The people here are warm and friendly. The bishop invited us over to dinner and family home evening last night, and his wife brought pancakes for everyone this morning. Another family fed us a Tongan dinner after church on Sunday. The nurses are cooking us Tongan food tomorrow, and we are having a "day off" to go on a boat to one of the islands. People are so kind, although they are also generally pretty poor. For example, the families bring the sheets for the beds to the hospital, and the blankets for the baby, otherwise, they would not have any. They also bring food for their families. They are generous with what they have, even if it is just a little.
Here is a picture of our health screening in the market last Saturday. They had Tongan dancers right in front of our screening tables. We screened 90 people!
.
Meanwhile, as compared to healthcare here in Tonga: The Vava'u group of islands are to the north of Tongatapu. They are very beautiful, and much like Roatan, Honduras. We have been working with the nurses and the ministry of Health here. It is really fun. The nurse has a big role here--he or she cares for the person and their family from before they are born until after they are dead. The nurse delivers the baby, and the nurse prepares and dresses the body for the funeral. The nurses here know everyone. The immunization rate is good, almost 100 percent--if the mother does not come to the clinic, they go to her house and find she and her baby. They do very well with very little resources. For example, Rachel's bike injury. I am so glad she is okay, and that scrapes on her side are the worst of her injury. However, she had a CT scan of her head (and perhaps other parts of her body, I am not sure), and x-rays, and I am sure a very expensive ER visit A boy was run over on Friday here on Vava'u. He probably has a basal skull fracture, because he had blood and spinal fluid leaking out his ear. But they don't have a CT scanner here, so they just looked at clinical symptoms to determine what was wrong with him. His hemeglobin was low, so they knew he had internal bleeding. There is no blood bank here, so his relatives came and donated blood, and he got a couple of units. He was conscious, and doing better when we saw him on Monday morning, and he will probably be just fine, even without all of the fancy diagnostic tests we routinely use in the USA.
The people here are warm and friendly. The bishop invited us over to dinner and family home evening last night, and his wife brought pancakes for everyone this morning. Another family fed us a Tongan dinner after church on Sunday. The nurses are cooking us Tongan food tomorrow, and we are having a "day off" to go on a boat to one of the islands. People are so kind, although they are also generally pretty poor. For example, the families bring the sheets for the beds to the hospital, and the blankets for the baby, otherwise, they would not have any. They also bring food for their families. They are generous with what they have, even if it is just a little.
Here is a picture of our health screening in the market last Saturday. They had Tongan dancers right in front of our screening tables. We screened 90 people!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Brigham Young Francis Draku Tuitakau
Malo e lei lei—
We are having an amazing time here in Tonga, and we are all convinced there is no better place we could be. Thursday was an amazing day, and if all the best experiences we could have in Tonga were to fit into one day, that would be it.
We started the day early, leaving for the hospital about 6am. The role of the nurse is very important here in Tonga, as they take care of the individual and family from before they are born until after they are dead. What this translates into is that yes, they prepare bodies for the funeral. There was a body that needed to be prepared on Thursday, and we got to observe the nurses do this, as well as the dressing of the body in traditional Tongan dress for the funeral. We learned that the tapa cloth is kept next to the body to “keep it warm”, and also the feet are tied with a piece of the tapa cloth so the body will be unable to run away. It was all very interesting, and the nurse was a part of every step.
We then found there was a mother at the hospital in labor. Although only two students were assigned to the wards, the nurses said everyone could help, so she started with 6 of us helping her through her labor, with the additional 3 coming after they finished their community rotation. It was her first baby, and she was alone laboring; it seemed like the family was supposed to wait outside. We did what we could to help her cope with the pain, providing counterpressure on her back, giving her hand massages, wetting her face and stroking her hair. As we cared for her, she came to ask for these measures if we were not doing them, so we felt like we were helping in some way. We also helped as she pushed the baby into the world, holding her legs, helping to keep her chin down, and giving her lots and lots of encouragement. When the baby was born (yes, delivered by the nurse), there were automatically 4 baby nurses to clean the baby off, stimulate him, give the medications, and care for him until mom was finished being stitched up (yes, by the nurse). We got to invite the proud father in, and to show the baby to the family as we took mom and baby to her room. It was an amazing day, to observe and help from end of life to the other.
Yesterday we stopped to see our new little family, as they were still at the hospital. We took a lot of pictures, as we all felt personally connected to this little baby boy and his family. When there was a quiet moment without all the clucking mother hens, the father made an announcement. He and his wife and family were all very grateful for the help and support we had given his wife. His mother had given the baby the name “Francis Drake” (Francis Draku in Tongan), but he and his wife wanted US to give the baby his first name, the name he would go by!! We prodded a bit—“What kind of name would they like?” “Is there any special names to them?” They would give us no information—whatever name we came up with was the name for their baby. As the mother said “It is in your hands.”
Another miracle occurred. It is really hard for a couple to come up with a single name for a baby in many cases. In not too long of a time, all 10 of us had agreed on a name—“Brigham”. It was perfect, for us, as well as this young Mormon couple. We had a prayer with this family, to assure we had picked the right name, and to thank the Lord for this amazing experience. After the prayer, we knew Brigham was absolutely the right name.
Could there be any better experience for all of us? I think not. What a blessing to be here!
We are having an amazing time here in Tonga, and we are all convinced there is no better place we could be. Thursday was an amazing day, and if all the best experiences we could have in Tonga were to fit into one day, that would be it.
We started the day early, leaving for the hospital about 6am. The role of the nurse is very important here in Tonga, as they take care of the individual and family from before they are born until after they are dead. What this translates into is that yes, they prepare bodies for the funeral. There was a body that needed to be prepared on Thursday, and we got to observe the nurses do this, as well as the dressing of the body in traditional Tongan dress for the funeral. We learned that the tapa cloth is kept next to the body to “keep it warm”, and also the feet are tied with a piece of the tapa cloth so the body will be unable to run away. It was all very interesting, and the nurse was a part of every step.
We then found there was a mother at the hospital in labor. Although only two students were assigned to the wards, the nurses said everyone could help, so she started with 6 of us helping her through her labor, with the additional 3 coming after they finished their community rotation. It was her first baby, and she was alone laboring; it seemed like the family was supposed to wait outside. We did what we could to help her cope with the pain, providing counterpressure on her back, giving her hand massages, wetting her face and stroking her hair. As we cared for her, she came to ask for these measures if we were not doing them, so we felt like we were helping in some way. We also helped as she pushed the baby into the world, holding her legs, helping to keep her chin down, and giving her lots and lots of encouragement. When the baby was born (yes, delivered by the nurse), there were automatically 4 baby nurses to clean the baby off, stimulate him, give the medications, and care for him until mom was finished being stitched up (yes, by the nurse). We got to invite the proud father in, and to show the baby to the family as we took mom and baby to her room. It was an amazing day, to observe and help from end of life to the other.
Yesterday we stopped to see our new little family, as they were still at the hospital. We took a lot of pictures, as we all felt personally connected to this little baby boy and his family. When there was a quiet moment without all the clucking mother hens, the father made an announcement. He and his wife and family were all very grateful for the help and support we had given his wife. His mother had given the baby the name “Francis Drake” (Francis Draku in Tongan), but he and his wife wanted US to give the baby his first name, the name he would go by!! We prodded a bit—“What kind of name would they like?” “Is there any special names to them?” They would give us no information—whatever name we came up with was the name for their baby. As the mother said “It is in your hands.”
Another miracle occurred. It is really hard for a couple to come up with a single name for a baby in many cases. In not too long of a time, all 10 of us had agreed on a name—“Brigham”. It was perfect, for us, as well as this young Mormon couple. We had a prayer with this family, to assure we had picked the right name, and to thank the Lord for this amazing experience. After the prayer, we knew Brigham was absolutely the right name.
Could there be any better experience for all of us? I think not. What a blessing to be here!
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