Monday - Infirmary Day 1 (Mar 3, 2008)

Our first day back at the Infirmary went quite well, perhaps better than we anticipated. There were definitely some surprises and some sad realizations but overall, things were very good.

The Assistant Head Matron received a promotion in the fall and is now the Head Matron at another infirmary in a different parish. It was unfortunate we did not see her, but we are hoping that one of the nurses who lives in the village where we stay, might be a good fit for this job. We will be checking with the Head Matron tomorrow and bringing a resume along with us. This would be a great opportunity (if all works out) for all 3 parties - our friend the nurse, the Infirmary, and us too since it would help us maintain better contact with the Infirmary.





The sad realizations were the number of faces we had hoped to see but did not. Mr. Jackson has passed away, and it seems that Ermina has too. Another woman, Myrtle, also passed away. Thanks to her our November 2006 team will always have fond memorites. Myrtle gave us a good laugh on our first trip. Myrtle was nearly blind and when her picture was taken using a flash, she clapped her hands and shouted "halleluja! I can see!"





We were sad to realize that these faces were no longer a part of the friends we hoped to visit with. There are many new faces now and this was nice, but reminded us that there is a sense of loss we will likely experience each time we visit the infirmary.





We had a very good conversation with the matron about implementing some changes and it seems like a new door has opened in our relationship with her. This door opened in the most unexpected way, but I guess that is how some doors open at times. We'll take it.





We also learned that our friend Gary plans to move out of the infirmary in October. His sister (Gary is one of 10 siblings) has moved from the Caymans back to Jamaica with her 2 children and will be taking Gary in to live with her. We are so thankful that he will be more settled with his family and hopefully able to take advantage of services and opportunities that he doesn't have at the infirmary.





After our morning at the infirmary we stopped at the primary school to meet the new Principal and to see if they could use 2 sets of hands in the afternoons this week. The new principal was very warm and inviting and it sounds like she wants us to focus on reading with students. I am hopeful this is the start of a new season at the school.





We spent some time with Emily who is now employed (along with her husband) and lives here at the Harmony House. We have really enjoyed meeting them for the first time after the many missed opportunities to connect in the past. Emily was very close to our friend Pearl and we both share that loss with heavy hearts.


Our one remaining hurdle is trying to gain access to our gmail accounts. We can get online and do various things, but for some reason we cannot open any gmail messages! So don't be offended if you have sent a message and don't hear from us for a while.

Our apologies for not having photos to show you more, but we are struggling to get them posted with the internet connection. We'll keep trying, so check back soon!
Liz & Ryan