Welcome.
This Month Geeta joins us, we start with a winter project, and a decision is made about my Royal Enfield. Kris is attacked by a viscous caterpillar, and I stab my foot.
Geeta
This account covers the first three weeks of Geeta coming to live with us
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| Very poorly, high temperature infected wound, not eating. Under weight and in pain. |
When she was three her dress caught fire, her father who was supposed to be watching her wasn’t. With nobody about Geeta burned as she ran around. How she even survived that seems like a miracle. She was burned all her right side from leg to head. She lost her ear and has extensive scarring over 40% of her body. Her right arm has never healed. She has contractures of her elbow and wrist with an unusable puffy and swollen hand. Advice was to amputate at the time but the mother wouldn’t do that. For nearly a year Geta has endured the pain as her arm became infected and was cleaned in the village by washing and removing dead flesh at intervals. This has continued for nearly a year.
My Indian sister Amber mentioned to Kris that she wanted advice on how to treat a burn and explained about Geeta’s injury. Kris suggested that Amber bring her so she could have a look at it. At the time we were expecting a bad burn, not the almost total destruction of the arm. The flesh had begun to rot in places, bone was visible and it was infected. She was running a high temperature and was very unwell. The burn extends from mid upper arm to wrist and is one open infected wound. We have deliberatly not posted the most graphic photographs.
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| Infection in burn stopped still very undernourished |
We took her to our local hospital for urgent treatment as we have known the doctor there for a few years now.
Good man who cares for his patients properly. It’s a small very well equipped six bed hospital. The nurses are all well trained and cleanliness is enforced strictly. It is where Kris trained all the nurses to be able to teach their patients to identify Breast cancer at its earliest stage when it is over 90% treatable. (She will be doing a refresher there soon as she does one every year).
After examination the burn was treated. Antibiotics for the fever and an antiseptic hydrocolloid jelly on the burn area then a dressing. The prognosis at this time was 50/50 to live, but only if the infection could be stopped or the arm amputated before she succumbed to blood poisoning. It was that serious. Kris nursed her continually through the worst danger period.
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| Geeta and her mother Dloo. |
We have taken her there daily for dressings and treatment. Since she and her mother live far off the beaten track in the jungle it was not practicable to bring them every day so we have opened our home to them for as long as it takes. Our guest room has become theirs. It’s private with a lock and its own bathroom so it is not improper for a married woman to stay in alone.
Indian family is complex, real brothers and sisters cousins aunts uncles etc. then there are Rakhi brothers and sisters who have been invited to join the family (a family decision is taken and the person who is being asked is adopted as a brother). This is not the tourist Rakhi; this is for real with all the status and the responsibilities of an elder brother and is taken very seriously by Indians who don’t differentiate between Rakhi and real, you are family.
Dloo is the sister of my Rakhi sister.
One of the biggest problems is the lack of faith in medicine; if it doesn’t work at once then it isn’t working. Old wives tales rule! We have already had some problems with diet. Dloo has been told no eggs, milk or chicken as it will be bad for the burn, in other words no calcium or protein.
We are well known and accepted as part of Amber’s family. Christine is known as Barbi (wife of eldest brother) and is treated with great respect by the women of the village. Kris sits and shares food with them or just chats if it is a social occasion. We have often when visiting Amber’s village been asked to stay but we mostly don’t because we like our nice soft bed!
We have had good news today after the hospital visit, the infection is under control and the fever has almost gone. The chances for her to survive have just leapt up to about 80% so we are thrilled and so thankful to our Lord for answering our prayers.
How long she will now stay with us is in God’s hands now. There will be a long period of dressings and burn treatment and almost certainly surgery after that
Geeta has been responding well to treatment and the infection in her elbow is getting better.
We have been to see a burns specialist and had a full range of blood tests done results of which show severe anaemia and malnutrition, she has the development of a 3yr old and is in fact just 5yr. This is due to her diet and neglect over the past year since (and probably before) the accident. She is now on a high protein diet as opposed to the low protein diet the mother was giving prior to her living with us. We are awaiting swab results from the burn to see if current antibiotics are working or need to be changed, we will see the burns specialist with all the test results then an assessment as to whether skin grafts are possible will be made. Kris is now giving all medication and dressing the wound so that we know it’s being done. This is still traumatic for Geeta poor thing. As yet there is no skin growth at the wound.
In the meantime Geeta seems happier every day and her pain level now the major infection is stopped must be less. She’s a happy little soul bless her.
She has now seen the specialist who wants to start the treatment to prepare her for surgery. She is so malnourished and severely anaemic and could not stand the surgery at the moment.
Poor little soul, lot of pain to come. Friday she starts on a course of transfusions of 5 or 6 sessions of an Iron supplement. Each session means at least 4/5 hours in the hospital. This next week is going to be so rough on her, one session every day.
Please pray for her relief from this deep pain she must endure. ##
Her father came to visit for a day; we asked him to come and stay over with us so that he could see Geeta and know she was safe He was very nervous but settled down by the time I poured two beers into him! He ate with us all and left the next day a much happier man.
He gave his permission for the care to continue (Indian husband in theory decides these things) as long as there is no amputation.
We explained that we didn’t want any money and that God had placed her in our path to help. We were simply following His word.
He was surprised that there was no tit for tat, we didn’t want anything from him.
She is brighter and far more alert now, the diet is really helping. Her only English word so far….omelette, she loves then done with our own free range eggs and has one nearly every day for lunch. The veg man who calls sells all locally produced veggies so that is great for her. The milk is from a local farmer rich and pure. Tonight it is Chicken Masala with chicken fried rice and roti’s.
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| Three weeks of a high proteen diet and lots of fruit |
Breakfast usually includes a banana; we are going through them like crazy! Huge bunch on the table now, let’s see how long this lasts. The only relief is when she moves onto apple or pomegranate. Fruit is such a treat her little eyes light up when Kris comes in with the veggies.
The dogs are getting used to her, Chilli follows her about, it used to worry Geeta but Chilli has persisted and now they are becoming friends. The latest is chase me, she runs up to Chilli then runs away. She needs a friend so this is lovely to see.
Thursday.
Geeta is full of life today, for the first time since she came to live with us she is moving her right hand fingers a little, she is in far less pain and happy. Today when Kris changed Geeta’s dressing there was some new
skin growth, the first for nearly a year….this is HUGE, it shows she is
recovering.
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| A different little girl to the poor sick little one who God put in our path. |
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| I was watching cartoons.......then ZZZZZZZZZ |
Dloo is settling in now, trying to convince her she is not here as a servant has been hard, now I think she knows her help is appreciated around the house but only because she is a sister living with us.
The neighbours have realise we have house guests now, they are too polite to ask all the whys and wherefores but word about Geeta is spreading on the colony. Indians boast about what they do to help others….’look at me’ so they are probably wondering why we don’t advertise the facts about what we are doing.
Update.
Update.
Kris took Geeta to the hospital for the first of the
transfusions. They tried her hand and arm but it was causing so much pain that
when they couldn’t find a vein in her arm Kris stopped it. Her veins are so
thin due to malnutrition that they can’t accept even a small needle. Kris has
insisted that she now be prescribed an oral course. It will take longer to get
into her system but Kris was not allowing Geeta to suffer any more just for a
faster process.
We will update you all with progress next month.
A decision
made, then remade!
Since the
day we married we have known that the day would come when the pain Kris has
(especially in Winter) would gradually get worse as she got older.
We have
done all we can to delay that process (Installing a bath and hot water to soak
in has helped a lot) but she has now reached the point where she cannot ride
any long distances on the Royal Enfield.
We have
discussed this over the years and decided that I would like to keep riding as I
have all my life so the bike would be modified to a solo.
A friend,
Peter Joseph and me spent three months making a nice job of it. Begged and made
as much as we could and produced this. Solo, very tidy bike.
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| In two up mode with super soft seat for Kris. We have ridden many thousands of kilometers on her exploring India. |
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| New solo mode. Plus one or two tweeks to improve power. |
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| Peter, a very good friend. He's a DJ. |
There was one thing we had overlooked. As a young man I had
ridden many miles solo and enjoyed the solitude and freedom to go where the
road took me. On one occasion I told a current girlfriend I was going out for a
ride, I telephone 8hrs later to tell her ‘I will see you tomorrow’ from
Scotland. Solo riding was nothing new to me but there was a major snag. Kris
and I have been riding together now for 7yrs, the sheer fun we have had on that
bike is incredible, from exploring the far south of India to falling off cross
country riding in 18” of mud. We have many stories to tell. I can’t ride solo,
it doesn’t feel right not having my riding partner with me, where’s the fun of
exploring alone and sending photographs home?
So, we unmade the decision so that Kris could ride with me
again.
This isn’t my bike but the sidecar is the one we are getting
so we can be together again when we go away. We are both very happy with the decision.
It is quite
an adventure to be back on an ‘outfit’, I rode several many years ago but I have
now got to relearn all I have forgotten. I have had several changes made to the
sidecar, a softer seat and a bump stop around the front of the SC to protect the
passenger, bit like a bumper, and no spotlight, we have better.
There are
some definite advantages to this new riding combination.
We have a ‘boot’
in the sidecar and a rear rack for storage; with the bike now being solo we
have the rack on the bike and throw over bags where the passenger would sit.
Kris can relax more and actually see more of what’s going on than she used to
be able to from the pillion seat.
As ever nothing
here is a direct fit. A few mods to the brakes have to be made so that the foot
brake operates both the bike and chair brakes (bike rear).
Lighting
has to be moved onto the sidecar as do the left indicators. I also want to fit
a ’map light’ in the sidecar for Kris at night in case she has to find
something.
I also have
to change the final gear ratio to that of the Royal Enfield 350cc to give me
more pulling power from my 5oocc engine without straining it. This will result
in a slight loss of top speed but will make the outfit much nicer to ride
around Rajasthan’s roads.
Cold Winter coming.
When we first came to India we arrived in November, lovely and warm,
sunny days cool nights, T shirts.
Seven years on we have acclimatised, 45/50degC summers make what was a
warm winter for us now jumpers and coats!
Temperatures in winter drop to about 20degC in the daytime and
9/11degC at night. It sounds lovely but after getting acclimatised it feels so
cold. That’s over a 20/25degC drop in temp. The human body can’t cope with that
much difference so we have adapted to the heat. Today, coming to the end of the
monsoon it is 29degC and 85% humidity. to us this is getting cooler but the
high humidity just makes it unpleasant. Although winter will be cold it is a
relief after the months of clammy heat.
While we were in our last place before we moved to here with a long
lease we built a wood burner. The house was so damp and cold we could never get
warm. The wood burner solved that. Kris had far less pain and we enjoyed the
sheer pleasure of watching a log fire again.
We have a lot of financial commitments here beyond the normal rent
electricity etc. We have social and community projects we support as well as
helping some children with school costs. And of course now we have Geeta.
Education is vital for future development of this society. All that having been
said i cannot watch Kris go through another winter suffering with joint pain.
We had planned our annual holiday around the bike clubs annual meet as
we always do. We take two weeks and tour the area of the meet (it changes every
year) this year it is in Chennai in the south east of India, a part we have
never visited. This can be costly as we have to stay at hotels wherever we go,
but once a year we treat ourselves.
This year we have decided with all the other costs we have that we
cannot afford it. One thing I won’t compromise on is Kris's pain levels.
After much research we have purchased a wood burning stove made here in
India, it is perfect for our needs, maximum output is 7Kw. now all we have to
do is install it.
Our
landlord is very happy with us as long term tenants and has allowed us to do
various other jobs and changes in the house.
The car port to protect the bikes in monsoon and of course the solar water heating so Kris can have a bath, out with the shower in our bedroom and in with her tub.
The car port to protect the bikes in monsoon and of course the solar water heating so Kris can have a bath, out with the shower in our bedroom and in with her tub.
As he says
if we are happy here we will stay, then he will be happy getting assured income
every month from the house. He has no other use for the house and has had
several bad short term lets that have cost him a lot in redecorating and repair
costs. Very pragmatic gentleman.
I have to
admit that I was a little concerned ……can I bang a hole through the wall? No
problem as long as we fill it again should we ever leave. He seemed pleased
that we were planning long term.
So, project
Winter Warmth was born.
Project winter warmth was under way!
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| The back and base are of local stone |
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| The hole |
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| Inside |
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| Outside |
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| In all its 26' and fits on top of the bends section we have already fitted |
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| Chimney top |
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| Our winter fuel arrived. |
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| All stacked under cover in the car port. |
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| It didn't take Moti long to find a warm dry spot |
The girls
Garden
Our orchard seems to be growing well. We lost one, don’t know
why. We also have two grape vines. Nothing much happening in the Garden yet, by
next month we will be sowing again.
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| How do you stop monkeys raiding your fruit trees? Wrap them in a bag, if they cant see the fruit on the tree they dont bother |
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| This
was my morning cigarette 36 days ago, None since. |
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Chicken
and Veg pizza omelette.
|
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| My laptop getting some surgery, overheating and drive not working. Nine years and I already have to fit a new drive! And I only use it every day! Settled on an SSD so it was quicker starting. Now ok again |
Comments by Kris
This month
has definitely seen some major changes the biggest has been Geeta and Dloo,
moving in so Geeta is near the hospital and able to continue her treatment and
dressings. It’s an adjustment for us all, I think Geeta has adjusted the best
to be honest, she seems to be thriving and much happier in herself, although a
long way from healed at this point. It’s lovely to hear her giggle and chatter
away mainly in Mewari but there is some Hindi and English in there too.
When our
friend Chirag came to fix Chris’s laptop she got really upset she thought he
was a doctor, she doesn’t like doctors or hospitals and who can blame her.
The biggest
difficulty we have is deciding what to eat especially if I just fancy a bit of
English non spicy food for a change but were managing and Dloo makes great roti’s.
I am doing
Geeta’s dressings of her arm myself now at the request of the plastic surgeon
and we do seem to be making some improvement albeit slow. She still gets very
distressed but we give her analgesia and topical anaesthesia to help the pain.
She is so trusting of me and as Chris says she knows I am trying to help her.
Chris’s painful foot
I have been
dressing Chris’s foot daily and that is slowly improving what is nice is that
Geeta often comes and holds Chris’s hand during the change of dressing as he
often does the same to Geeta or tries to distract her from an unpleasant
experience she has when her dressings are changed. (I use jelonet which stops
the gauze swabs from sticking to the burn, so more comfortable to remove
leaving the skin intact.
(Chris: I stepped on a large piece of swarf that dug deep into my foot. Because it was deep and curved Kris had to dig deep to get it out. It went yuk so Kris has also lanced it to help drain it. Anti biotics and all will be well again. No more bare foot in the workshop for me)!
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| Yes, thats my foot. managed to stab myself with a piece of metal. It might have been my habit of going bare foot that may have contributed a little. |
My allergic reaction
And just so
I don’t miss out from the attention I accidentally without realising it touched
an Indian caterpillar which was very spiky, yes it looks innocent here but
believe me stay clear.
I
immediately felt itching and pain in my thumb, so I washed the area, scrubbed
it with a nail brush to get the spikes out and took an antihistamine. It
remained very itchy, red
and swollen and very painful for four days. 
However
today when I rode into the old city I got no pins and needles or numbness in
that hand whereas I normally get it in both hands, partly due to problems in my
neck and carpel tunnel syndrome. As we figured it gave me a neuro toxin which
caused all the symptoms but maybe it was worth it if I get relief when riding,
we’ll wait and see. Not sure if I want to experience this again but I’m not
ruling anything out at this point.
Getting
excited about our trip to Chennai for the weekend, we’ll cover that in next
month’s blog.
Well that’s it for this month,
God bless you all,
Chris and Kris
Udaipur,
Rajasthan.
