Journey

This is our last full day at Bryan’s House. We continued to interact with the children in the classroom in the morning and work on the Easter project in the afternoon. The children are getting used to seeing us and are remembering our names. It has been an incredible journey learning from not only the staff, but the children. All of the children are very strong willed and determined to do everything. Despite their special needs the teachers and assistants settle for nothing but the best from them. We have no idea what specific illnesses the children have or may not have. We knew coming in that because of strict confidentiality and privacy rules that we probably would not know. I think in the beginning this made people nervous and curious, but as a group, we have all come to the conclusion that the children’s illness does not matter. What matters is that we as volunteers treat all of them the same and that they deserve the best care possible. Today the nurse came in and spoke to us about HIV and AIDS and the medical advances in the past few years. What I really appreciated about him was his honesty. He specialized in HIV nursing after his daughters friend growing up was diagnosed. He assisted the family and the young girl through her illness until the end of her life. He eventually started out at Bryan’s House a few days a week, but now works there full time. He administers medications and conducts assessments on the children. He brings in occupational therapist, speech therapist, and physical therapist to work with the children. Our students are already talking about how going home is going to be difficult. Tomorrow is our last day!