Kids’ Doc in Jos

(April 9) We’ve had a wonderful Easter vacation week at our mission retreat center at Miango and today we’re heading home. The whole week we’ve had quiet, with few interruptions. The scenery is nice, if not dramatic or beautiful, and the weather has been a special treat as the rainy season began suddenly Wednesday with afternoon and evening showers every day since then. Except for one storm in March, we hadn’t had any rain since October so this was very welcome.

Our fun vacation activities? For Luke, playing outside all day long with his friends new and old. Except for a few odd breaks, we’ve hardly seen him in the house before 7:30 pm. He doesn’t need toys other than sticks, leaves, rocks, and so on.

Barb and I didn’t do anything other than sleep and read books (and take care of baby, of course), at least until the last two days when Saralynn and David joined us; we’ve played games with them, too (Mhing, Cities & Knights, Ticket to Ride, and Puerto Rico). Meals are part of the package at Miango, so Barb has enjoyed a break from cooking.

I went on a short walk with Luke up the hill here, and he loved throwing rocks down the slope—he said they were “messages.” That evening, though, I noticed my legs were itching and red, then my neck looked sunburned, and today, two days later, the underside of my arms. Even my scalp is itchy. Sunburn? But I put sunscreen all over my face, neck, and at least the top of my arms, and I was wearing long pants. I’ve decided it must be a photosensitivity reaction because of the doxycycline I take to prevent malaria, though I’ve never had any such trouble before. Apparently even the small amount of sun getting through my pants and hair was enough to trigger it on my legs and scalp; either that or the rash can extend beyond the areas directly hit by the sun.

Books I read:

• Feet of Clay , by Terry Pratchett. Saralynn and Jonathan were the ones that enticed me to read Terry Pratchett. I didn’t like the first one I read, Small Gods, but enjoyed Monstrous Regiment and this one. Rather wacky and irreverent (actually, anti-religious), but fun and occasionally thought provoking.
• My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Piccoult. This is probably my favorite book of the year to date; Saralynn lent it to us. It’s a well-written novel about a girl whose conception was carefully planned by her parents to provide life-saving stem cells for her sick sister. Good insight into the stresses caused by very ill children, good material for thinking on ethical issues, and a good story. Suggestion: Tear out the last two chapters (”Brian” and “Sara” along with the epilogue. This vastly improves the ending; check the Amazon reviews if you don’t believe it.
• Cancer Ward, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. My Sister’s Keeper is a really good book, but Cancer Ward is on a different plane altogether. It’s one of those books you should read at least once in your life (this is my second time), even if you’re too young to remember the legacy of Soviet Communism in the old Soviet Union. Solzhenitsyn is one of the all time greats. The book is even more essential reading if you’re involved in the field of health care.
• Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer. I never though about just how tough climbing Everest is. This is a good book, written by a journalist (who is also a climber, but not experienced in high-altitude climbing) who joins a commercially guided group to climb Everest. Not everyone survives the disasters that follow.
• Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing. If this were fiction, it would be unbelievable. I don’t read many survival stories, but this one certainly is one of the most amazing. Stranded for two years in the antarctic, and without even a land base? Navigating the wild, freezing seas in a glorified rowboat? Great book, should be easy to find in your local library (in English speaking developed countries, anyway).
• The Last Sin Eater, by Francine Rivers. I read quickly through half the book before giving up. Just not my cup of tea. I was expecting more substance, but it all seemed, well, constructed to make a point rather than a story. Maybe it’s just me.
• The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner. I had the opposite problem with this one … too much substance, too hard for vacation enjoyment. I didn’t know anything about the book, just picked it up at a garage sale. Blog readers, let me know if this is one I need to try again! (Amazon reviews seem to suggest I should … I guess I won’t get rid of it yet.)

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 15th, 2007 at 11:46 pm and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.