Diary Friday December 11^th 2009

Today has been a good day – quite a different day but none the less a good day. The day began with a pre-recorded interview with the Christian Radio Station – to our amazement that took almost one and a half hours; of course there was a translator but it was a long interview by any standards. Of course it will be edited so will be less time than that!

After that with Alex Stroie of Mustard Seed Romania we obtained permission to go to kidney dialysis unit in the Oradea hospital where Flori has her dialysis three times a week. We went to visit her (not usually allowed) and to distribute Christmas shoeboxes to all the other dialysis patients not forgetting the staff. We had to wear some strange blue gowns and wear extra material over our shoes. We were well received and Flori was over-joyed to see us. While there we saw Roberta (a teenager also from Cefa who is on Mustard Seed’s education programme) having her dialysis.

We are concerned about Flori. The arm where she always has the dialysis machines attached cannot cope with this anymore. She has a permanent attachment in her arm which is used each time to insert the tubes. Now that arm and especially the hand is swollen and a dark colour and very very painful. She has had 2 unsuccessful surgeries to insert another attachment into her other arm but these have failed to work. On Sunday she is to travel across Romania (700 kilometers) to have a attachment fitted to her neck. She is bright and cheerful about it but admitted to lying awake worrying about it most of last night.

When we got back to Casa Mabel Ana one of the pensioners who lives here was just back from several weeks in hospital and she greeted us enthusiastically. We gave her her shoebox and watched with tears in our eyes as she wept with joy on finding soap and other toiletries. She explained that her own soap and toothbrush and toothpaste had been stolen in the hospital so she had none. But what moved her the most was a hand knitted blanket inside the box. It was a very special time for us and for her.

Without doubt it is lovely to see the young women (all with sad backgrounds of orphanages and rejection) relating to the older women. I spoke to Rody Stroie and she said she was very apprehensive about how it would work initially to have the older women downstairs and the younger women upstairs but it is a huge success, it is like a family. Tonight we saw the girls puzzling over a jar of preserves and taking them to Maria for her advice. It is Maria who has given Flori something cool to rub on her painful arm and hand.

It is a privilege to stay here and now the diary is done I shall go and join the rest of them in the lounge.

PS I MUST HAVE BEEN PRETTY EXHAUSTED WHEN I DID MY FIRST DIARY YESTERDAY AS I GOT THE DAY WRONG. IT SHOULD HAVE READ “Thursday December 11^th” not Wednesday.

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