tora bunda and birthday shinadigans

Trucks full of people zooming down the motorway, and the vendors that pounce on you when you stop at the lights. This coconut would set you back $0.20cents.

Hmmm birthday lunch. SALAD! You crave fresh veges and fruit!

Having curry for my birthday on top of the roof with some other volunteers.

This is Amiri...nicknamed "tora bunda". which translates to little monkey.

Gorgeous Najoo. Found at railway station. Advanced breast cancer.

Just the usual you see on the roads! Lady pulling rickshaw with her two children, carrying her tiny baby!!

Waiting to give blood......

Things are starting to get busy again here at the ashram with a few sick patients arriving. We got a call from someone that knew of the ashram telling us there was a lady living at a railway station in south delhi who was sick. We went down to pick her up and was abit surprised as she looked ok'ish and could even walk to the car.

After arriving back at the ashram we took her dressing down to her right breast. She had a massive fungating tumor. Her breast literally crumbled apart when the dressing was removed. The stench was very strong.

She is HIV+ so is unwell anyway. We have taken her for lots of tests seeing what we can do for her. The hard thing is we don't know if there is much we can do. The cancer is too advanced. We now need to find out whether we make her comfortable here to die, or take her to a Mother Theresa ashram for the dying.

You see crazy stuff every day but this particular lady really moved me.

We got some volunteers together to donate blood as both she and another patient desperately needed it.

We came back from that and I got to give her her fist shower in a long time. This was a privilege. To be with someone so so vunerable and try and show them a small bit of love and care. I managed to find her some brand new clothes to wear. She looked so gorgeous and happy after!

I will keep you posted on her progress.

We have another patient called Amiri...nicknamed "tora bunda", which translates to 'little monkey'. He is one of the smallest men I have met. Hahaha he is about 32 kgs. He says that he is either 54 or 80 years old....haha. Even though he is small he has alot of strength in his voice! He yells and screams at me if I approach him with an IV antibiotic to put in his IV line. Sometimes I am very thankful my Hindi is so crap so I dont understand what he is calling me! Haha straight after I have given it he loves me again.

So many characters here!

Had my birthday a week ago. Jake took me into Delhi to stay in a hotel for the night, went to go shopping the next day but everything was closed due to yet another protest. They love their protests here!

Anyway we went out for lunch instead. Was SUCH a treat having a salad with blue cheese, pear and walnuts. Hmmmm...fresh food is so good! Theres only so many curries you can have for breakie lunch and dinner.

Ok, today is my day off again so I am off to the markets with another volunteer friend here Louise....Yay! Nice to get out for a lil outing.....Think Jake will give this one a miss though. Hes not the most committed shopper youv met =)