Salami Legroom

Nabila, my preceptor, hasn't been paid in
three months, yet here she is diligently
showing how we get a flush

As Friday is a Muslim holiday, Thursdays are basically Fridays here in Hebron.  As a result, there is a fireworks show going on at some big place about 200 yards outside my window.  They shoot off about 20 or so every hour.  It was cool at first, nows it's starting to get annoying. 

Life at the hospital goes on.  I found out today that no one here has been paid for a month. One of the nurses told me that since there is no money for the Ramadan feast (Ramadan is in August) she is planning on eating her children for the Iftar, or breaking of the fast. I think that the joke might have lost something in the translation.  (There go the damn fireworks again.)

My patient, Salah, whose name is actually Farah (Salah is the mother) is still here.  The doctors said a week ago that Farah could go home as soon as her parents buy a home suction machine.  I am starting to wonder if the parents know that. I have tried to get the other girls to ask the mother if she has questions about this request, but the baby is still here.  Not that I mind, I enjoy taking care of her.  (That is us in the picture.) 

Me and Farah

But I am really worried about her.  I think that I mentioned that her mother and father are older, which is probably why she has so many congenital defects.  She was also an IVF baby.  With the baby being likely developmentally delayed (I suspect Down's Syndrome), deaf, and mute from the trach, she will need much more stimulation then most babies to help her mind grow. She will cry, but it is completely silent, so she can't even ask for attention. 

Farah and her mother, Salah

And there go the fireworks again...