My life as I know it …...

No day is the same… a dear friend once told me 'Some days are diamonds, some pearls'. I never grasped this concept until now… they may be different, but both are precious.

I have no job description… for the first time in my life… and, truthfully, I would not wish to be restricted by one… my life is what it needs to be, anything it needs to be. And everything it needs to be…

Malabon - our outreach….

Crafts ….

As the crowds gather…..

Recycling in Malabon….

Child's play will always be Child's play….

And toys will always be discarded…..

Light in the darkness

Too much freedom with my iPhone :) 

Too much freedom with my iPhone :)

Neighbours washing line ….. on the street

A boy I (literally) picked up on my way to work, semi-naked, and  on the street corner crying…..
mum at work and left unsupervised …. he had escaped. They were happily reunited :)

A climb to Floor 4 because the door was locked from the inside!

Daniel - a 2 yr old cerebral palsy, seizures….due to maternal TB…. 5 kgs

CXR diagnosing…. pneumonia and TB!

Chicken pox …. hit most of our children
since Varicella vaccine is not on the Government schedule

Too much freedom with my iPhone :)

Delight in reaching milestones…..my delight

Diagnostics clinic!! 

Developing x-rays

TB clinic …a home from home

And a patient of ours…. no, not patient…. a family member! 

Unknown rashes!!!

My 'Walk Club' 

De-worming of Gentle Hands! Medicine and a Mentoes

New sight for Tacloban child….. and a little carousel ride in between!

Mumps!! 

My science lesson on hearing

Joey….TB, severe oedema …. not well!

New vaccination fridge -
GH has become its very own vaccination center .
You will not believe what joy this brings me :)

My road… to home

My alley to home….

I do not know the exact reason I have been brought here… but I do live each day as if that were the reason… because you never know how large that change will become.  

Delight in Sight!

Today was a very special day…

Renato is 5 yrs old… he was born blind in one eye because his mum contracted measles during pregnancy… 

He is one of eleven children. He is in Manila because of the typhoon. His mum died protecting her one month old baby … as a tree fell on her whilst she held him.  

The dad. A farmer. Was left with 11 children and no home. He owned a carabao (domestic water buffalo) which he sold in order to buy ferry tickets to take his family to Manila … where the only option was to distribute the children out to family members. 

One family's story of Yolanda's devastation … 

… and today I had the incredible privilege of meeting them, and being a part of changing this little boys' world …

I am not aware of how they came to know Gentle Hands but Charity had organised an appointment at the American Eye Centre … and, as Gentle Hands nurse, I was tasked to accompany them. Dad, Auntie and Renato … Dad and Renato spoke only Leyte dialect (not Tagalog), Auntie spoke Tagalog, Leyte dialect and minimal English. I spoke … well … Taglish (and badly) … yet it somehow worked … it always somehow does :) 

Although nothing can be done with his blind eye, his other eye was diagnosed as 'near sighted' and he was given a prescription. 

So … following a brief pit stop at Gentle Hands, we took a trip to the local shopping mall to buy him glasses … an ice cream and a little bit more!

Sarah Joy…. suggested a ride on the carousel …. and I am so thankful she did.
His smile lit up my world 

In just one day, the view of his world changed!! I have no words to express the joy that brings. 

Gentle Hands good works continues to astound me.