A Visit to the clinic for Fenis, one of the workers in the parish

First, let me tell you a little about Fenis.  She has been working in the parish for about a year and a half.  She is originally from Hinche and has 4 brothers and 7 sisters.  Here she cooks and cleans, does laundry and all of the other tasks it takes to keep this place going.  There are altogether between 3 and 6 women who together take care of the people in the rectory, depending on how many guests are here.  It is not always easy for me to know who are guests and who lives here.  Nurse Elvita, for example, lives here at the rectory from Monday through Friday and returns to her family in Hinche for the weekend.  Za, another friend of Fr. KeKe's often comes when there is a large group, like when our parish group comes, or for the Patronal Feast.

Anyway, back to Fenis.  Yesterday she showed me her foot.  right where the toes join the foot, there was an oozing sore.

I told her she should go to the clinic.  Today I asked her if she had gone, since she was limping noticeably.  She said no.  I then took her hand and told her I would go with her.  She insisted that she didn't want to go; when I insisted, she wanted to wash her foot first.  I talked briefly with Elvita, and she told me that Fenis did not want to go to the clinic, because she was afraid.  I was afraid that a bigger infection would ensue if she didn't go to the clinic.  Now I had expected Elvita to be the one who took care of her.  Instead, a man who I think is kind of like an LPN put gloves on, examined the foot, carefully put iodine on the affected area, put triple antibiotic on it and proceeded to bandage it with gauze, carefully taping two of the toes together.

Elvita gave me Amoxycillin pills for her to take daily and more triple antibiotic.  Hopefully she will improve rapidly!