Anna Grace

I've been doing just a little hospice care. I go out to this woman's family's home a few times a week. She was very weak and sick the first time that I saw her and honestly I didn't think she would live very long. But we got her into TASO (the government HIV treatment center) and though I didn't have a very high opinion of them she was doing a little better for a while. She started on ARVs and antibiotics. We got her pain under control and made sure she had enough food that she could eat. Mandy went with me to visit her earlier in the month and took this picture for me. We are sitting on the floor in Anna Grace's hut after having a cup of tea together.

For a few weeks she had a little more energy and looked better but is in the hospital now, and has been there since before we left for Kenya. I tried to talk her family out of taking her but I think she felt like too much to care for at home. This morning when I saw her she is more wasted away and almost unresponsive. They are not really doing anything for her there but state they can't release her until she has her strength back. The day we brought her in I carried her, so I'm not sure what kind of strength back we are talking about but I don't really believe she will ever go back home.

I'm trying to just support and encourage the rest of the family but honestly I hate visiting the hospital. I've grown quite attached to this little lady that has had such a hard life and I'm not looking forward to her funeral. But she knows that she will be in heaven and I'm looking forward to meeting her again there where we will share the same language and have a lot more time to get to know each other.