Bleeding

"The woman with the issue of blood" is one of the people from the Bible who we know well.

We know her well because we often talk about her in our HIV care trainings. This woman's experience uncannily mirrors the terrible sufferings that people with HIV go through (thanks to Dr. Daniel Fountain for pointing this out to us many years ago).

The woman has an incurable disease. She was known to have irregular, constant bleeding for 12 years. Mark records that she had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors (Mark 5.26). Luke says no was able to heal her (Luke 8.43). Her

Luke (a doctor himself) reports "she had spent all she had on doctors" (Luke 8.43). This was a woman who was poor. Whatever income she had before - it was gone now. She was ruined. How did she keep herself alive - we don't know - but she was destitute - and desparate.

The woman was also alone. Was she married? If she had been - she would have been divorced by her husband a long time ago. Which man in the Jewish society of the day would put up with a woman who kept bleeding - despite doctors visits and prayers?

If she was not married yet... well fat chance of ever getting married. Who will give their son to a woman who has no chance of giving a son back?

Did she have family? We don't know. The ritual law of the day meant that anyone touching a menstruating woman would be unclean. And if the flow of blood did not stop - the woman was considered unclean till it did.

This lady probably had no one touch her for years. Her starvation for the most basic human love language - the simple language of bodily touch - would have been acute.

And to compound things - all of this was 'in the open.' News travels. Tongues wag. 'Why did she not get better?' 'God must be punishing her' 'She has some hidden sin' Having her illness linked with her reproductive organs only heightened the shame and rejection she must have felt.

Yes we know this woman very well.

Because she is still here with us.

Not only one. But many.

Right now we have two ladies with HIV who are suffering from continous bouts of long-term bleeding. We have counselled them and are trying hard to get medical attention.

No one wants to touch them because they are HIV positive.

We sent one of them recently for a workup to a hysterectomy. We will call her Leela. The surgeon at the govt. hospital refused. Leela was given medicines and told to go home. She took the medicines. Leela is still bleeding.

These are thin women. Frail from the daily loss of blood. From the rejection and shame they undergo. Trying to look after their children. Trying to live with hope.

The story is the same for the other. Lets call her Shalini. We have been working through Shalini's case. When she was rejected for surgery at two places we are trying one of the largest govt. hospitals in Mumbai for her.

What did Jesus do?

He let the woman touch Him. He let power go from His robe. But He also brought her back.

So that she could tell her full story. So that others would hear of her sufferings. So that He could tell call her 'daughter'. So that she could be restored to be all that she was meant to be.

He wants us to do the same. Leela and Shalini are just two of his precious daughters who need healing.

Flashback

I was talking to a man after a gospel meeting yesterday night. We will call him Marcus. I mentioned that we work with people who have HIV/AIDS. Marcus said that one of his best friends died of AIDS.

It was in the early days of the epidemic in Bombay.

His friend was taken to JJ hospital. It was hell. The people with AIDS were put on a balcony with a grill on it - and were basically out in the open according to Marcus.

Marcus said that his friends told him not to go meet his friend. He said no - that HIV does not spread to those who love and care. He went and helped his friend in the hospital. He carried him to the toilet when he was too weak to walk.

His friend developed a big swelling in the lymph node on his neck. Tuberculosis.

Marcus said that he thought that the hospital killed him off. "They purposely give less medicines to them"

One day he came to meet his friend. And his friend was gone. The nurses wouldn't tell him what happened to his friend.

Someone else was in the bed where his friend had been.

Its no wonder that there are deep rooted fears about getting help at a govt. hospital.

Lego F1

In a universe far, far away from the mundane one we live in - a race is going on.

Not your normal one, mind you. One where the roar of engines bellows and where the cheers of the crowd swirl up with the fumes of petrol and burning rubber...

All at a very small scale of course.

Welcome to another father-son collaboration - our own lego F1

As cars come down the final stretch they are desperately vying for position.


The stands whiz by them as they jockey for every available inch of road trying to best each other.

Who finally crosses the line and gets the black and white chequered flag?


Thats for our race controlers to decide up in their tower....

And so the games go on.

The glory of lego - the game that you build and play and dream and build again.

-------------------

in the mean time, Enoch has populated the cars with robot drivers... the game continues...

Seema

We are in our swish new set up at Jeevan Sahara Kendra.

But the issues that our friends are dealing with have not evapourated since we moved up in the world.

We are still working with people who are at the margins, at the very edges of themselves.

A woman - we will call her Seema - has been in touch with us for the past few years.

We got to know her when her Aunt - a widow to AIDS. Seema's Aunt was HIV positive hersefl - and we looked after her son whom she lost to HIV and cancer in his leg.

A few months later came the devastating news that Seema herself had HIV - most probably from Manoj - the man she had eloped with.

Its been a long journey with this family.

Manoj lost his parents young and grew up in an almost feral atmosphere. He is a likeable person - but does not seem to be able to care for his children. He is a driver which means he has odd hours . They frequently shift homes. Seema returns periodically to her parents home. At times her parents have looked after their children. For a year her 5 year old son was sent to a hostel. He has been back for the past few months - but Seema and Manoj feel they cannot care for him - and are sending him away again.

For the past month Seema has been bleeding. We think she may have had an abortion - though she denies it when we have probed. Our team have been trying to help Seema get a family planning operation - but the couple have kept postponing.

Our staff went with Seema to the govt. hospital this morning to get an opinion on surgery for Seema. Being HIV positive is a specific cross to carry when you want health care - even where health care is available. They were back before 11 AM.

Seema and her two kids were in our gleaming halls. Her son was rolling on the ground crying. She looked at him with her small eyes.

Then she went in to talk to Sheba. Our nurse was with the children.

Gleaming walls don't touch hearts. The process of walking together with our HIV positive friends continues.

Our new home

Moving into a new home is always a joy.

And its always strange too.

You have been waiting for the day. Finally it collapses on you. What was hoped for is now a reality. An unfamiliar one - one that seems dream-like - and yet it slowly dawns on you that this is for real. This is where we are.

Welcome to our new home.


The Jeevan Sahara Community Care Centre is now operational out of the Lok Hospital building.

We are housed in the first floor of this impressive 4 story building - and surrounded by a veritable garden of Eden.

The insides of the building are still quite quiet.


Our main hall is currently silent compared to 3 weeks ago when the Lok Hospital was operating out of this venue.

But we know that it is only a matter of time.

We were blessed to have some of our old patients come on the very first day of our work in the new premises:
And we know that it is only a matter of a short time before we will be able to do justice to this amazing facility that we are now working out of.

Can we take you for a short visit to our new 'digs'?

As you come up the stairs you see the sign that we are here:

It has taken some time, but since the Lok Hospital moved to their operations to the new Bethany Hospital on June 1st, we were able to get moving ourselves - and had our last OPD at the old centre on the 9th of June - and our first one at the new on the 10th!

Mr. E.J. Stephen - who was with us to dedicate the new work - reminded us that when Jacob went to Egypt to meet his long-lost son Joseph he first worshipped the Lord. That's what we want to continue to do in our new place - put God first in all we do - and work hard to be a blessing to others.

As you turn the corner you are greeted at the reception by our smiling nurse Agnes!


The next door on the left opens into our Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre. People who need to know about their HIV status are counselled and tested for the disease - and given the reports with confidentiality, care and hope. It is a blessing to be able to help many in this way - and more so since our reports are govt. recognised and can be used at the govt. hospitals for further HIV care there.


The next room - this time on the right - is the main doctor's consulting room. We know that this room will be on the front-line of care as many who come will receive their first credible counselling for the confusing catastrophe that has befallen them. Though we have no simple buttons to press to make everything magically better - the loving application of truth - and the practical whole-person care that Sheba is able to start in this room is going to continue to change lives and mould destinies. We are grateful for Dr. Marise who comes joins Sheba on Tuesdays and Friday mornings to help out - and we are still praying for other medicos to join who want to serve in the name and love of Jesus.

The next door on, also on the right, is the current home-based care room:


We are blessed to have 3 mini-teams of two people each who are looking after about 150 active HIV cases in Thane city. Our home-based care managers go out every day and meet families who are living with HIV.

Coordinating this work is our dear Peter Chettiar - and we are thrilled that Daniel Kautikkar is with us on his final bit of his MSW and is just about to rejoined us.


Next in to corridor is the place where these keys are being typed:

It is a privilege to be working in this new environment - and I trust that this office will be a place where a lot of blessing will flow from. One of the many small evidences of grace was to find out that this room (previously used as an ultrasound room) had a computer cable snaking all the way to the reception - so that I was able to get onto the internet as soon as we were able to have our old number transferred here!

The final two rooms are testimony to the main reason we have shifted our work to the Lok Hospital building. They are our current in-patient care rooms.


Our desire is to be running at 10 bedded inpatient facility for people with HIV who need hospitalisation. We are not running an ashram for people with HIV to stay indefinitely - we want people to live at home - and to restore relationships and live productive and fulfilled lives in the places where their families are. But we know that for many - when they fall ill - they need a place for healing and restoration. That's what we believe we will be able to provide here at the Jeevan Sahara Kendra Community Care Centre.

Its a small beginning - and as we write the place seems large and empty - but we know that we will soon be humming.

Our plan is to renovate what has been used as the main operating theatre into wards where 10 beds can be accomodated. These rennovations will take some time - so we will be currently offering 4 beds in our 2 in-patient care rooms.

Other renovations planned are dividing the previous X-ray room into two - so that we can house a minor Operating Theatre and a small x-ray machine. In addition, we plan to have the 'stilt' area opened up so that we can hold trainings and HIV positive friends support group meetings there.

Home sweet home!

Its still strange in some ways - but we are growing into the new place - it is growing on us - and we are growing up and beyond where we have been!

moving in, moving up!

Take a rainy day. Take lots and lots of boxes. Take various heavy things like refridgerators and hospital beds and gas cylinders. And more boxes.

Now move them across from one place to the other - with ominous clouds over head. Clouds that start to show what they are made of as the afternoon wears on.

We did it.

We actually shifted all the stuff from our old Jeevan Sahara Kendra Centre to the amazing new digs we have at the Lok Hospital building.

It wasn't easy.

But is was fun.

Everyone pitched in.

Heavy stuff was loaded. Then unloaded. Then moved. Then moved again.

A patient trolley in our new JSK home was put to good use.

Many a back and other assorted muscles were sore the next day.

The shift saw our last 8 years of work boxed up.

And brought over.

A good amount of clearing up of the old Lok Hospital materials also took place.

And then our things were resorted and placed in their new homes.

Some of us had more fun doing this than others!


But at the end of the day - we had moved everything over to the new Jeevan Sahara Kendra Community Care Centre.

We were exhausted and happy and after a prayer of thanks dug into hot samosas and chai to finish off a memorable exercise.


Though the rain did come down - we had managed to put all the boxes in the truck for its first journey - and so were able to move everything over without any damage.

Though the next few days saw lots and lots of unpacking - we managed to do achieve our main goal - getting the clinic shifted in an afternoon - and being open for business on the next morning.


And so they came - our first patients being cared for at our new OPD in the Jeevan Sahara Kendra Community Care centre.

Moving in, and moving up!

Thanks for your prayers and best wishes - and thanks for the muscles provided by the JSK staffa and volunteers - and visiting med students (Ben, Erin and Prerana)!

Moving day

Yesterday we stripped my office. Bundled up all those dusty files. Carted out the desk and computer. Into a tempo and over to the Lok Hospital building.

This morning most of it remains in boxes. Shabby cardboard in the echoing halls of the new Jeevan Sahara Kendra.

Moving day is finally here.

This morning the clinic gets the treatment. Sheba will see patients till 1 PM. In the meantime everything else gets packed. And sent over to Lok. By this evening we want to be unpacked and ready for tomorrow.

At 9 AM tomorrow we will start operating out of the Lok Hospital building. As always we will start with prayer and a time of reflection from the Bible.

Then our teams will visit people with HIV in their homes, and our clinical staff will meet patients at the new premises. If they come that is. It will take some time for our people to reorient to the new JSK. I think we will have empty corridors for some days.

At the same time we will be doing renovations to accomodate a 10 bedded ward. We are still looking for medical and nursing staff to augment our team.

On Saturday we will have our first session of the Training in HIV Care for Church members in our new set-up. There will have to be many arrangements and changes - but we are determined to move forward.

Our feet are touching the waters of the river Jordan. Now to see the waters part... and move forward into the promise.

Moving day.