Delightfully routine - Introducing Siphesihle and Mduduzi...and Mom (6 of 10)

Mduduzi, Mom, and Siphesihle

I know that I looked strange by the way Mduduzi looked at me. It is almost certainly due in part to the color of my skin, for I am sure that he has interacted with only a handful of white people before, much less been trapped in a small room with one.

I reckon that I look and sound very unfamiliar to Mduduzi, for he gazed at me with intense uneasiness and fascination. He would look away only to make sure that his sister and mother were nearby to protect him.

When his older sister, Siphesihle, looked at me, she apparently found no novelty or cause for concern. She had outgrown any fear or intrigue that I might have once inspired.

This was just as well.

To be honest, I felt the same as she did.

Mduduzi and Siphesihle were just two more kids that had been very very sick until we put them on ARVs, and, like the rest, they are now thriving.

When I saw this turnaround for the first time, I was fascinated by the seemingly miraculous transition.

It was new...and awesome.

Now, I have seen so many Mduduzi’s and Siphesihle’s that I almost find them routine.

Blessedly, delightfully routine!

Awesomely, miraculously routine!

…at least at the Baylor Clinic.

The norm elsewhere is unlikely to delight.

I gave Mduduzi one more reassuring smile, thanked his mom for seeing that the children get all of their meds, and opened the door so that he could return to familiar surroundings.

I sent his ARVs with him.