Everyday heroes

The end of my traveling last week was spent in Knysna, a town located six hours along the eastern coast from Cape Town.

While in Knysna, I was able to work with a hospice, or home-based care, worker as she visited the homes of patients living in a nearby township. Her patients are all terminally ill; many are in the late stages of cancer, AIDS, dementia, and/or epilepsy. One particular home visit that really struck a chord in me was to care for a patient who has epilepsy, advanced AIDS, and suffered a stroke three years ago. The woman, weighing only 80 lbs., has been confined to her bed since her stroke and can only blink to communicate. Her daughter, her primary care taker, has been extremely negligent; we (the hospice worker and I) spent the better part of a morning giving the patient a sponge bath and cleaning the horrible bed sores (ulcers) that span from her shoulder to hip.

The visit was impactful for a number of reasons. One in particular was observing the incredible compassion shown by the hospice worker to her patient (and to all the other patients we visited). Here is a community based health care volunteer who wakes up every morning with the emotional stamina, work ethic, and dedication to provide basic health care to people sick enough to have been cast aside. Without her inspirational courage and unwaverable conviction that she can make a positive difference in her community, many of these patients would be left to suffer-alone and forgotten. If this hospice worker isn't her nation's everyday hero, I don't know who is.

My time in Knysna also taught me that I seem to really like jumping off of tall things. As if my recent skydiving adventure wasn't intense enough, I found myself willingly jumping off a bridge! Not just any bridge, mind you, but the tallest bungee jumping bridge in the world! At 216 meters, the Bloukrans Bridge, located in the mountain range that separates the Eastern and Western Cape provinces, is a great place to defy gravity (at least for the five second free fall that drops you 600 feet before you are recoiled back up). To dive head-first from such heights was terrifying, exhilerating, and fun all rolled into one. I even have a nice certificate that proves I am too crazy for my own good!

The rest of my time in Knysna was spent safely on the ground. We took some time to explore the town, shop, hike, and take in the breathtaking ocean views (I have now dipped my feet in the Indian Ocean!). It has been nice to visit different parts of this country-a country that never ceases to fascinate me!