But first, a few quick pre-mass stories.
First, what I'm about to describe to you is a type of wound I've heard legends about for weeks… and today was my first time to personally witness one. There actually was a man with a hole in the top of his head ¾ the size of a tennis ball!!! Insane… And he was still alive! One of the sisters was picking, brace yourself for this one, maggots out of the wound cavity!!! Oh my God. What's crazy is that we get patients like this several times a month. Just what are these poor people doing to themselves?!?
On another note, there's a young Indian man named Jonathan at Kalighat who is in for some serious burns on his chest. He's about 23, has a wife and two kids… one of which is only 6 months old. For a Bengali, his English is pretty good. He told me that a few months ago a large vat of boiling chai tea fell landing and spilling all over his chest. Until today, I had never seen his wound without them being covered by bandages. Oh my God! It spreads from his throat shoulder to shoulder and down to a few inches above his belly button… or at least were it used to be. It's crazy to look at. He has NO SKIN. No nipples. Just bare raw inner flesh. You can see all kinds of little blood vessels and stuff. Ouch!
Each day, they swap his old bandages out for new ones. Today he asked me if I could help the Nun turned nurse while she did his bandaging. He laid on his cot with his hands up over his head and I held them while he writhed at each touch of the sisters q-tips and gauze. The whole time he squeezed my hands and wailed, "help me Jesus, help me Jesus, I trust you Jesus, I trust you Jesus" over and over pausing only for short breaths in between. I did my best to pray for his comfort and healing as she dressed his wound, but I must admit, being that close to something so insanely traumatic, I couldn't concentrate enough to get out more than a pathetic, "Help him God, God help him!"
Apparently, he thought I did alright though because as we were finishing and putting away our bandaging tools he asked the nurse if I can be the one that helps him every day. Wow! What an honor.
Now on to mass:
Today was quite a unique experience because it is the last day of Durga Puja here in Kolkata. That is a festival that celebrates the Hindu goddess Kali, the goddess of death and destruction (BTW the Kali temple is immediately next door to the house for the destitute and dying where I volunteer). Weird huh? Anyway today while sitting in the calm of mass I could hear a beautiful cacophony of noises in the background. There were crows crowing, bells were ringing, drums beating, the catholics reading their Apostle's creed, and beautiful Hindi music wafting in through the open windows. I looked out across the room and saw nuns and volunteers from all over the world here to serve the poorest of the poor. China, Korea, all parts of India, Japan, the UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, the USA, and lastly (Heh heh... sorry guys) Canada. It was total sensory overload…
While most of the patients at Kalighat are grown men, we do have one young boy (about age 10) who suffers from leporisy. He no longer has use of his legs. During the service he sat next to me and held my hand. Awwh… Anyway, strangely he studied my hand with fascination for several minutes (probably because he's never seen a white person's hand up close). Later as I stood next to him while singing, I felt a sharp pain on my foot. I looked down to find he'd ripped a scab of the top of my foot. Ouch Lil' bugger! Heh heh…
You will never guess what happened next! Just when you think nothing more could happen on an already jam packed day... just as the old Italian priest was about to give the Lord's supper his words started to slur and his head dropped. Next he slumped over, falling, hit his head on the microphone, and collapsed to the ground! Everyone rushed the stage and since the nuns couldn't lift him, one of the brothers and I lifted him onto a chair. He immediately came to, but was a bit dazed. Having many nurses on hand, they questioned him about how he felt and then, despite the protests of the nurses, the priest CONTINUED on with the service! Later we learned that he had been very sick for the last several days and had a prior heart condition. Hmm… better get that checked buddy.
Anyway, I could go on and on about all that I saw and the several Buddhist monasteries I visited in Darjeeling, or how I got a third eye mark on my forehead at a Hindi puja temple, or all the crazy scam artists I've encountered here, but I must get going soon. Maybe next time...
I love and miss you all. Hope to see you all so soon...
Jeremiah
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