Medicine

The girls love medicine. They are always reminding us of times to take their medicines.

Unfortunately, with all the skin conditions they brought here, they have plenty of medicines to take - but still - I don't remember knowing any kids that so look forward to medicine and will make up reasons to get more of it.

Colleen and I have two theories (1) scarcity and (2) attention.

The girls had very little access to medicine where they grew up. People regularly died for lack of simple basic wound care, routine vaccines, or garden variety anti-biotic. So medicine was revered. People in their village probably thought of medicine as something extremely rare and valuable that only very wealthy people could afford.

In the orphanage, medicine time equalled attention time. A very pretty and kind nurse would take time talking to them, trying to understand them, and they got adult attention all to themselves. Also, the medicine worked. The kids learned that rashes, or diarrhea, or runny noses they had endured their entire lives would go away after taking medicine. Itwas a miracle. And to a kid, more is better, which is why they are always asking for more.