2nd Round of Vaccinations at Starcare

11.30AM this morning, we are having an appointment with the Pediatrician.  The Sri Lankan lady.   We are there on time and go through the procedures of registration and all that sort of thing.  We are told to wait, by our ‘friends’ who seem to know us as the Starcare Loyalty Fraternity.  That is what we are. 

First check, will be Maya’s weight and length. It all seems fine.

Weight              : 5470 gms

Height               : 60 cm

And then to the doctor.  I had a list of questions, that I had typed into my iPhone.  Some of the questions might have seemed strange and silly. But this doctor is just so obliging that it does not make me feel an idiot to ask.  And, I learnt somethings.  

(a) One does not have to clean a baby’s ears and nose.   

(b) The BCG takes 6 weeks to show a reaction on her arm.   (c) The jerky motions that she shows when feeding, is when milk goes down the wrong passage.  

(d) And a note on Vitamin D.  Something that I have had trouble understanding.  Apparently, most kids in the tropic do not need supplements   In spite of the fact that dark skin hinders the conversion under the surface, the exposure is sufficient. On the other hand, kids born in Europe, do have a problem in terms of absorption  Not because they cannot (in reality, they absorb better), but because the Sun does not favour them that much.  In Maya’s case it is to do with mixed race. She is catogarised more as a dark skin, as such she has to take supplements   Living in the Middle East, with the heat is no fun to be out for a baby.  Anyway, my point, she will continue with 10 micrograms a day.  That’s settled.

And now the vaccinations.  It is her 3^rd month shots or the  2^nd round of shots!  Maya is usually the kind of baby that does not seem to make a fuss.  But we are concerned.  It is said to be painful.  And I am worried.  Not for anything.  We just cannot bear to see her in pain.  But this must be done.  I am also rather confused with the whole change from Netherlands to Oman.  What was given today was,

Tritanrix – HB + HIB 0.5ml  (DPT, HEP B, HAEMOPHILUS, INFLUENZAE B)

Injectable POLIO Vaccine (IMOVAX 0.5ml).

I need to sit down and make a table of what is required.  It seems to me that something has gone amiss. Or, it might just be, me being paranoid. 

Since coming home she has been asleep.  But keep waking up and screams in pain and goes back to sleep.  Hope she will be fine tomorrow.  It is not at all a nice feeling to see a girl who is nearly always happy in this mood. 

The sadness of Jihad Misharawi

A story that touched me.

Omar was a 11 month old infant.  The son of  Jihad Misharawi, who happens to be a BBC Arabic journalist.  Omar was tragically  killed.  The father’s question,

‘What did my son do to die like this?’  

He was killed by a shrapnel from Israeli fire in Gaza.   An unfair world for the people in Gaza.  This touched me, and it broke me inside.   The pain that Jihad must have gone through, and is still going through is unimaginable.  And on the other side of the divide you have the Israeli authorities who are responsible for this death, making flippant comments that it is all part of war.  A sad world we live in. 

Obviously, I think of Maya. I imagine Maya  being there and wonder how I would handle something of this nature.  The fate of Omar.  In that context, I salute Jihad.  That he has not taken this hatred beyond this point. And if he did, I would in no way hold him responsible for what he does.

I just wish that by the time Maya is of age, war will be something she only learns of in a history class.  And that she will see it with disdain and detestation and loath the thought of it.  

As for Omar, I desperately do wish, that there is a place called heaven (even though I am an anti-theist).  Not for the 'religious and righteous'  fraudsters,  but for Omar.   Just for Omar.  He did nothing to die like this.  And for that, he deserves a place called heaven, just created for him.  If you want to know of this story above,  go to,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20340810

The TB Affair (BCG)

10^th November 2012:  It was time for us to get Maya her first visit here in Oman to the doctor.   The debate is, do we go to the doctors at Muscat Private, who happens to be a Swede.  I like it. But a good part of me also tells me, if he is like the doctors I have encountered in Sweden, then I would not do it even if I am offered money.  Lets not get into details on that.  But I am very apprehensive on that front. For that matter, any doctor from the continent.  That again, from my recent experiences in Netherlands. 

We also have to give her, her Tuberculosis shot.  It is called the BCG. The Bacille Calmette-Gierin vaccination.  I bet most did not know that. Since TB is not prevalent in Europe it is not part of the standard shots,  set by the World Health Organisation for that region.  Which is fine.  Still, Oman is another story.  We have people from the entire tropical belt of the planet working in Oman, and Tuberculosis has a party here.  For the shot, we thought it will be easier to go to  familiar grounds.  Starcare!  Yes, we are back there.  We are told that we must see the doctor before we give the shot.  Which I guess is a good thing. We walk in, and a darling the doctor is!  Dr.Achini De Silva. Yes. I liked her, so did Ingrid.  For some reason, instantly, we took a liking towards her.  She was kind to Maya and advised us on what we need to know.  She gave us clear instructions on what to do.  We were told to go upstairs and did not want us waiting for long, as she felt that Maya must not be exposed to any infection.  How thoughtful of her. 

We went upstairs.  And tried explaining  to the nurses, that she has got her 1st doses in Amsterdam and we only need the BCG. That was a bit of a hurdle. We had this matron cum part-time ‘witch’ who came up to us,

‘Where is the pink book?’

‘What pink book?’ I snapped back.

‘Pink book! Pink book!’ she says.

‘We do NOT  have a Pink book, because she was inoculated in Amsterdam! They do NOT give pink books there’ I said.

I intentionally used the word inoculated, as that would actual make them run for the dictionary to check what that means.  In the meantime, I can get on with her BCG shot.

'Go ask the doctor, she will explain all you need to know' I retorted.

She left.  Phew!!!

As a procedure, Maya was weighed and her length recorded. That was a pleasant surprise to us, as we did not expect it.  The good news is that she now is,  4940gm.  And her length was 62cm.  Now considering the weight of her nappy to be 80 grams, we can conclude the following.

Age      : 2 Months plus 7 days

Weight  : 4860 grams

Height   : 62 cm  (I'm rather skeptical about this number)

After which, we went to the room, where a Philipino nurse gave Maya her BCG shot.  Of course she cried, but it seemed so mild to her that she stopped nearly instantly.   

So far it has been all good.    Our next appointment for the next shots will be on the 2nd of December 2012.  Until then, we go home with a happy and smiling Maya!

Is the home fit for Maya

Before I left for Amsterdam in August, I cleaned the house thoroughly.  Made it (nearly) surgically sterile.   Maya was in her ET stage at that time.  My concern was the state of a home closed for 2 months.   

Especially, if one has witnessed a sand or dust storm in Muscat.  The sand is so fine, it can get into your home through the smallest light leak and spread this perfectly fine lay of sand on everything.  And then, insects and creepy crawly things.  I had planned my defense.  Firstly, paint the entire house and remove all those marks on the wall, secondly seal all windows , doors, drainage outlets etc using proper masking techniques.  Seal all glass to keep out light and then clean the entire apartment, and then cover everything with cellophane.  All for good reason.  When we come back after 2 months,  I did not want to be cleaning the house.  We wanted the house to be Maya-ready!

Still when we left Amsterdam, we decided to check into the Radissons Blu for day.  The flight comes in at night, and going home is alright. But what if sand and dust has managed to get in.  It would be a nightmare for Maya and for us.  Hence, we decided to spend the night and the next day at the Radissons Blu .  Ingrid and Maya would be in the hotel while I go home and do my first inspection.  Which I did.  The house was in perfect shape.  My  plan had worked.  We were home 5^th evening. 

As for Maya, so far she is doing perfectly well.   A lovely little girl she is turning out to be. 

The coming days are going to be rather uneasy for her.  After the first 2 months of her life in a country where the temperature has been just so fine and cold at times, we are going to be in this region.  Thankfully, at this time the weather is fine.  Nights of 28 or 29 and day time temperature of 30-34.  And it still keeps coming down.  Lets hope our little bundle of joy takes it all in the right spirit.  

Back in The Sultanate

4^th November: The time had come for us to leave The Netherlands.  Mixed feelings on that front.  Ingrid is not desperate to go to Oman.  This is understandable.  As for me, coming to Oman does not give me those choices.  Hence, I made myself to look forward to Oman.  And for our little Maya, we have no clue if she will like Oman or not.  It is something that lies in our attitudes. 

The flight to Oman was pretty comfortable.   And Little Maya did behave very well. She gave us the least amount of trouble.  A pleasure it was to fly with her.  Amazingly, when I used to travel in those days before Maya came into the picture.  Every time a baby cried, I was the kind of person that was so close to telling the flight attendant,

‘Could you please get the parents of that  wailing brat  to shut up, as I did not pay to listen to it..’ 

Not that I have ever done it. But the thought has crossed my mind many a times.  Hence, I am guilty of the crime. This time however, travelling with Maya, my thoughts were entirely different.  So much so, that if any of the other passengers said anything close to that, I was ready to tell them,

 ‘You are free to sit in the toilet until we land’.  I must admit fatherhood has done something to me. 

We landed in Muscat feeling all excited.  Ingrid and Maya stood in the  queue to get Maya’s visa fixed.  I went ahead to get all our baggage out of the belt.  Which by itself could occupy the entire hold of an aircraft.  Yes, we had a lot of luggage.  Managed to find everything. So I thought.  And then I saw Ingrid coming.

Together, pushing and dragging our load of stuff on trolleys.  Have you ever noticed, that most often the trolleys in airports nearly always have a mind of their own. And it seems like in their mind they have different plans on where to go!!   

We had to unload everything for scanning.  Pretty straight forward.  Still with so much luggage it can be rather tedious.  Managed all that, and loaded our ‘intelligent’ trolleys again.  And then just as we were about to leave,

‘Hello!  You worked at Makatabi?’ asked  a Royal Oman Police officer. 

Took me by surprise a bit.   And from a police officer, all the more reasons.  I glanced at him, and he did seem to have a familiar face.  Still could not connect the face to any place or event.

‘Yes, I used to have my office there’  I said.

'I know, I remember you, I worked there also’.

And then I did realize and remember the face.  Of course this called for the exchange of pleasantries.

‘Hello!!!  How are you?  How is your family?’  I ask.

Thank you!  How are you?  How is your family?  He responds.

‘Ah!  My family is right here..this is my wife and this is my brand new daughter’ I explain.

He is all smiles, ‘Mashallah!  I now work for the ROP.’

‘Wonderful! You look great’ I compliment him.

Thank you.  Ok. Bye!

And we head to the exit.  Out there, I was having friend pick me up.  It is always lovely to see an old friend come to pick you up.  Again, did the pleasantries and walk towards the car park.  The weather in Muscat seems just so perfect. On our way out there, I scanned through the bags. 

‘Oh gosh!  I seemed to have forgotten one bag’  I exclaim. 

Check again, and realized that I had.   A sense of panic sets inside me. I am more than aware how complicated it is going to be to get back into the security area.  I run back.

And to my luck, I see my newly made ROP friend standing at the far end of the hall.  I cannot get to him, since there is the security glass wall.  I realize that telling the person at the country my story will only complicate things. 

'Excuse me, I need to speak to that ROP officer I say’  pointing at my friend.

‘He is a friend of mine, I need to give him message’  I actually lie.

‘No Problem!’  I am told by the airport officer at the counter. 

They get his attention, and he walks towards me.  Again, with a wonderful smile on his face.  I give my hand out again…and we go through the whole,

‘Hello! How are you?’  lines!  Once done, I explain my situation. Maybe I was cunning here.  Just made him feel that he can save my world today. 

‘No Problem!  You come with me.’  He says.

Amazing!  He just walks me through all the clearances and takes me to the conveyor belt. And there I see my bag. I grab it!  Walk to the door and he tells me.

‘Don’t worry!  No need to do anything…’ 

How lovely that was.  I love Oman for the kindness and hospitality of its people.  I thank him and am out in 5 minutes.  Normally, this could have been a story of madness.  

The Affairs of Amsterdam

Back from Sweden with paper work done and meeting people who  have meant so much over the years.  Unfortunately, some had to be done discreetly.  Still all was well.  And at home in  Amsterdam, and our little angel has now got her passport.  We are all set to venture out of the shores of the Netherlands.  First stop will be the Sultanate of Oman.  Work calls me back, and going back as a family is something I look forward to. 



 

The weekend was a very relaxed one in the Dutch country side of Terborg.  This is where Maya's grandparents live.  A beautiful little town  near the German border.  What I love about the place, is that it screams of silence at night. That means undisturbed sleep.  Something, I have missed so much since leaving Sweden.   At Terborg, the Sun is not at the centre of the system.  It is Maya who is at the centre and everyone else revolves around her. How fortunate for her, that she has such lovely people around her.  Maya's  grandmother is said to head the Maya Fan Club that she secretly runs!  

We have had a series of things happening here in the meantime.  Running up and down to the municipality office, the consultation office for Maya’s health and a host of other care services.  The paper work and the efficiency of things is something worth looking at.  It must be a nightmare for the officials at the Municipality in Amsterdam  to have things running smoothly.  Still they do.  Besides  having the canals flowing smoothly and making sure the water gets cleaned out every night, they also need to pick out the 2,500 odd cycles  and 40 cars that fall in every month...and then  make sure Maya gets her papers in order!!  Efficiency at its best.   Amsterdam no doubt is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.  The mix of people from all parts of the world makes it very special.  As for our Maya, this will be her base.  

To do this, she needs to starts somewhere...Today was a painful start.  Her first shot of injection for immunisation was administered today.  Not something she looked forward to, and not something we look forward to.  Still it has to be done.  11.30 this morning, she was given her shots, a jab on each leg.  How horribly painful that must have been for that little body.  She did cry out in pain for a few minutes and then she slept.  They also weighed her today. And it all seems fine.  She is 4550 grams and a height of 57 cm.  Doing perfectly well according to the book.   Back to the painful injections. 

She has had the 1st dose of the following: 

 

Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (Whooping Cough), Polio plus Hib and Pneumococcal Infection shots.

 

The next administration of the dose will be in Oman.  Hopefully, it will be a bit easier on her at that time.  This is one concern that we have about Oman.  The Tuberculosis mycobacteria famously thrives there.  Hence, we had to notify the authorities here, that she might need inoculation in that front.  They have advised us on what we must do. Get the inoculation before we leave for Oman.

 

This afternoon Maya cried.  It must have been the agonising pain on her legs from the injections.  I would say, she wailed in pain.  I could not bear to see her cry so hard.  I hugged her, kissed her and tried to tell her it will be alright.  I was overwhelmed and immensely sad.  I wept.  How many more times will I go through these emotions and feelings?  Certainly, it will be numerous.  Still, if I could only take her pain for a moment and carry it myself, I would gladly do it.

 

She sleeps now, and I miss her.  She has had a hard day.  I want to hold her close to my heart, share the warmth of my body and tell her,

 

'My beautiful little angel, it will be alright, the sun will rise again'

 

And then, she will smile..

 

One Month on...and cannot imagine life without Maya.

So much has happened in the last month, since the arrival of Maya.  In the Netherlands, when a mother comes home with a new baby, the state sends a kind of care taker for a few days.  Not that the state does it free, they charge the insurance company, who in turn charges the mother.  A nice way to create employment for more people.

The day, we got home which was the 3rd of September was hectic.  On the 4th, at 9 AM, there was Ms.Dandy Long Legs at out door.  She was the caretaker for the coming 3 days.   All I saw were these legs shooting off to the sun.  I still  cannot put a face to her image; all I see are legs!   Thin long legs.  She was a no-nonsense kind of person. Which was good.  Apparently, they are supposed to help in the house hold chores. Which I am not sure she did. Still, she was not too bad. She did give us a lot of hints on baby care, which I honestly thought were a bit questionable.  For example,  she came with a vague theory that on the  5th day, Maya must  drink 50cc of breast milk at every feed.  Or 60cc on the 6th day and 70cc on the 7th day  etc.  And then she also did tell us, that each day a baby must get 150cc per kg of body weight.  Now, Maya was born a little over 3 Kgs.  In 2 months, she would double her weight. That would mean we have to give her something like 900cc of milk a day. Nearly, a bloody litre!!!  I am thinking, Lactose Intoxication!!!!  Clearly, Ms.Dandy Long Legs must have miserably failed in maths and common sense.  Still, I must say, Ms.Dandy was a decent person. She was busy doing her thing and making notes on the register. Very kindly she did fill it in English.  Just this evening I did have a read on the journal. Which said,

Go to the toilet with the pie!   That was the story of Ms. Dandy Long Legs. 

3 days, and then we had another lady.  Gujarathi India from Surinam, a muslim, a single mother of 6.  She needs to be in the record books. She talks of India, as if she has been there recently.  The fact is, the lady is still to set her foot in India. She is over 50 years of age.   Well,  what do I say about her.   She was the kind of person that my grandmother would have loved to have around in the kitchen to assist in chopping vegetables.   Everything Maya did she claimed to have some special insight.  That we had no clue of. If Maya openned her mouth, she would go,

''Ah! See...she wants the breast!'

or, if Maya looked in my direction, 

'She wants her father!''

Poor Maya, just a few days old and cannot see more than 3 inches in front of her has to live up to this.  Anyway, she was gone after a few days. The next day, we had another person. What can I say about her?  Nothing!  Besides the fact that I was busy serving her. 

In my opinion, these people are absolutely useless. Each of them come up with their own baseless theories.  I am almost certain this job has been created to give people some self worth and employment.

3 weeks down now, Maya is well. Besides that she farts for the whole of the Netherlands.  She is becoming as good as the hill-billies  I knew in Sweden.  The poor girl seems to be constantly having colic pain, then screams and farts...and then all is well.  Apparently  that is rather normal, as their digestive systems are still developing to maturity.   Still, we are going to get this check tomorrow.  It is painful to watch her scream in pain.

From birth, something that worried me was the fact that her right eye was a bit sore.  When I inquired, I was told it is normal.  Well, it was going on for too long, hence we made an appointment with the doctor.  

We are at the consultation office and the doctor is pregnant  herself.  Nice!  Obviously, I feel she might take some serious interest out of curiosity.  Well, No. She looked at her eyes, and said we will test the mucus.  Samples taken. And then no news for days. We called the doctors office, and they said there was no trace of STD or anything contagious.   They seem happy. But what about Maya’s eyes?  Welcome to Healthcare in the Netherlands.

The eye has not improved.  We make another appointment with the hospital where she was born.  The doctor this time was more senior and mature and said it was an infection and prescribed an eye cream. 

I asked, 'Is it an antibiotic?''

'No! It is not!'  The doctor said.'

'Thank you!' I say politely.

We get the medicine, and we read the paper inside that describes the content.  IT IS AN ANTIBIOTIC!  I am getting rather tired of the system here.

We used the cream anyway and things did NOT clear.  Between both of us, we soon realised that if we are able to keep her hands down when she sleeps, maybe it will help.  Maya is the kind of person who does the wave in her sleep and while awake. Maybe, the farting makes her do that.  Hence, we realise that we must swaddle her.  And we do.  The eye infection seems to be gone.  And she sleeps better. We have to wait and see.  If our assumption is right, then it might be that she is poking her own eye in her sleep.

Just yesterday, we went and took Maya’s pictures for the passport. Again, not the easiest of things to do with a girl who wants to do waves all the time.  Still we managed.  And today, her application was submitted.

The irony of it all.  The poor girl is just a month old, but according to the rules, she must present herself to apply for her passport!!  Yes!  For what, I do not know.  Not like the clerk at the office will be interviewing her.  And even if she did, I am sure Maya would have just waved and farted at her face.  Application was done, and Maya’passport will be ready in a week.  But her is the ridiculous thing.  Maya has to go to collect it too.   What are they worried about identity theft?  And what exactly can someone do by stealing a month old  infants identity?  The madness of the system, I say.

The day after, I leave fro Sweden. Just for a week. I have to. To get my non-impediment certificate so that the dutch athorities can marry Ingrid and me.  And when I get that, I am sure they will come up with something else to hinder our attempt to move on with life.

I am not happy to leave Maya and Ingrid back. But then, things that must be done, must be done.

As for our little Maya, everyday is a new story. She is beginning to make sounds and I often catch her throwing a smile. Which makes me utterly emotional.    She surely is a marvel of nature.  Everyday with her makes our lives richer in leaps and bounds...