From Todd -- We had our first stressful evening in Rwanda last night.  Ben developed a deep cough (croup) Sunday night and by Monday evening he needed respiratory treatment to assist him with his breathing. Ben experienced the same problem about one year ago in Little Rock, so we knew what was needed, but the drive to the hospital was emotional because we didn’t know if they were equipped to handle respiratory distress in a child. We are so thankful that Ben received the necessary treatment and is doing well today.  You can see him in the above picture with our guards, our next door neighbor’s guards, our cook and our “German Shepherd” Beauty. By the way, we have a new dog in the family. “Socks,” a puppy that looks a lot like Beauty, showed up in our yard several days ago. Alfred asked all the neighbors if they had lost a puppy and nobody claimed him. So our little family is growing by the day!

 

Ben has been on a Darth Vader kick lately.  I don’t think he’s ever watched more than 30 minutes of any Star Wars movie, but he is fascinated with the depth of Darth Vader’s breathing.  Ben imitates his breathing daily with a slight whistle.  It is quite entertaining. When we were in the emergency room awaiting Ben’s respiratory treatments, I tried to make him comfortable by telling him that he was going to put on a mask like Darth Vader and breathe like he does in the movie.  He even wanted us to take a picture of him with the mask on. To our dismay, when the respiratory machine was turned on, the excitement of being Darth Vader disappeared. The treatment was difficult but effective since Ben’s crying assisted the vapors to reach his windpipe and lungs.  After the trauma was over and Ben settled down, with a serious tone, Ben informed us that he did not want to be Darth Vader anymore.