Carolyn Davis, a member of the Editorial Board, began writing a journal about Jennifer Anyayo’s experiences as she underwent surgery in the Washington, D.C., area and continues to recuperate in Philadelphia. The diary now encompasses the experiences of Jennifer herself, along with members of her host families in Maryland.

Main characters:

Jennifer Anyayo, a 15-year-old girl from northern Uganda. She is in the United States to get treatment for severe burns she suffered when rebels burned her home during a vicious war in her country.

Abitimo Odongkara, 72, Jennifer's medical guardian and surrogate grandmother. In northern Uganda, Jennifer lives with Odongkara and attends Odongkara's school.

Dr. Craig Dufresne, the Washington DC-area plastic and reconstructive surgeon who has generously offered to help rebuild Jennifer's face.

Tim and Olivia Bartrand, Carolyn Davis' husband and five-year-old daughter.

Cathy Trost and her daughters, 15-year-old Maddie Magnusson and 19-year-old Elizabeth Magnusson. Debby Goldberg and her daughter Madeline. Jennifer has spent the summer staying with these two wonderful families in and near Chevy Chase, Md.

By Cathy Trost

Jennifer came back to Maryland in November to stay with us and the Goldberg family, and she was with us until the day after Christmas.

She learned about Thanksgiving when we gathered together with our family, including Maddie’s grandfather and aunt, for turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Jennifer helped peel the potatoes, which was no easy task with one hand, but she is amazingly skilled.

In early December, we celebrated Jennifer’s birthday with a fun group of kids who came to our house to watch movies and help Jennifer blow out her birthday cake candles.

Madeline and I brought the cake, and some kids who got to know Jennifer at Maddie and Madeline’s old school came with presents and good wishes. Adriana, one of the teachers who grew very fond of Jennifer, stopped by with birthday greetings, too. Jennifer said this was the first time she ever had a formal birthday party - it is not a custom to celebrate birthdays in Uganda. Afterward, she wrote thank you notes to all who gave her presents.

We went to some holiday movies, and toured the wonderful display of outdoor lights on our local Mormon Temple grounds. Inside the visitor center, Jennifer enjoyed a display of creches from countries around the world, including several from Africa. She also loved the "living" Nativity scene outside. She helped pick out our Christmas tree and decorate it. We strung tinsel in her favorite color – blue – and hung lots of lights. We spent some time buying clothing and presents for her family back in Uganda and sent them with my daughter, Elizabeth, who traveled to Uganda in December with the group, "Invisible Children." Elizabeth was able to meet with Regina, Jennifer’s mother, in Gulu, and tell her news of Jennifer.

Debby and I met Carolyn and Abitimo at the Ronald McDonald House behind Fairfax Inova Hospital on the evening of Dec. 12, where Jennifer spent the night prior to her surgery the next morning. When I picked her up two days later, she was groggy and in a lot of pain.

While we were waiting for the nurse to discharge her, Abitimo, Debby and I talked about the hopes for an end to the civil war in Uganda. Abitimo talked about the Acholi preference for forgiveness over retribution, and we all hoped that Jennifer would go home to a more peaceful life.

It’s always hard to see her after surgery because she gets very quiet and distant dealing with the pain and recovery. We spent all weekend helping her sip liquids through straws, emptying the blood from her drain tube, and swabbing her sore lips with cream. She slept fitfully and had a hard time getting comfortable until Debby was able to take her back to the doctor to have the drain tube removed.

After that, Jennifer bounced back to celebrate Hanukkah with the Goldbergs and Christmas with us. On Christmas Eve, she helped cook dinner at our house and looked at photographs of her mother that Elizabeth brought back from Uganda. We spent time relaxing and listening to music with relatives, and the next morning, Jennifer was an eager participant in the Christmas ritual.

It was hard to see her leave to go back to Philadelphia to get work done on her hand. She feels very much like a part of our family now, and we all miss her strength and bright spirit.

Nov. 16

I recently asked Dr. A. Lee Osterman, professor of hand surgery with the Philadelphia Hand Center and Thomas Jefferson University, to give me more information on how he will be creating for Jennifer what's called a metacarpal hand, which will allow Jennifer to pince items, where now she has no functionality. Here, with thanks to Dr. Osterman, is the email reply I received from him: