Damon

Meet Damon. He's an 8 year old Capetonian battling HIV and cancer. He was sent home about a week ago because there is no further treatment for him at St. Joseph's. The doctors would rather he be in the comfort of his own home with his family, and his friends at school. So today I went with a social worker and 3 other volunteers to visit him in the township that he lives in called Philippi. Damon's family kept our visit a surprise, so his eyes filled with tears when we showed up at his school to pick him up, which in turn triggered the waterworks on us as well! He led us to his house through narrow dirt roads that were lined with shacks made of rotting wood and tin roofs. People stared, some smiled. Avoiding the wandering dogs, cats, pigeons, and goats, we pulled up to his family's home at the end of the road. Once we arrived, Damon proudly brought us into his home to show us his room and all his toy animals. We sat in the few lawn chairs they had in the 'living' room to give him a pair of ballet shoes that we brought as a gift. Damon was the most talented little ballet dancer at St. Joseph's, always showing off with plies and pirouettes. Very cute. So you can imagine how excited he was about his very own pair of slippers! We asked him to put on a little show for us, but quickly sat back down out of embarassment. We stayed to chat with his family for a bit, trying to avoid the inevitable, but eventually we all had to struggle to hold back our tears as we said goodbye to our good friend Damon.