July 2nd

The last few days have been extremely difficult for a number of reasons. First, our family dog, Diego, passed away a few days ago. They think he had a stroke and just became too sick to recover. I do take solace in the fact that he lived such an amazing long life and that people who loved him were with him when he went. I wish I could have been there, too, and that part is difficult. That has cast a pretty dark cloud over the last few days for me here and for my family back home, as well. It's not an easy thing. And that's all I can say about that.  

As far as the trip goes, things have been a little crazy. I became pretty ill about a week ago. I started coughing up blood and my chest began to hurt and I feared that my pneumonia was returning. To prevent it from becoming worse, I went to the Kabale Hospital and met with Catherine and Jacqueline. Catherine wanted to do some tests (which they call "investigations") and I was sent for blood work and an x-ray. We saw a lot about how the health care system works, first-hand. First, as a patient, everything is on your own. You have to figure out where to go and how to get there- and everything is in a separate buildings. First we determined that you have to pay for your services and get a receipt before you receive your services. The x-ray and CBC blood work together was about 15,000UGX which is roughly $5. Can you imagine? Anyway, we set off to find x-ray, which we did but they told us to come back. So we went to get blood work done. That is in a small lab in the pediatric ward (I have no idea why it is located there) and they take your blood and run all the labs right in that same room. Tavia had to ask them to use a different needle because the one the lab tech was about to use had been sitting open on the table. So we watched her open a fresh packet. After the lab we headed back to x-ray and they got me right in, surprisingly. I walked in and she told me to remove my shirt and everything I was wearing on the top half of my body. Just standing in the middle of this room, no gown or anything of course. I tried to remember that in African culture, women often are exposed in this way for breastfeeding, and that it is our American culture which places such shame and discomfort on women being topless. Besides the fact that I was in a medical facility. So we did the x-ray and she told me to wait. Waiting occurs outside on the lawn, and there was already a huge crowd. We sat down and waited with everyone else. Many people appeared to have broken bones or sprains. We waited for about 20 minutes and I was called to get my x-ray. I'm quite sure that being a muzungu sped along this process as most people were still waiting. We picked up my blood results and went back to Catherine. The rest of the afternoon was mostly spent in the waiting room. Eventually, Catherine and Jacqueline set up a treatment room for me and got some IV antibiotics going for what they told me looked like pneumonia. Catherine told me the lymph nodes in my lungs looked enlarged, and she assumed it was from the damp and cold at the lake.They put the IV in on the back of my hand in a vein I've never had an IV in before. And it definitely hurt. The IV itself was much longer than any I've had and extended at least 3 inches into my vein. So we waited. They told us the IV would take about an hour, but TIA (this is Africa) and it took closer to 4. I was feeling anxious because I wanted to get back to Entusi and just rest. They also gave me some Tramadol for the pain so I was pretty loopy and exhausted. Hannington came in to check on me (he stayed with us at the hospital) and asked when we would be done. The mental health facilitator party was going on back at Entusi and everyone was waiting for us. Beyond that, a woman from a village across the lake had given birth at the hospital over night, and Hannington wanted to know if we could bring her, her mother, baby, and brand new infant back to their village when we were done, as they didn't have transport and we were already paying for a car. So then I felt more anxious that this woman who had literally just given birth was sitting outside of the hospital waiting for us. But I couldn't make the IV go any faster, so we just waited. Hannington brought in some mangoes, avocados and pineapple from a vendor traveling around the hospital, so Tavia and I got a little bit of a snack. Eventually, the IV finished and Catherine told me she wanted me to have another round. I told her I was not able to stay for 4 more hours because of transportation issues- not only did we have a car waiting with other people waiting to leave, but the boat was also waiting at the dock. So she left the IV in my hand, disconnected me from the bag and asked if Tavia could set me up with an IV back at Entusi. It seemed simple enough (although to be fair I was not capable of paying attention at this point). So we took the IV and some additional antibiotics and loaded in a car. Imagine this: a small honda civic with grandma and infant baby and driver in the front seat, mom with newborn, Hannington, Tavia and me with an IV sticking out of my hand in the backseat. Bouncing around on unpaved, twisting roads down to the lake. We got down to the dock and all loaded on the boat. I don't remember too much of this trip at all. Eventually we got back to Entusi where party was in full swing and dinner was being served. I went straight to bed. Tavia tried to hook me up to the IV, but somehow the drip became completely filled with antibiotic and so there was no way to regulate the flow. I decided to forgo sticking the IV back in my hand and we pulled it out. I don't think either of us realized how long this IV tube went into my skin until we pulled it out. I've never seen anything like it. Anyway, I rested the next day and the day after, Tavia, Emily and I drove to Kampala. We already had transport secured, and quite honestly I was ready to leave the lake. We got here yesterday, and today I am just resting at the house, taking it easy and reading. It's been a whirlwind few days. My cough has definitely improved and I think I'm on the mend. And no one else appears to have had any symptoms or problems, so that's good. 

But the experience of being in the hospital was certainly eye-opening. And I had it easy! I had connections with the doctor in the private wing, and I'm a muzungu and those two factors certainly made my experience quicker and easier. I can't imagine trying to navigate that system alone, or if I had been sicker, or if I didn't have money or a connection to a doctor there. Many of those people likely waited all day, and many more were probably never seen. And still more are out in the villages surrounding the lake with no way to reach help or see a doctor. The car that we paid for cost 50,000UGX, about $17 and we had a free boat because of Entusi. Typically a public boat would be at least 3,000UGX. It's no wonder people can't get the help they need. 

We are now back at the GLI house in Kampala until July 14th. I don't know what the next two weeks will hold, but I am certainly hoping it will be low-key.  There's a group of high school students here doing a trip (they're all super nice) but beds are a little short at the moment. I'm hoping to be able to unpack a bit at some point, but I don't know when that will be. I'm really ready for Tavia and I to start our independent travel. But I'm trying to continue soaking up every day as much as possible.