Hello Everyone,
This past month has been a busy one.
As a precaution against potential election violence, Africa Inland
Mission, along with most other agencies working in the area, required
all workers to take a "preemptive leave", therefore exiting the
country for the duration of the Sudanese election process. Today,
post-election, we all are thanking God that the elections were a
mostly peaceful process.
Leaving Sudan on April 7th, I traveled to Nairobi and spent a few days
catching up with friends, watching a Kenyan high school basketball
tournament and running general errands in the big city.
I spent one, hard to describe because it was so amazing, week on the
beautiful Indian ocean island of Zanzibar, before making the trip to
Mbita, Kenya. Two weeks were spent in and around Mbita, teaching a
little at the school, helping with the girls' football tournament and
attending my first Kenyan wedding.
About a week and a half ago, after a walk in Mbita, I found that the
top of my foot sort of stung and itched. I didn't think too much
about it and all but forgot about it until the next morning when I
noticed a small puss pocket on the top of my foot. I drained the puss
and went about my day. However, that night the top of my foot was
hot, red, painful and starting to swell. By the next day, my foot was
swollen to the point that my toes were turning a lovely shade of blue.
Last Thursday morning, my friend Joe took me to the clinic for the
first time. The attending told me that my foot was infected, tried to
unsuccessfully squeeze some puss out and prescribed me 250 mg of
amoxacillion. Unfortunately, this did little to nothing for my foot,
even after I upped my dosage to 500 mg.
At the wedding last Saturday, my foot was swollen to the point that it
was no longer possible to put my right sandal on. If you think a
white woman at a Kenyan wedding is conspicuous, try being a white
woman with a huge red foot, limping around, with only one shoe on,
while carrying the other.
A bit unsure as to whether or not my foot was going to fall off, Joe
and I headed to Kenyan clinic number 2. Doctor 2 agreed with
doctor-like person number 1, that my foot was infected and prescribed
a stronger, more expensive, but ultimately ineffective antibiotic.
Following doctors orders, I spent two days trying to rest my foot in
Mbita. However, my foot didn't seem to notice the effort , somehow
growing more red, hot, swollen and painful with each new morning.
On Tuesday, I left Mbita en route to Nairobi, on my way back to Sudan.
Traveling by road, our group stopped off at Tenwek Hospital, a good
mission hospital in Bomet, Kenya. We planned to drop off a Kenyan
friend there for surgery, while also having my foot quickly checked,
before I made my way on to Nairobi.
Mission surgeon, Dr. Dan Galet, a friend of a friend, was nice enough
to take time out of his super busy day to take a look at my foot.
After looking at the x-rays and ruling out a bone infection, he
decided to open up, drain and pack the wound. This part of the day
was really not that fun. He put me on crutches, instructed me to
rest, prescribed a stronger oral antibiotic and told me to come back
in one week.
Planning on returning to Mbita in the morning, we spent the night at
Tenwek. That evening, I came down with a bad fever and started to
feel really rotten. In the morning, my foot was throbbing and I felt
like I had been mowed down by a lorry.
Later that morning, Dr. Galet unexpectedly asked to see my foot again
before we made the four hour journey back to Mbita. When Dr. Galet
and the two other nice doctors accompanying him took off my foot
bandage we all saw that the infection had spread over night. When
they heard about the fever, the three of them got all serious and
started to talk about an IV and admitting me to the hospital. The
truth of the matter was, I had felt rotten and a bit feverish for
days, but admitting me to a hospital for a little foot infection
seemed like a tad of an overreaction. However, the three of them
didn't seem to want my opinion on the matter.
The day's fun had only really just begun though. After having some
medicated gauze jammed inside my open wound (I am sorry that you could
not have been there for this fun Kenyan experience), I said goodbye to
my friends who were all heading back to Mbita and an IV was started.
If I didn't know it before, I am convinced now, that I will NEVER be a
intravenous drug addict. Unfortunately, I seemed to have been
slightly allegeric to the drug that was being pumped directly into my
bloodstream.
So, after the IV was complete, I was an awesome shade of red, itching
like crazy, sick to my stomach and feverish. Barely holding it
together, I hobbled on my crutches down to my room, only to discover
that I was not checked in and would have to go back up the staircase
and hillside to the main hospital to check in. With that, I hobbled
into the bathroom, laid down on the floor and had myself a good
what-in-the-world-is-
Yesterday, was much better. To counteract the allergic reaction from
the IV, I took two Benadryl. The box warned me that I may experience,
"marked drowsiness" and I would have to say that the eight hour nap I
took might validate this statement.
Today, I am feeling much more like myself. Although I have not looked
at my foot in a day or so (I am working up to the non-wimpy state of
mind it is going to take to change my wound packing, like they have
asked me to do), it is feeling so much better. The fever has gone and
not returned. Tenwek is a good hospital, with good doctors. The
hospital compound is beyond comfortable with cold water for drinking,
hot water for bathing, electricity and wireless internet. I'm quite
fortunate that this infection happened here in Kenya, the land of
paved roads and trained medical professionals, rather than in Sudan,
where hundreds of dollars on an air evacuation would have been spent.
Forced dependence on others is a humbling experience for
sure, one that has left me incredibly grateful to so many friends here
in Kenya - Joe, Steve and Judi, Dr. Galet - those who have helped me,
in my helplessness.
My IV treatment will be keeping me here at the hospital for at least
another three days. As of now, there is no definite word on my plans
after Tenwek. Dr. Galet has told me that my travel back home to Sudan
must be put on hold until my foot is well on its way to recovery. And
I have to agree with him.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and little notes of
encouragement. I feel quite loved and for that I am thankful!
With love, appreciation and an ever improving right foot,
KIM
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