Post-op news

I spent the last 4 days with Mum Ann's family, being a mizungo presence while her sister Carol had surgery on her leg. The car she was riding in in August was hit by another car and she had a broken femur (thigh bone). Luckily she had insurance, as did the people who hit her. unluckily, the first doctor/hospital that treated her didn't set her leg right, it never healed, she was in tremendous pain. Her x-rays found their way to another doctor at another hospital, he operated again, removed what the first doctor had put in and put in a new rod and pins. he unfortunately, also left in a piece of tubing. On Friday she had surgery to remove 2 of the 3 pins and the leftover piece. This doctor is very nice and seems to know what he's doing. The hospital , Aga Khan University Hospital, is on the other side of Nairobi, and is where the embassy people recommend you go if you need medical care here. Carol's brother took her on thursday night to be admitted, her sister Grace and I went Friday morning. It took over 2 hours to get there, we took the city bus which is safer than a matatu, to downtown Nairobi, we then took a matatu to the hospital. It's actually very beautiful, the grounds have lots of flowers and trees, there's lots of open spaces, the windows in the rooms are all open, a lot different than the sealed buildings I'm used to working in! Carol had her surgery on Friday, we were able to see her for a few minutes before and after, but we never saw the doctor. When I asked the nurse if the doctor was going to come and talk to us and tell us how it went, she looked at me like i was crazy! She said he was already back in his office and couldn't be disturbed. Carol said she never saw him either! I did finally see him on Saturday, all he would say is it went well, everything would now be fine. Carol was given all the xrays, even the hospitals don't trust themselves not to lose records! When I look at the xrays the bone looks lined up right and appears to be healing, I look forward to more expert readings from my visitors! It's so hard, you don't want to push and be an annoying American, but a little information would help! So we went to visit again on Saturday, again a 2 hour trip and because you can't travel after dark you have to leave early to be sure and be home on time. By the time you get home you're filthy, exhausted, and can barely remember your visit! We brought her home yesterday, she sees the doctor again on Saturday, can hopefully begin walking after that. This has been such a long painful ordeal for her, she's unable to work, has been on crutches. I know she's anxious to get her life back. I was glad I was there, I don't know how much help I was. I did keep her 7 year old daughter Gaia distracted, she loves my mizungo hair! She likes to comb it, of course it's the first time in my life I've had hair long enough to comb! I'm going to take a picture of my hair this week, I didn't mean to insult my camera. It probably has as much to do with my photography skills as the camera! I will work on better pictures.
I will post another entry tomorrow, I am getting ready to start my project and Barb K gently reminded me that not everyone knows exactly what it is. So I will detail that tomorrow.
Next time you go to your clinic/hospital/ doctor as frustrating as it may be, be grateful.