New Life
So, it has been an intersting week here in Kenya.
First off, I had my first experience with true Traveler's Trots. I ate some food from a street stand, something I have done often, but this time it caught up to me. I had terrible diarrhea and vomiting. I ended up having to take antibiotics (Flagyl), which helped. That just reminded me to be careful what I put in my mouth.Oh, and beer and Flagyl are not friendly towards each other.
Yesterday morning, I had my usual morning routine. I got up at 7 am, took a bath/shower (water heated on the gas stove and poured over my head), washed some clothes, made eggs and chai, and was getting ready for the day when the doctor showed up at my door wanting medicine I store in my fridge. There was a woman in the clinic who was getting ready to give birth. So I dropped what I was doing and hustled to the clinic, to find she was quite ready to give birth indeed. I'm generally useless when it comes to these things, but I put on gloves anyhow, and stood around. I'd go get things from different rooms, so that the family would see me going to and fro and find me to be important. I held her hand a few times as she squeezed my knuckles until they cracked. I didn't know how to tell her to 'push' in Swahili, so I just grunted encouragingly when it seemed the daktari was telling her to do so. She didn't really need either of our helping assistance, though. Without any pain meds, without really anything at all, just a waterproof pad placed on a mattress, she pushed forth a child. I was right there for that; I didn't necessarily catch it, but I helped untangle the umbelical cord from its shoulders, and I held it while the doc clamped and clipped. Then I cleaned it (her), and wrapped her in a pretty dirty cloth. That was pretty much all we did. We finally gave the lady an injection of pain meds, and her family came. Within an hour they had escorted her out the door. And that is how babies are born in clinics in Kenya, if the mother bothers coming to a clinic at all.
So, that was pretty cool.
Anyhow, I'm back from the bush, spending a few days in Mombasa. I'm thinking of taking a trip in a week or so to the island nation of Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, it's cheap and easily accessible from here, and it apparently is quite beautiful. That is possible. I'll have to see how things go. You know, plans very often change here in Africa, it doesn't always work out as first planned.
Until later, keep safe.
