| Volume: 1 | Issue: 6 | March 15, 2009 |
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From: Kenya, East Africa...
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Of Rats and Roses Greetings from Kisumu where the sun is brightly shining day after day after day! This has been a very curious year so far. Last January life was disturbed by the violence and destruction. This January there were no such distractions, so what I have noticed this year is THE HEAT. Last year I remember feeling like I was in a toaster oven for a couple of weeks, but this year it's been like that since we returned from our trip to India in late November. Luckily my patient volumes dropped after we were gone that month. I absolutely can't handle 200 people a day right now. It's draining to see 70 in a day. Recently, in a town in central Kenya, over 130 people died in a gas tanker explosion. The people in this particular area were causing gas tankers to overturn, and then stealing the gas to resell. Someone at one of these accident sites got disgruntled and threw a match into the mess. The country as a whole has treated the people who died as martyrs, not thieves. Only a few voices have been heard bemoaning the loss of morality in Kenya. Two weeks later the same community tried to take another tanker. I try not to read much of the news, because it's like viewing a cheap Spanish soap opera. (Another subject) Did I mention that it's hot and dry here? We had a couple of weeks of rain and coolness that broke the hot spell during the last 2 weeks of January. The result of this brief period of rain was an increase in mosquitoes and rats. We must have killed at least 20 rats. They were in the house, in the car, and in the chicken houses. There were big rats, baby rats, and in between rats. We had to resort to poison, sticky traps, and dog power. Our dog Missy is very fond of killing rats, and she'll proudly bring their carcasses to the front door in the morning. So we had dead rats everywhere for a couple of weeks. I have never been so glad to have good workers in my life. All I have to do is yell, and someone will come to clean up the mess. We now seem to be almost rat free, although there are still some strange smells coming from the attic. Because it's been so hot, I had to discontinue my clinics that required travel and walking. So unfortunately I hadn't been to the hospital or the hospice since October. Thankfully two of my patients at the hospice are still alive and relatively well. They have both lived much longer than would normally be expected. One is a little boy with neuroblastoma. The sisters at the hospice recently sent him to a school for the blind where he has learned to walk. The power of the body to heal itself is amazing to watch. Dick and I went to India last November so that we could renew our Kenyan visas. The contrast between the two third world countries was huge. Transportation in India was wonderful and very cheap. The roads were maintained and far superior to Kenyan roads. We covered large distances in trains with overnight sleeper cars that were almost luxurious with good meals, air conditioning, and lots of fresh, clean bedding. Day travel was done on local trains and buses that were a little slower, but very entertaining. City travel was efficient in three-wheeled auto rickshaws or taxis. One trip to the foothills of the Himalayas cost about 2 dollars for 6 hours of travel on a "toy train". It was the ultimate Indian train experience crowded with lots of locals, thin bridges, spectacular vistas and guys hanging out the door of the train. One guy next to my window stood on one foot for hours as we went through beautiful hilly country with steep drop off views. On that trip we reached our destination station after dark and the town was nowhere to be seen. We followed a friendly student as he led us down a very steep path lined with small shops to the bottom of the gorge. Then we had to cross the river on a swinging bridge, and ended our journey by climbing up a narrow and very steep path to town. Did I mention that it was pitch black out and we were loaded down with our backpacks? I felt like Indiana Jones for sure. All turned out well and a nice hotel for $15 with hot showers and air conditioning was at the end of our quest. On another train trip I sat cross-legged in the upper bunk to give Dick some extra room for his legs. The train was packed with joyful sojourners who were returning from a motivational religious seminar. The whole upper level was alive with people laughing, talking, and sharing homemade snacks stored in newspaper wrapped bundles. Water was also shared from common bottles. I couldn't refuse anything, because culturally it's an insult. The result was a great experience that I'll never forget. And I never got sick! Armed with a used Lonely Planet guidebook bought second hand in a Delhi market, we saw so many awesome sites. We visited the famous Sikh Golden Temple, a lot of mountain towns including the one were the Dalai Lama lives and one with a huge golden Buddha, and of course the Taj Mahal. We saw Hindu temples everywhere; some were old, some new, some tacky, some spooky, some with monkeys, and some elegant. Shopping was great, and I now have 11 custom stitched Punjabi suits to wear to temple The one downside of our trip was that when we arrived in Ludianna, an industrial town, Dick suffered from a blood clot in his leg that went to his lungs, followed by a nasty case of cellulitis. Luckily we had the name of a US accredited hospital given to us by a friend in Kisumu before we left. The total bill for a 9 day stay in a private room with sleeping space for me, an MRI, multiple ultrasounds, blood tests, and a whole bunch of drugs was about $1,500. The US trained doctors were great even though only the doctors and a couple of the nurses spoke English. The food was the main downside; I guess hospital food is bad no matter where you are. While at the hospital I also got my teeth cleaned, my eyes examined, and a pap smear and pelvic exam for about $20 total. The glasses I then bought are every bit as nice as anything I've bought in the states for about $150 total. The hospital even sent us off to the train station in an ambulance, free of charge, when we were dismissed. It was all service with a big smile. Now I know why people in Kenya travel to India for medical care. We will definitely return to see more of India. So we arrived back in dirty, dusty Kisumu just in time for the hottest three months of the year. We had a great visitor from Bellingham, WA stay with us in December. She "forced" us to take a bit of a break from work to do some site seeing around Kisumu. We had some wonderful days at a resort in the Kakamega rainforest. We hiked, rode matatus and boda bodas, and enjoyed sunsets at the Yacht club and Hippo Point. It was a sad day for all of us when Barb left shortly after Christmas, and we still miss her bright, cheerful, adventurous spirit. I'm promising myself that this year I'm taking more time off to see Kenya. I have another friend coming to visit in July, and I just can't wait to show her around. At home things have been changing. The owner of our house is having servants quarters built on the compound, so the yard is a mess of sand, rocks, and bricks. We are down to one dog and only occasional batches of broilers. We have about 12 turkeys, but I'm eager to get rid of them. They're fun to watch, but they're dirty and they eat everything, including trees, flowers, bushes, and garbage. The long rains should start March 14th, so I know our agony will soon be over. We've already started having sprinkles in the evening. Kisumu will cool down then and really burst into bloom, even though we are never without flowers. People, flowers, sunsets, and sunny weather; these are the roses that make people fall in love with Kenya. I guess roses and thorns just go together to produce joy. May God brighten your path. Dr. Sandy |