Hospital and airport

Monday 07.02.11

We headed out to Sarit Centre for the morning to grab some essentials.  We spent most of our time in the bookstore where I bought a couple more novels as I had already gone through 4 or 5 since leaving home.  I also got a book about the Samburu tribe, in Northern Kenya and another about an English family with 5 children living in Africa working with lions.  Novels by Tess Gerritsen, whom I am recently getting into, were only 300 shillings so I bought 4 of those!  It is looking like my luggage will be full of books on the way home!  Fortunately, two of the ones I brought with me are e-books on my computer.

Our next stop was the hospital where we were keen to check on the progress of the abandoned babies, especially poor Zac.  The first thing we were told by the nurses was that little Lincoln and Emboso had been taken to new homes.  That was so exciting as not every baby makes it to a home.  We then asked how Zac was and they said he had just been resuscitated earlier that morning.  This was awful news and we couldn’t believe he had gone down hill so far since our last visit.  He was looking so much better last time, and his oxygen level had been reduced so far that he nearly didn’t need it.  We were told we could not see Zac which was terribly frustrating.

We then visited the 3 abandoned boys in the cot, only to find that one had his mother visiting!  The nurse was angry at her telling her to leave and take her child or not come back.  They said that she just wanted to leave him there until he was one year old, so that she could then take him when it would be cheaper to raise him.  The fact that she visited rarely was stopping children’s services form placing him in a home, even though a number of them are interested in taking him!

I then went to the room next door where Martha lived.  She was asleep but when I returned she was awake.  She was very sleepy and subdued compared to last time.  She didn’t respond to touch as she had previously.  Her eyes were rolling around in her head and she couldn’t focus.  She was lying still and not thrashing around laughing as she kicked off her bedsheets.  I was really worried for her, as it looks as though she is heading in the direction Alvin went - a life of being bedridden and not exercised or stimulated.  I was beginning to think though that maybe they had even drugged her!  I did stand her up for about ten minutes to give her some exercise, and she seemed to enjoy that.  Her legs are strong, but she can’t support her head at all.

We then noticed Zac on a cot in a different room and saw that nobody was with him so we went to see him.  He was struggling to breathe and has developed a skin condition which is causing his skin to break down.  His face was again covered by an oxygen mask and his right eye was so swollen.  He reminded me of how Joyce looked when I was at Mission In Action last time, just three weeks before she passed away.  Her eye was swollen just the same, due to swelling on the brain.  Let’s hope this is not Zac’s problem.  We are worried that Zac will not survive the week and Tammi has decided to try and get temporary custody of him so that we can move him to a private hospital where he will get better care.  Melanie will spend the afternoon at children’s services in Mombasa, and we will see what we can do at Nairobi’s office tomorrow.

We then went to the other ward to visit Alvin, who has a bandage wrapped around his neck .  It was unclear whether this was for a wound or just as a support for his neck.  He was so happy to see us, and Tammi read him a book she bought for him.  Lucky and Angel were still there and have become the best of mates.  They stroke each others faces and hold hands most of the day.  Angel’s neck and ear wounds have cleared up which is great news.  Lucky actually has parents but his mother can’t afford to pay the bill so she can’t collect him and she won’t allow the father to take him even though he is happy to pay the bill.  It’s such a shame!

Gabriel is also in their cot now and he is looking so unwell.  He is still crying constantly and has the most intense look of pain on his face.  His eyes are so mature and he gives the saddest looks.  He has lost so much weight and his stomach is bloated.  He appears to be so malnourished and dehydrated, and it does not look as though the hospital is providing adequate care for him.

Damaris was asleep when we arrived but woke up shortly after.  He looked a bit sick and was very warm but he is young, so hopefully he will get stronger as he gets older.  His herniated belly button seems to have got much larger, and is by far the worst one I have seen.  His chances of finding a home are slim, as most home recognise that he will need surgery to correct this.  There is a new baby next to him, who is very tiny and most probably abandoned too.  He stayed asleep the whole time we were there but he looks to be quite healthy.  Hopefully a home will take him before he picks up something from the hospital.

After the hospital we headed to the curio shops at the Hilton Arcade in town.  They are very cheap and I picked up a few canvas prints and a few small carvings for $1 each!  I also got two lovely framed drawings for $13 each.  Tammi bought some things to sell for fundraising too.

We then headed back to the hotel for a bit before heading to the airport ot pick up Tammi’s luggage.  The whole night turned out to be a disaster though!  We caught a bus to the airport, only to find that it didn’t go the whole way so we had to get off and wander around looking for another one that did.  As we were standing on the side of the road a large bus pulled over.  It said ‘Kenyan Airport Authority’ so we figured we might be in luck.  Once we got in, we saw that the bus was empty so the driver probably just took pity on us and stopped even though it’s not a passenger bus.  He let us off at the cargo terminal and didn’t charge us which was nice.

Here we were trying to figure out where to go, and by this stage it was very dark and we were conscious of being two mzungus wandering around at night, which is very dangerous.  A man approached us, Morris, to ask if he could help.  He told us that customs closes at 5pm so there was no way we could pick up the luggage tonight but we could fill out the forms to save time when we return tomorrow to pick them up.  Tammi was understandably so annoyed as she was not told this, but I did tell her to call before we went which I wish we did but never mind.  We were then sent all over the place by staff looking for the forms only to find out that we couldn’t fill them out tonight.

The next disaster came when we were told that after filling out the forms it can take 6 hours to retrieve the luggage, which means returning in the morning to fill out the forms, and then again at 5pm to pick up everything!  At this point we realised it was going to cost a lot of money to get to and from the airport that many times so we couldn’t afford to get a taxi home.  We decided to do the stupid thing and get a bus home.  Being a mzungu out at night in Nairobi is definitely not smart as you can be mugged, abducted or any other number of bad things can happen.

Regardless, we got a bus from the airport and had to change to a matatu.  It was the best matatu so far and had such loud music and neon lights and the driver was so fast!  We finally arrived in town and got something to eat from the supermarket and headed straight for a tuk tuk to Khweza.  Fortunately we made it in one piece!  I decided not to go back to the airport in the morning as I was tired and frustrated with the whole situation so thought it was better to stay at the hotel and relax.