Oh my

It's another Tuesday, another opportunity to write.

Sigh

 The interruptions came one on top of each other today. At least I got up at 5 a.m., had a great time in the Word and was completely prepared for the day.

As I came out to get some water for toothbrushing, with a mouth full of toothpaste and my toothbrush busy, I found a young man at the front door looking for Geoff. It was 8 a.m. and everyone was gone for their various places. He began relating dual stories and at first I had trouble tracking which one was of utmost importance to him. His motorbike tire was flat--easy, I got him the tire pump. As he worked on the bike he talked of looking for Uncle Geoff and then said he'd already called him and found him at the office. But, as he continued the story it became alarming. Moments before, as he had tried to advance through the side gate he found the watchman vomiting and very weak. The man couldn't stand up on his own and so this young man had come to find Uncle Geoff for help. I excused myself to finish up brushing and when I returned to the front of the house, the clinic van was backing up at a high speed and stopped in front of our house. Kimberly, one of our nurses, asked me to please come with her to the hospital. Seems that a young student also going through the gate on her way to school found the situation to warrant her running to the clinic to find the nurse. At the same time she arrived to find Kimberly, so did Geoff and they both expressed the need for the van to go pick up the watchman. Not sure of the nature of the problem, and considering it could be a heart problem soon requiring CPR, Kimberly asked me to come along in case CPR would be needed. Thankfully it wasn't.

We arrived at the outpatient department (OPD) and his vital signs were all over the place. Once he was fairly stabilized he was able to answer a few questions and also give instructions on which family members to contact. The OPD wouldn't take him to the male ward without an attendant so we all went to get him settled. For those of you not familiar with medical facilities in the bush area of East Africa, you must be informed that an attendant of the patient supplies all items necessary for care. This includes bedsheets, basins, soap, towels, clothing, food, water, blankets, WHATEVER besides medicine is needed. AND an attendant must be present for transfer to different departments and of course, for decisions regarding care. Not knowing when the sister would arrive, I went home to get the basics needed for them to get started caring for him on the male ward. Once home, I found that my houseworker had AGAIN not come to work today. This will be the third day in a week that she's missed due to her own family crisis issues. As I finished gathering the items and was headed to the car, she arrived stating that she had an appointment in our main little village center at 10 a.m. So, on my way back to the hospital I dropped her off at her destination.

I waited about 45 minutes for the sister to arrive and when she did, she arriving with nothing. Turns out she had gone to his place to pick up the needed supplies, but had no way to get into his house. I showed her what I had brought and caught her up to speed with the happenings so far and then left to go see another staff member who was also admitted in the same hospital.

I would ask you to please pray for this watchman as we don't yet know what is going on with him. At present they are running various tests and blood work to attempt to identify the cause of his intense pain and vomiting.

When I finally left the hospital and was driving back home I passed one of our former daughters who has since married and moved to the western part of Uganda with her husband and children. I slammed on the brakes and backed up to ask what she was doing just casually walking down the road in our area!  It was great to see her, but WHY? It didn't make any sense. She related that she has not been feeling well lately and she had come to Kiwoko Hospital to get some answers.  Herein lies another insight to the medical environment in Uganda. She lives a good eight hours west of us and has traveled all this way to be seen at a hospital she can trust! I returned to the hospital in order to save her walking in the intense heat and dust we live in of late.

Finally home I put on the beans and rice for lunch because again today I seem to be not the author, but the chief cook and bottle washer. No worries, God will enable me to catch up on my writing all in His good time. I am happy to have been available to help in so many ways today!

Time to go and have a leisurely cup of tea with a dear friend. She told me yesterday that she has some good news to share and I can't wait to hear it!!!!


UPDATE ON THE WATCHMAN: his sister called me and said he was being taken into surgery. She was not sure what for, but perhaps to repair a small bowel obstruction. For the non-medical types that would NOT be a "small, unimportant obstruction" but a blockage in the small intestine. Please pray for his healing.

Blessings,
Mary