Hospitals - Tanzania style

So!  Here we are ... Day 3 of being back home from the hospital and all going well.  Not easy, that's for sure but better than I expected.  At the start I worried about getting out of bed, going to the bathroom by myself, going down a step in the house, all fine ... today's goal? - bath!  It's been almost a week so I am due!  Phew!  Here is a pic of the ground floor bedroom set up for me for my return ... how nice is that?!

Everyone of course asks about how the whole hospital experience went here ... it was a bit of a doozy but generally quite fine and positive.  A few highlights/lowlights ...

-    check in!  Yikes … took approx. 6 hours of waiting waiting waiting … now I know why they wanted me to check in the day before … I had a nice nap in the lobby as I waited … another clinic visit for my vitals and any history that was relevant … waiting waiting waiting … finally walked up to my room and given a bed that looked like they had hardly changed the sheets!
-    Roomates!  Mostly good here … don’t get me wrong – two other men in the room with similar orthopaedic situations.  Jackson – a 45 year old man who had a bad traffic accident in October 2010.  Left leg amputated right away and similar to mine.  Right leg crushed in several places, and still being operated on with maybe more to come, maybe another amputation of this leg as well.  In fact, the morning that I left (Friday) he was being operated on again for that leg.  He was remarkably upbeat, very helpful to me the entire time, spoke English very well and enjoyed reading my principal theory books!  Very nice to have in the room, a government worker of some capacity I was not sure of but his insurance covered the medical attention he needs except for a prosthesis – not sure what he is going to do there.  Lye – a 19 year old Masaai who developed some sort of cancer in his leg and they amputated above the knee 2 months ago.  His village ‘doesn’t want him anymore’ and his family has basically ‘disowned’ him – fearing this cancer will spread!  He has been in the hospital 2 months now and the director of the hospital is trying to find him a home.  He is learning how to walk with a walker and crutch.  Again, remarkably strong/upbeat individual who was a bit tough to interact with given his age and lack of English.  I found so much inspiration in these two men.
-    Visitors!  Well, I had my share as well with school staff and of course my family coming and that was very nice … but wow – the visitors that Jackson especially got were basically nonstop hour by hour – family, cousins, neighbors, church memebers, it goes on and on …. Again – you have to respect this culture for it’s community support!  It was annoying at times for privacy and for rest but wow …
-    Care!  This lacked somewhat … but is typical and what I kinda heard going in … Nurses came often but were not very helpful – they were very social but often forgot requests and came at weird hours or concentrated within a few minutes, then we would not see them again for many hours.  Jackson’s brother was there almost the whole time and he helped out so much … helping me with going to the bathroom, helping me with my meals, putting the bed up/down, etc.
-    Meals!  Errrgh!  No coffee, ever!  Tea most mornings but never beyond breakfast time.  You had to buy your own water.  And the meal for lunch and dinner was basically the same every day … white rice, small bit of potato stew with some beef and carrot, 2 cucumber slices, and if you were lucky – a small slice of fruit.  Breakfast one day was a sausage and an egg.  2 hard boiled eggs the next day.  One scrambled egg the next day.  One day I could not eat in advance of the sugery …
-    Surgery!  They took me around Noon Wednesday.  Started the procedure around 1:30 PM.  Epidural (spinal aneasthesia) that numbed my entire lower half, but I was still awake and able to move my arms, head, etc.  Weird sensation!  I could sometimes seem them lifting up my leg (painting iodine) and it felt so ‘other worldly’!  I asked them if I could be propped up to watch the operation but they advised not.  I could see some details (fuzzy) in the reflective ceiling though.  Kinda cool!  Before they started the operation everyone said a prayer – nice.  Very little pain afterwards overall … I am still on Ibuprofen every 8 hours but that mostly helps with my lower back aches from lying down too long (ie. overnight) – knee feels pretty good generally. 
-    CheckOut!  Well, I was supposed to be checked out by 12 Noon Friday but PJ and John (who picked me up) had a few hoops to jump through … and waiting … waiting … waiting … so by 4:30 PM we were driving away.  Oh, but to load me in the car! – took  a stretcher and approx. 6 hospital staff and approx. 20 onlookers.  What a scene!  OK, but keep in mind that this entire surgery, medication, etc. cost approx. 400 US dollars.  Bargain no?  Here is a pic of what my leg looks like now in the cast ...

I think this is more than enough for one entry … sorry I blathered on a while … but I enjoy/will enjoy reading this narrative … ahh life abroad …