Kenya, part 2 - hospital with a sick child
It was a 12 hour drive back from Kakamega - shorter than the journey there, but still longer than we'd hoped. We were all pretty wiped out (except of course D(3), who seems have no off switch).
When we arrived back at the house, N(5) was in a bad state. Her fever, despite antibiotics and ibuprofen, stood at 39.5 and the mango we tried to feed her came right back up. We took the decision that she needed to be seen in hospital.
After listening to her breathing, the doctor said straight away that she has pneumonia. A blood test showed that her inflammation markers, which should be no more than 8, were at 156! It was decided she needed to stay for two days to receive IV antibiotics and other meds.
We were both feeling rather distressed by then. It was awful seeing my lively girl in such a weak state. After the decision was taken to keep her in, we were given a huge private room (I'm dreading the bill, which I'll have to pay before claiming it back from insurance - whether my credit card limits will cover all this?) and we got some pretty good sleep. Except for a lot of coughing of course.
I couldn't fault this hospital or the staff, they are wonderful.
Of course this has now forced us into an unplanned rest period. I'm pretty convinced that all the travel and lack of sleep (early mornings and late nights) had something to do with N developing this... the plan was to get up at 4am the following morning to catch a train to Mombasa for 4 days there; I've had to send Mr and D(3) with the rest of the party, while we stay at Emmanuel's house after being discharged. This rest period is exactly what N needs... so it's all working out ok. We do appreciate prayers for her recovery.
For my birthday: in hospital
If things had gone to plan, I would have spent my 39th birthday at a beach or pool in Mombasa, possibly with a mojito in one hand and a cake in the other, surrounded by family and friends. Alas, I'm still in hospital with a poorly little one, while the rest of our travel party is having a great time there.
Her day started much as the other days, still a temperature and a lot of painful coughing. These coughs would convulse her entire body and afterwards she'd cry that her chest hurt - hard to watch. Luckily, when the paediatrician came to check her he heard the cough, and decided to nebulise her: that has made a world of difference!
I literally saw her come back to being herself in the course of an afternoon. By the evening, when our friends came to visit, she was chatty and happy! She even ate most of her dinner, which is the first proper meal she's eaten since arriving in the country. I'll happily take that as a birthday present.
But there was more for my birthday: my friend Mary went and got me a chocolate birthday cake, and presented me with a gorgeous African dress. I'm going to bed happy tonight. This 39th wasn't so bad after all.
Days just flowed into one another with our hospital stay, so I thought I'd post now to share my impressions of hospital care in Kenya. Keep in mind I have virtually no experience of British hospitals other than maternity (I was in hospital for 24 hours following N's birth, and only 3 hours after D's), so I'm not comparing, just describing.
We arrived on Monday, near midnight. This isn't an A&E Department but a small suburban branch of a major private Nairobi hospital. We walked into an empty reception area and were seen within minutes. A doctor checked her over a few minutes later, and diagnosed pneumonia. Blood was taken for a lab test, and half an hour later we had the results.
Following this, we were given a private room because the children's ward was full. Mr. came with a bag of clothes, and I was given a hot meal (which really surprised me! In the hectic time leading up to taking her to hospital, I hadn't had a chance to eat...) - remember this is at midnight!
Over the next day, I was impressed with the cleanliness: the floor is mopped something like four times a day, our ensuite bathroom is cleaned daily and fresh bed linens put on.
Because fruit was the one thing N would eat when she was feeling ill, I asked our friends for fruit and they brought lots, which the friendly kitchen staff would take away and chop up ready to eat whenever we asked.
Meals - every day I'd fill in a menu sheet with three choices (one veggie). Breakfast is always the same, jam sandwich and "porridge" which has a weird wobbly consistency and needs sugar to be palatable. Lunch and dinner is usually bean stew with either rice or cooked banana or chapati. Mid morning and mid afternoon a hot drink arrives. The one thing that has surprised me about Kenya, is that there is no decent coffee to be had! If you want coffee it's Nescafé instant (brrrr) otherwise your choices consist of Milo, hot chocolate or tea.
We're due to be released tomorrow after breakfast. I would have preferred not to end up in hospital for nearly a week of our stay, of course, but it's been a really positive experience. Made easier by lovely staff, good food, a clean and big room, and many visitors from the local church as well as N's best friend Shawn, Emmanuel's son, who's been the biggest support and help in all this.