Days 18-20: Joven is Sick!

          I have a nephew about 1 1/2 years old.  He is the son of Faraja, the daughter of my Shangazi Eliremisa.  He's been throwing up, lost his appetite, and the medicine Faraja got for him isn't working.  We need to find out what's wrong with him, and fast!
          On Saturday, I got to go visit my roots in King'ori, where my bibi lives.

          But that is a story for another post.  After my exciting Safari Adventure, we took the day off.  After spending some time with my Uncle Ndelekwa, we visited Uncle Shauri, Mama Yusufu, and their grandson in Sanawadi, a district of Arusha Town.  From there we headed straight for my Aunt Eliaremesa house just outside Arusha Town on the GNR (Great Northern Roadway).
          Now that you know the score, let me move straight on to the great tragedy.  Joven, my little nephew, Faraja's son, is sick.  Seriously Sick.  He's been vomiting and has diarrhea and no appetite.  He's only two and a half years old.  Here's how it all started:
          The day we arrived at Aunt Eliaremesa's Faraja had come over to greet us.  At the time Joven was only a little sick.  Faraja had taken him to the doctor that day and gotten some medicine, but it wasn't working yet.  Joven didn't improve over the next day, so the following night I volunteered to go with her to another hospital for a second opinion.  We went to the "county" hospital just down the road in the speck town of Tengeru (where Uncle Mike's house is).  It was late at night, and only one doctor was in attendance.
          After waiting for ages, we finally got to see the doctor.  After looking at Joven briefly, he told us that we'd have to come back tomorrow for blood and stool samples.  We took Joven home and put him to bed with an empty stomach.  By now he wouldn't even drink magi (water).  Needless to say, we were all very concerned.
          The following morning I again volunteered to go with them to the hospital for the tests.  We went to another hospital that was a bit nicer and would do a better job taking the tests. We waited again even longer for the tests to come back.  Finally the doctor returned with the results.  Joven had malaria.  It would all be over in five days.
          The malaria, that is (that's how long it takes to fully work and kill everything).  We picked up the medicine and took Joven home.  Slowly his appetite returned, and now he is all better.  Having gotten to see this slice of free medicine through a government health care plan, I can't really find much to complain about.  Of course, I haven't seen everything yet, but I don't think the Tanzanian health system would work if it wasn't funded by the government.  And I think that's about as close to politics as I want to get.


          What?  You weren't hoping this was a real tragedy, were you?


E’ya! - Tate


P.S. - I just noticed something interesting about this post.  Can you find it?


Jump to: Day 17 or Day 21