Kenyan Life: Aches & Pains

About two weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling decidedly unwell. After contemplating whether I really felt bad enough to untuck myself from my mosquito net, I eventually got up, just in time to reach the bathroom before my stomach decided to purge itself of the previous nights dinner. Fast forward a week, and as the alarm went off for another day, the now familiar feeling returned. Yes, it has happened, I finally got ill!

The first time I figured it was just something I ate, but vomiting again only one week later, accompanied by a 24-hour headache, in a country rife with malaria (two symptoms of which are vomiting and headaches), Emily and the house mothers decided it best I get checked out. So, on Thursday I headed off to the local Hospital in Kikuyu, along with Aunty Betty and two of the older boys who had also recently been ill. Going to the doctors or the hospital here was quite an experience. First you have to go to the “cashier” and pay 300sks (about $4) to get a file opened, then you go and register before going to sit outside a consultation room waiting to be called. Waiting, and waiting and waiting. There’s no fancy numbering system so you know how long it will be, no TV, no magazines, you just sit. And wait. After about two hours I finally got called in, where the young female doctor proceeded to get the giggles. There are lots of Simon’s in Kenya and I guess my last name was not different enough to tip her off that I would be a white person so mid-way through my explanation of symptoms she starts giggling, eventually explaining that she wasn’t expecting a “muzungu” to walk in today! She decided to test me for malaria, typhoid and stomach infections so sent me off to the lab. Before you can go to the lab though, you have to go back to the cashier and pay for your tests. At the lab they gave me a little brown paper bag containing a small plastic jar, with a kind of spoon attached to its lid – yes, I was going to have to give a stool sample! After that wonderful experience (I can’t even begin to explain the state of the toilet they directed me to use) they took blood and then told me to sit and wait. So I waited. And waited. And waited. After two hours of watching people be given brown paper bags and disappear into the toilet they finally called my name and handed me a piece of paper with my results on. No explanation though, so I then had to traipse back over to the doctor where, you guessed it, I had to wait again!

When I eventually saw this doctor he explained I have a stomach infection, caused by the amoeba parasite. This is very common here in Kenya - since we have been here 4 of the kids have gotten this infection – it can be picked up from dirty water and since all of the water used for cooking and cleaning here is taken from two large dirty tanks outside, it is not surprising so many of us have gotten sick. I thought I had been careful, but obviously not! He gave me a prescription for four different drugs and sent me off to the pharmacist, who writes down how much it costs, and then you go back to the cashier, pay, then go back to the pharmacist to hand in your prescription and wait for it to be filled! With no exaggeration I was there all day – I left the orphanage about 10.30am and was not back until about 5.30pm. I can’t believe I forgot to take my book to keep me occupied!!!

Obviously very glad I don’t have malaria, and the different medications they gave me (pills, dissolvable powder and syrup) seem to be working, but I am annoyed I got ill after being so careful. In the morning Emily had been very sympathetic – offering to come to the hospital with me, cleaning up after me etc etc. However, when I returned from my 7-hour visit to the hospital and I informed my betrothed of my serious infection, her response was simple. She laughed. And laughed. And took pictures of my huge pile of medication. Thanks, baby!! Since her father travels the world and is always the only one of his party who never gets sick, Em is convinced she has inherited a stomach of steal – im not so sure… we still have 7 weeks to go!!!


The inefficient system, where you have to keep going back and forth to the cashier before you do anything and the loooong wait was painful. However, I was really impressed by the fact they performed the tests there-and-then and I got the results back the same day. Even in the US, with their expensive system, I had to wait a couple of days for blood tests to come back. So as much as it was annoying to waste the day at the hospital, at least I found out what was wrong with me and it was interesting to see how a Kenyan hospital operates. I guess I just need to be more careful about what I eat from now on!

Emily has also needed medical treatment recently, although she had to settle for Dr.Simon & Nurse Hilary to look after her. Coming back from Kikuyu a couple of weeks ago on the back of Gitau’s motorbike (see previous Kenyan Life post) the motorbike tipped over as it was driving slowly up a hill. Although Em managed to jump clear, her leg caught the exhaust pipe and she got a pretty big and nasty burn on the lower inside of her leg. It blistered up nicely that day and she has had to keep it clean and re-dress it everyday, which is harder than it sounds, given our living conditions here. It is starting to get better now, and hopefully will not leave a permanent scar. However, it has put her off motorbikes for a while, so we are back to the more traditional Kenyan mode of walking to our matatu stage, which is much better for us anyway!


Aside from these few “aches and pains”, we are really loving our time here and cannot believe that we are nearly half way through!