You will not believe what has happened now!!!!
Week 33
5.11.12 My dear Aunty Marg passed away. She had been
battling Oesophageal cancer and lost the battle. We will miss her dearly. She really was a wonderful Aunt.
This was not a good start to the week and unfortunately it
did not get better.
On Tuesday we had a Melbourne Cup Brunch and the ladies got
all dressed up for the occasion. I actually won best dressed. I had made myself
some pants out of a chitenge (like a sarong) and Carol wrapped my head up for
me with another. Laura wore the dress I made for her out of some material I
bought here. I have borrowed one of the girls’ sewing machines and it has been
nice doing some sewing.
Wednesday, the LTG had a meeting to discuss the recent
Oktoberfest. Then I spent the afternoon
making cakes (for Abbey’s birthday cake). We had an unexpected arrival that
night of a new family. No one new anything and so I went over and introduced
myself. The poor things did not have any food in the house. I made some phone calls and not before long they had dinner and provisions for breakfast and lunch the next
day. That is the great thing about a small community, generally everyone pitches in when needed.
For the past 2 nights, Laura had been having tummy pains and
so I took her up to the clinic. We had already been to the clinic in the
morning to get me some medicine for an upper respiratory infection and now we
were back to get medicine for her. Unfortunately, she got worse and so on
Friday we were back at the clinic and she was admitted. Laura was put on an IV
drip as she was losing too much fluid as she was now vomiting. Phil came home
early, so I could pack a bag and head back to the clinic. Phil then brought Tom
home and took him to the kids Disco that was on that night at the Kindy.
On Saturday morning after several days of low pressure we
lost water. Even the clinic had no water. After several phone calls a plea was
put out to get water to the clinic. 4 hours later we finally had a bucket and a
water container filled with water. In the mean time I went down to a friend’s
place in the township and filled up a 20L tank so we could flush the toilet and
wash hands. Apparently a pipe had burst and
it was in the process of being fixed.
I left the clinic for a few hours on Saturday morning to
make Abbey’s cake. I think it turned out really well. I was not aware that
Laura was not improving. We were hoping that the IV drip would improve her dramatically
and we could bring her home. That was not the case.
By Saturday afternoon, Laura was not getting better and
things were looking worse. She was on antibiotics, anti-cramp medicine plus IV
fluids with electrolytes. She was screaming and hitting herself with the pain.
It was horrible to watch. It was like watching her go through child birth. The
most horrible thing I have had to watch and could do nothing about. Late that
afternoon, things got even worse. There was now blood in her poo. It was then the
Doctors decided to send her to South Africa. She had been tested for Malaria,
Typhoid and now they were thinking an E-Coli infection. Again I went home and
packed our bags for the trip. Unfortunately, the plane could only take one
parent.
Week 34
At 7am on Sunday we were placed in an ambulance (a very old one, not like we have in Australia) and drove 200km over rough roads to Ndola. Thankfully it only took 4 hours, as the driver
used the siren to get us there quicker than the usual 5-6 hours it normally
takes. We then went in an air ambulance to Johannesburg. This only took 2
hours. When we landed in South Africa we were escorted to another ambulance
whilst the pilot and doctor took care of our passports and luggage. It was then
off to Sunninghill Hospital. Once there, poor Laura had to go through the trial
of getting another IV line as her old one had stopped working. It took 5 people
to stuff it up completely and one nurse even wanted to connect the old drip
without cleaning it first. I was so angry. We finally got up to the ward about
6pm that night. It had been a long day. Thankfully we were in isolation as
no-one new what Laura had, so we had a nice quiet room to ourselves. A doctor
came in and put in a drip ASAP and they started the drugs for an E- coli
infection.
Things were starting to settle at last and over the next
couple of days continued to improve. Laura was finally able to sleep most of
the night pain free. I could even see the cheeky side coming out and her eyes
were starting to look alive again. She was finally diagnosed with Dysentery! We
will not know the exact type, as she was on antibiotics a culture was not able
to grow. It was from water and the Doctor assured me it is not from puddles or pool water, but from
drinking water or food that has been washed in it. We now boil the water and use bottle as well, even for cleaning teeth as recommended by the Paediatrician.
On Wednesday Laura was discharged and we headed off to a
Hotel. On Thursday, we did some shopping and Friday we returned home. It was an
effort to get back to Solwezi as the Medical Company would not book flights for
a specific airline. They wanted to send us through the DRC, Congo, and then
they wanted us to go to Ndola by plane and then the 6-7 hour drive by bus!!!! I
refused this for obvious reasons. Phil finally found the flights on the
internet and I insisted they book them. They finally came through at 7am Friday
as we were being picked up for the airport. We arrived back in Solwezi at 430pm
on Friday. Laura had a lovely surprise as well. The guys at Phil’s work had
built a swing and they managed to get it put in just before Laura got home. She
was so tired and grumpy, but she still managed a swing. It had been a long
couple of weeks. That night at 630pm the power went off for a couple of hours.
Welcome back to Lumwana!
The weekend was quiet as Laura and I both needed some relaxation time. Saturday night was a party and there was a massive storm which meant we
lost power again. I did not stay long as the kids were so tired. Phil was
entertaining some blokes from work. Thankfully, the rain stopped so he could
cook on the braai. Sunday we all chilled out together.
I must say Happy Birthday to my Mum, I was not able to
contact her yesterday. My phone has died and I wasn’t able to get through.
Sorry Mum. I was thinking of you and love you lots. Hope you got the cards and
we will talk soon.
The rains are here now, it has been raining the last 2
afternoons and the thunder is so loud it hurts the ears. The lightening is
incredible. You can see and hear the storm building for about an hour or so and
then when it hits, it pours. Everything
is so green and the bush has just come alive with so many creatures and
flowers. The bugs here are massive and very spectacular. The flowers are
beautiful and I will have to photograph more as different ones are erupting
everywhere. It is still warm and the humidity is building. It is impossible to
have straight hair here. Lol.
This place is not a healthy place for my children. We
have been very unlucky, especially with Laura. The fact that she has been on
antibiotics most of the time here, undoubtedly lowered her immune system and so her body was not able to cope with the water born bug. There were about 6 other people on site with gastroenteritis,
when Laura came down with dysentery. I am glad to be back with Phil and Tom, but I am not
glad to be back on site. I am so concerned for my daughter's health and I am seriously considering leaving now with them.
The shop is struggling to get fresh fruit and vegetables of edible quality. A lot of the shelves are
empty and the meat is not as readily available. Even the
UHT milk exploded in my cupboard the other day and that is meant to be long
life! I only bought it last week. The joys of living in the middle of remote Africa and needing everything brought in.
Chicken pox is also going around. One of the maids from
Manyama brought it in and now Miss Jo, Tom’s old teacher has is it. Some of the
kids have a rash, fever and vomiting and it is thought to be Scarlet fever, but
who knows. The wet is bringing the germs out. We just need to keep kids healthy
for 4 more weeks and then we go on our first holiday. Really can’t wait for
that.
Tom’s teacher Miss Jo is no longer working at the school. She had been working voluntarily
for quite awhile and so they have another 2
volunteers, Bex and Kennis. I am so appreciative of Miss Jo for staying and working unpaid for as long as she did and now to Bex and Kennis.I think it is wonderful that
they are willing to do this to keep the Kindy running for the next 3 weeks.
I have also been inquiring about getting our belongings. Unfortunately, our things cannot be sent without a Permanent work permit (I wish I had have known that when we packed), so we still wait or we will come home.......Things are getting very hard to deal with here. Not at all like we had planned or wanted from this experience.
I better go before I fill this entire blog with my whinging.
Lol. x
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