Team Tusker

Soooo, the last two and a half days, I am fairly certain I have done more work at our hotel than at the hospital. Tuesday afternoon while we were visiting the school, one of our girls started feeling sick. By the time we got back, she was definitely on the struggle bus. And, from then on, people started dropping like flies. Literally, every hour on the hour, someone else felt it coming on. By the end of Tuesday night, we had 4 healthy people, so we paired up and got a few extra rooms so that we could bunk up instead of sharing rooms with them...trying to quarantine,  if you will.  So Kate and I shared, got a solid night's sleep and woke up in the morning, only to find that both girls in the other "healthy" room had fallen prey too. Kate and I are still going strong, avoiding the plague at all costs....and by "all costs," I mean 150 kenyan shillings/night...we have come to the conclusion that the only reason we are still kickin' is because we are the only ones who have had a nice cold brew each and every night. Does the trick. I'm standing by the theory. AKA: TEAM TUSKER.

Team Tusker going strong...

Don't be fooled..we really missed everyone.
All alone at the breakfast table :(

So anyways, we tried to nurse in any way we could, going to town to get water, providing malaria pill reminders, encouraging them to choke down some rice at meals...they were miserable. Luckily, everyone is finally feeling better by tonight. Still not sure if it was a bug of some kind or the food. We have heard mixed reviews about the cleanliness of our hotel :/

(I considered channeling my inner KK to do a kitchen inspection checklist...buuuut I voted against it) Everyone at the hospital was super concerned and constantly asking about the status of the group. One of the doctors even came by the hotel to check on them. 

But, don't worry, even though Kate and I didn't get the plague, we had our own share of excitement on Tuesday night. When we moved rooms, we got one on the floor above everyone else and for some reason had to lock/unlock the door with a key from the outside AND inside. So, I went to grab something from downstairs...key in the lock...jiggle jiggle...not moving...(mom, you should probably stop reading riiiight about now)...jiggle jiggle...starting to get nervous...still not opening...and then, YEP the entire lock fell out of the door, onto our floor, on the inside of the room. Sooooo, we were locked in our own room....Aaaaaand que panic attack. (Wish I was joking, but for real, I freaked out for a minute). Started knocking on the door, yelling for other people who were downstairs. They came running up and we ended up having to slide the key under the door and have them unlock it from the outside. Freedom!

So while Kate and I were waiting for everyone to recover, we walked to town with some guys from the other group, stocked up on water, came back and cracked open some Tuskers (obvi) and the other Kenyan beer, Pilsner. Then they helped us move over to the house, rescuing us from the cesspool of germs that was the hotel -_-

Had a pretty terrible night's sleep...luckily it is further away from the mosque, but the roosters took its place.

Went back to the hospital today and worked in X-ray and Pharmacy. Got to watch an ultrasound too, which was pretty cool. Oh, and had a special request for a weight loss counseling session. I was pumped! It was kind of difficult because the options are obviously limited, but the guy was very interested and comes in for treatment everyday, so I will be able to follow up :)

Yesterday, I worked in PT...observed a lot of treaments but actually got to help reset and cast a bone. This poor guy got zero pain meds because the nurse chose not to give them. And we were resetting his tib/fib...good thing he was a champ because this was an uuber painful procedure. I just hate that some patients get meds and others don't, even if it is the same kind of procedure...just doesn't seem fair. And while we were setting the bone, we heard screams/cries...at first I thought it was a woman in labor, but when I asked the PT if that was it he responded "well it is either a birth or a death." As soon as he said that, I knew which one was true. Did everything I could to tell myself that it was a birth until after we finished setting the bone, but afterwards, we confirmed that the latter was true. Made my heart sink.
On a funnier note, I am fairly certain that I got engaged to a Kenyan man today. Not sure what the procedure is for that, buuuut if getting invited to a home village counts for anything, then yes...it happened. hahaha

School kids walking home

This afternoon after work, it was laundry time. And that is exactly when your appreciation for the conveniences of America get taken to a whole new level. Pretty sure we spent an hour and a half washing what would be about a half load of laundry and the push of a button back home. Not to mention that we essentially washed the clothes we were wearing in the process. #soaked. But it was some good bonding time. Currently drying out on the roof. Fingers crossed they aren't uuber crunchy...pretty positive they are still caked with suds. whoops. Kenyan women that do this everyday have a gift. I'm gonna need a tutorial.

attempting kenyan laundry service

laundry drying on the roof

And last, got to facetime with Cyndawg and Jimbo tonight!!! Felt like I had so much to tell them/show them. As much as I like to ditch technology on these trips...every once in a while, its pretty great :)

FaceTiming the rents!!!