Starving! (Part Two)

About 20 minutes after writing about Solivia, Brenda decided we needed to take her to a hospital.  I drove to Jinja with Brenda, Harriet and Solivia.  This was my first time driving to Jinja – a drive of about two hours but you are constantly passing trucks, dodging trucks that come head on at you, dodging bikes, goats, children, people, etc.  I was nervous when we finally arrived at the Jinja round about.

 

We had been told to go to Nile International Hospital.  I remembered seeing a sign on the road. So, we went to the sign and followed about 3 more signs in the failing light We found the hospital finally and it was heavenly!  I felt such relief.  Clean, modern, we were seen immediately.  Great! 

They did a liver and kidney test.  They determined that they could not admit her because it was severe malnutrition with edema which they are not equipped to treat.  They told us to go to the government hospital. [POP]  There goes our happy bubbles.

 

We told them we would rather not go to a government hospital, we have not have success in the past. They assured us this was different.  The nutrition ward was clean, orderly, run by an American.  They convinced us.

 

We got sketchy directions.  I began driving in the dark.  After some u-turns, asking directions, getting yelled at a few times, may car horns, one man actually beating on the side of my truck as he yelled at me, we found the hospital.  [POP]  The government hospital was not what they said!  Big surprise.

 

The place was full of sick children.  Crying children.  Children receiving transfusions.  Children lying naked on bare mats.  Malnourished, sickly, sad children.  Mothers with children lining the hallway floor, getting ready to camp out for the night.  

The hospital was full.  There were no beds. The best they could do was give her a grass mat to lie on the floor.  No net, no sheet, no blanket, no food, just a mat in the hallway.  I was overwhelmed to see all the mothers who took that option because they had no other option. They did not have two white women escorting them, buying them food, willing to pay for better care. Their only option was the free hospital that offers a grass mat on the floor.

 

 

 

We talked with the nurses on duty to find out what would be done during the night if we admitted Solivia.  They said that they would give her a protein fortified milk every three hours.  Period.

After much deliberation, calling and having a translator explain the options to the mother, we decided not to admit her to the hospital.

We took her to a guest house, where the four of us shared a room.
 

At 12:15 AM, we turned out the lights.  At 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 we woke up, checked to see that the child was breathing. . . . . [WHEW!]  Then we would give her about a tablespoon of milk and let her sleep again.  It would take about 30 minutes to get her to drink that tablespoon but she would drink it.

We had breakfast around 8:00 then drove back to Namuwombi – Village of Eden. We spoke with the family to give them two options.  1.  Try a similar nutrition program in Mbale.  2.  Try to feed and care for the child here, feeding every three hours.  We wanted them to know there is a chance the child will die and that it does not mean that we did not do everything we knew to do.  They assured us they understood.  They said, “We have had four children die, before you people came around.” [SIGH, GASP]  So, the child is sleeping on a mattress in Brenda’s room.  We are going to go on shifts of watching and feeding.