- Dr. Anne-Marie in the News
- Tsepong Journals August 09 Part 1
- Tsepong Journals August 09 Part 2
- Tšepong Journals Oct/Nov 08
- Tšepong Journals May 07
- Tšepong Journals July 06 Part 1
- Tšepong Journals July 06 Part 2
- Day Thirteen and Fourteen (July 15, 2006)
- Day Fifteen (July 17, 2006)
- Day Sixteen (July 18, 2006)
- Day Seventeen (July 19, 2006)
- Day Eighteen (July 20, 2006)
- Day Nineteen (July 21, 2006)
- Day Twenty and Twenty-One (July 22, 2006)
- Day Twenty-Two (July 24, 2006)
- Day Twenty-Three (July 25, 2006)
- Day Twenty-Four (July 26, 2006)
- Last Entry (July 27, 2006)
Day Twenty-Two (July 24, 2006)
A cold front has hit again and the temperatures are dropping well below zero at night. By morning the pipes are often frozen and the taps dry. In Africa you may have water, electricity or phone/internet service but never all three at once. If you wake in the morning with no water, you say to yourself ‘AWA’ – Africa Wins Again. The phone jack was pulled out of the wall (by me), and I re-wired it. The only way to keep a connection was to push on the casement with my toe while I made a call. Finally, Adam figured out that the heaviest pot lid sitting on top of the whole unit, kept the wires connected. It was nice to free up our toes while using the phone. There it sits with wires visible and pot lid on top but the phone works and in Africa it may take up to six weeks for the repair guy to arrive…….AWA. I like this acronym so much that I have decided to use it in Canada. Of course, there it will mean ‘Anne-Marie Wins Again’. Adam would like to replace the first word with another name but I have disagreed and… Anne-Marie Wins Again.
I like to do dishes at night. There was no water last night… AWA. This morning I tried again, put the plug in the sink, turned on the tap, no water, turned the tap off… almost. While Elizabeth, Adam and I were at Tsepong later this morning, the water came back on, plug in, tap not completely turned off… Russel’s housekeeper, God love her, called us at the clinic to tell us that there was a stream of water coming from our house to the road. Yes, I flooded the house and… AWA! The problem was corrected just before the flood line reached the laptops sitting on the floor in the living room. The team laughed at me as they admitted they forgot to tell me that before they leave the house they make sure there are no taps on and nothing electrical on the floor.
Even with the bitter cold at night, the mornings are brilliant and usually warm by 10am. This morning was particularly sunny. As Elizabeth and I were walking down the outdoor corridor of Tsepong, a pick up truck pulled up to the entrance of the clinic. I asked Elizabeth what they might be delivering. She knew it was a body, someone too sick to walk to the door. The patient was thin and frail, wrapped in so many blankets. We won’t save this one.
Another patient fainted during praise and worship. The energy is low today. Sometimes the shear enormity of the suffering is palpable in these halls. It can be overwhelming and oppressive despite the incredible spirit and resilience that persists.
Mamolabeng is 35. She has four children aged 13, 10, 7 and 4. Her husband was having an affair with and HIV positive woman. She was advised to be tested by a friend. Her husband left when he found out that she was positive. He remains unaware of his status. She was close to death when she started ARV’s 8 months ago. Now she is recovering and gave me two thumbs up when I asked her how she felt about ARV’s.
The last patient of the day was also delivered by a truck directly to the door of Tsepong. She weighed less than 35 kg. Mathebesang and I lifted her by her arms while she attempted to walk, too weak to carry her own weight. I treated her for PCP, she likely has TB as well. As we ushered her back to the truck I encouraged her to just hang on for 2 more weeks. Just two more weeks of surviving on shear will and determination and the meds might have enough of an effect to turn things around. Just two weeks more.