Catherter Games: The final chapter

This could be my last blog entry. Even I am finding these less interesting than earlier ones and I would hate to be boring anyone, but I thought I should let people know how the urinary problem is going.

Jacques

Before I left for Kigali, I put a note up on the Yahoo group kigalilife stating that I was looking for a place to stay for three months. I received a variety of responses from ex-pats, but then thought, why would I travel such a long distance to a vastly different culture simply to stay with a bunch of Europeans? So I started looking for a place with a local family. One of the respondents was Jacques. I eventually made an arrangement to live with him and his wife. This was the best decision I made of the whole trip. They are great people and Jacques was a great help during my medical problems.

Here is his story:

Catheter games

I figure there are at least some people who are interested in a medical update, so here it is:

I had a quick meeting with my local urologist on Tues and we arranged a more serious appointment for Fri. He asked that, during the intervening days, I pinch off the catheter, let the urine build up in my bladder and then see if I could pee normally.

I tried it twice. Good new/bad news result: I was able to pee, but it was very painful.

Home again

Thanks for all of your concern. I am back home and looking forward to seeing my urologist today.

The bulk of the trip was very comfortable.  Business Class really is the only way to go. I cannot praise Medex enough and strongly recommend anyone traveling to use them. I had another insurance as well. They would have had me book my own ticket and then claim the expense. They would have paid only economy and only if I had qualified. As near as I can tell, they would not have, or it would have taken time to, pre-approve the flight.

Hospital Hyjinks

I guess it is time for me to update everyone on what is really going on instead of having it trickle out (that is a pun, which you will discover as you read on). I have had a series of medical problems since arriving here. First it was acidic stomach which was uncomfortable and kept me from eating much.

That cleared up, then, on Saturday (fourth day in Kigali), my hosts took us out for a Rwandan Dinner. Over the course of dinner, I went to the wash room several times. Just before we were about to leave, I tried to go again, but could not. I have had prostate issues for several years. In the car, I started to really need to go. I asked if we could stop and my host, Jacques, pulled into a hotel parking lot. I went to the wash room, but could not get started. After about 20 minutes, I suggested Jacques and the others go on and I could take a moto-taxi back. About 30 minutes later, I decided I would have to go to the hospital. Jacques called me about that time and said he would come and get me.

Quick Observations – Kigali

Traffic

The traffic in most parts of town is chaotic mix of cars, trucks, pedestrians, mini-buses and moto-taxis (motor cycles that operate as one passenger taxis). Traffic rules? Suggestions only, except for the few traffic lights. These are obeyed. Otherwise it is anarchy with a functioning horn a necessity. Interesting, however, is the lack of dents and scraps in the body work.

Many people walk to where they are going. I am told that all but racing bikes used for sport are banned. They are unsafe and get in the way of the crazy vehicle drivers.

Languages in Rwanda

Rwanda, unlike so many African nations, has only one native language: Kinyarwanda. Because Rwanda was a Belgium colony, French became the language of education and government. But it did not become a common language that would be spoken among people from different ethnic groups the way English, French and Swahili have in other parts of Africa. French was simply a second language that people learned in school and used to communicate with foreigners. Everywhere else it was Kinyarwanda.

Connections

A There were a couple of unusual coincidences leading up to my departure.

1) About a month after I returned from training in San Francisco (the headquarters of the group with whom I am volunteering), I received Face Book message that said simply “Siafu ’73?” and mentioned two others with whom she had been in touch. The gears turned, the penny dropped. In 1973, I took an overland tour from Tunis to Nairobi with an operator named Siafu. The sender and the people she mentioned had been participants on the trip. All three were Americans, had kept in touch and were living in the Bay area! If she had poked me a few weeks earlier, we could have connected.

Thoughts on Preparing for Kigali

So, I am off to Kigali Rwanda for three months. I was thinking about how things have changed from my two other trips to Africa in 1973 and 1978.

The 1973 trip was for six months. The first half was with an overland tour operator that took us from Tunis to Nairobi; the second half, I was on my own getting from Nairobi to Johannesburg.

In 1978, I spent three months in South Africa visiting a friend and touring the country.

In 2010, I am going to Rwanda to volunteer. I will be attached to a local micro-lending institution.