Literally, Sticks will break your bones!!... Kenya Week 6: November 8-November 14

Call it bad luck or just bad timing, but turns out that last week’s blog titled “Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones…” would have been a more appropriate title for this week’s blog. Let me tell you a little story…

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in rural Karungu Kenya. Men, women and children walked along the side of the road to and from the booming Sori Market to buy dried fish, corn, second hand clothes and an assortment of other Kenyan goods . Cars, buses and motorbikes sped up and down the dirt road, narrowly missing each other and those walking along the muddy roadside. Among those innocently heading to the market were three American volunteers named Kayla, Amanda, and Lauren. The lovely young ladies wanted to buy clothes and shoes for a poor family they are helping at the hospital.

Suddenly a motorbike driver with a large wooden door attached to the back of his tiny bike swerved dangerously close to the jolly group. The girls jumped to the side just in time, all except for poor Amanda’s left forearm. Perhaps unaware of how large his door actually was or perhaps simply just a bad driver, this young man rudely cut their good hearted trip short.

Amanda bravely held back tears and while grasping her arm informed the merry group that the Sori Market would have to wait; she needed to head back to St. Camillus. Now Lauren conveniently happened to be the St. Camillus X-ray technician, so the girls went straight to the X-ray room. Sadly, X-rays don’t lie: Amanda’s arm had a minimally displaced mid-shaft radial fracture. In other words, her left radius was broken in two. The moral of the story: My mom was right…sticks really do break bones. THE END

After Dr. Jimmy splinted Amanda’s arm and she got some pain killers, everyone decided the best option would be for Amanda to come to Nairobi so an orthopedic surgeon could set the bone and properly cast it. We contacted all the necessary folks back in the States (Mom and Dad Ailleo, Richard from CMMB, etc.) and Fr. Emilio made some calls to find the best orthopedic in Nairobi. We decided I would travel to Nairobi with Amanda to continue playing the role of roommate, friend, nurse, and surrogate mother. So on Tuesday morning Father Julius, Amanda, and I made the eight hour trek to the capital.

Unfortunately after taking one look at the X-ray, Dr. Krishnan told Amanda that if it was his arm, he’d opt for surgery. Casting her arm won’t guarantee that the bone will realign and heal properly because of the location and type of break. It will heal much better and much faster with a plate and screws holding the bones in place. So instead of getting a cast and returning to Nairobi like we originally hoped, Amanda boarded a plane back to New York for surgery.

 

While poor Amanda is back home awaiting surgery, I’ve been relaxing at the St. Camillus Seminary and exploring Nairobi with Fr. Julius. Instead of playing nurse and roommate, I’ve had a unplanned vacation!! In the morning I read, drink coffee, and fully appreciate the excellent internet by uploading photos onto Facebook. In the afternoons Father and I run errands throughout Nairobi with wonderful side trips to see some of the city’s highlights. The Catholic University of East Africa, the Bomas of Kenya (a park and cultural center), the beautiful Benedictine Monastery, Togoni District Hospital, the August 7th Memorial Park (for the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombing) the Kenyatta International Conference Center (with an rooftop view of Nairobi), the Westlands Market, and many of the neighborhoods in and around the city (the Kibiera Slums, Langatta, Westlands, Parklands, City Center…). I pass the hours stuck in traffic practicing Kiswahili and listening to Father Julius’s funny priesthood stories.

 

 

It’s been an unexpected yet pleasant vacation, sadly at the expense of Amanda’s arm (for those of you from the Gulf Coast, the closest thing I can compare this to is a Hurrication!!). But after five days in the city, I’m more than ready to return to the bush of Karungu!! I need to get back to work (that’s why I’m in Kenya after all!) and I miss the clean air and beautiful sunsets over the lake. Till then, I’ll continue enjoying the bustling city life of Nairobi!