A trip to the Hospital

We had been pleasantly surprised when week 4 of our “great adventure” drew to a close with no health issues to speak of. We had been prepared, even anticipated a bit of traveller’s diarrhoea to strike at some point in Ethiopia, secure in the knowledge that our medical kit contained all we needed to deal with such unpleasantness. Subconsciously I think we expected it; so we may have inadvertently jinxed ourselves. But when I woke up a few days ago I was totally unprepared for the reflection the mirror gave of my face, for it surely wasn’t a face I recognised. Swollen cheeks, right eye already half closed, red, skin literally peeling off; I could even feel fluid in my forehead and chin. Not pretty. There was nothing in the medical kit for that. 24 hours later, a few benedryl tablets (generously supplied by Kathy whom I am eternally grateful to) and a trip to the local pharmacy for more anti-histamines and I was still not on the mend. If anything my face was more swollen than before. Thankfully it wasn’t painful and I had none of the other symptoms typical of an allergic reaction. Our tour leader made a few calls, the rest of the group went to check out a waterfall and we found ourselves headed to Aflagat General Hospital, in Bahir Dar. Ironically our mode of transport was the Ethiopian version of the “tuk tuk” which I had wanted to experience, but obviously not under these circumstances. Mike and I had a (in hindsight ridiculous) conversation about our travel insurance, what our medical excess was, how much American currency to take with us and what documentation we might need etc. Well the Hospital was basic, but the staff were professional. I had a blood test and the results were available in 10 minutes (that would never happen in an NHS hospital), and I got to see the results on the computer screen before they were printed out (that would also never happen in an NHS hospital). Now I won’t lie and say that I wasn’t a little concerned about the whole thing because I was. In the back of my mind (the part that thinks worst case scenario) I had visions of us needing to get an internal flight back to Addis, or even more upsetting my face swelling so much my eyes close over. Luckily for us all this story has a happy ending; my blood results were normal so no infection, the antibiotics worked and I have my old face back (well almost, I’m a slow healer). So what was I allergic to? No idea. Maybe my new £25 hypo-allergic meant to be amazing sunscreen? Maybe I touched some nasty toxic plant in the mountains? Or maybe something else entirely? I doubt I will ever know, but one thing I do know is that medical care in Ethiopia is cheap – my blood test cost £2.60p (70Birr), seeing the doctor cost £1.85p (50Birr) and the 10 antibiotic tablets £0.15p (4Birr). The “tuk tuk” cost 8 Birr each way, and we tipped our escort 50 Birr. So for less than the price of a cocktail in a London bar, I had treatment for a minor ailment in an Ethiopian Hospital.

Keely

P.S. The waterfall apparently wasn’t all that anyway.
P.P.S. Wonder what happened to my test tube of blood – it was labelled with only “ke”?