Monday morning we are up and moving early, but it seems that one thing after another delay's Rose and my departure for Entebbe. Let me fill you in on the euthanasia episode.
I ground up sufficient phenobarb tabs to do the job for the puppy, and Carly and I sprinkle it over a nice mix of chicken & cooked potato leftovers with some beef broth in a bowel. We have some trouble clearing the other dogs out of the area around the big house, and the sick dog is lying in big Moses' room, so we plop the bowl into the room and close the door. Unfortunately, Moses sees this and starts to cause a ruckus, It becomes apparent after 10 minutes that the dog is not about to quickly devour the food, so we have one of the boys leash him with a rope and bring him to an empty room in the building by the piggery. The room can be securely latched and padlocked, so we hope he will soon eat. It is late in the day (this was Thursday last), so thankfully heat will not be an issue. After several hours we return to find the dog has eaten only a little of the chicken scraps and is sleeping but still alive. He normally will gobble down scraps with gusto, so obviously he detects there is something wrong with the food and will not partake. Since we are leaving early the next morning, we just bring the dog out and let him go.
We don't figure out any better plan during the duration of our stay. I don't want to risk someone getting bitten trying to establish an IV line or even intramuscular injection, and Carly can't stand to take up the offer of some of the boys who offer a quick termination with a shovel or hoe, so we essentially admit defeat and just let it go.
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| a social worker addresses the waiting parents while the doctor looks on |
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| I get to cuddle a waiting patient |
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| a mother picks up medications from the pharmacy window at TASO |
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| this is about a third of the large waiting area |
Rose and I are taking Kato to Entebbe for his HIV check-up at TASO (The Aids Support Organization) clinic. By the time we arrive there at about 9:45, the room is already filled with children and parents who are checked in ahead of us. A social worker spends about 20 minutes delivering advice in Lugandan to the assembled parents. He covers such topics as the importance of nutrition and compliance with regular medication dosing. The doctor comes and also speaks about the importance of early assessment for fevers or cough that could signal important complications.
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| Kato is a strong, silent type - he does very well in school |
It's close to noon by the time Kato is assessed. The doctor is pleased with his weight and overall appearance. He has made progress since starting the antiviral drugs about 6 months ago. Kato himself is a young man of very few words, and he refuses our offers of food or beverages while we wait. He requires a blood count and enough medication to carry him until his next appointment in 3 months. We move over to the large reception area and wait for him to be called for bloodwork. Another social worker speaks to the crowd in the large waiting area, again mainly educational advice regarding nutrition but also precautions to prevent disease transmission. I am impressed that the clinic uses these opportunities for group education.
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| main street, Entebbe |
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| pharmacy |
We are finally done at about 2:30 and walk several blocks to one of the main streets of the city. We need to get more malaria treatment tablets, because the pharmacist in Kampala made an error transcribing the list and gave us only 5 doses rather than 50. Fortunately, the Entebbe pharmacist agrees to give us a wholesale price which is close to what we would pay in the bigger city.
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| believe it or not, this is NOT crowded (relatively speaking) |
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| mutatu |
We are travelling by public taxi van (mutatu) today because the BKU van is running errands to schools and Kampala. We do, however, run into Angel and her son Abraham when we're walking back through kabona, so we admire Abraham's new school uniform.
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| shops in kabona |
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| Abraham in his new school duds |
Carly hatched the idea of Sue and her sleeping over at the big girls' dorm last week, and tonight is the night. Unfortunately, it is also the night for the neighbouring cult members to howl and chant their pagan rituals until morning light. The BKU girls cheer ecstatically and practically lift the ladies off their feet when they arrive at the threshold. The dorm is freshly cleaned and the bunk made up as pristinely as circumstances will allow. The happy group play games and Susan is surprised to see the girls eat dinner close to 8 pm. Soon after it is lights out, but Sue and Carly both later claim they only could doze for minutes at a time with the noises and strange surroundings.
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| girls' dorm with the ladies' bunk in the far left corner |
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