14. Has the Marburg virus reached Kisiizi?

Wednesday 14th November 2012

 

Market scene at Kissizi

I didn’t sleep too well last night and was tossing and turning quite a bit so in the end I get up just before 6am. I am streaming with a cold and a chesty cough has developed. I make myself a coffee and have a read before deciding it’s time to get a shower. I don’t think I have given you a full description of what the shower is like yet? I may have mentioned that the pressure isn’t great but today there appears to be a distinct lack of hot water as well. Inside the shower tray which is set into a bare concrete floor there is a large round washing up style bowl which is often easier to fill and then use to get a wash from, especially if you are trying to rinse shampoo out of your hair. Anyway I didn’t fancy a cold shower today so I got dressed again went to the kitchen and boiled a kettle. I brought this back outside undressed again and added it to the cold water in the red bowl. Two interesting looking insects arrived during the short period I was missing. I’m not sure whether they crawled under the gap in the wooden door or perhaps they had fallen through the corroded corrugated iron roof. Anyway they don’t look too dangerous so I get on with my shower and decide to wash my hair tomorrow when hopefully the hot water will be reinstated.

 

As planned I try the weetabix today and bingo! It tastes almost like the weetabix we have at home, so this will be my breakfast cereal of choice from now on. As I leave Rose Cottage for the short walk up the road to the Chapel, I hear the excitable sounds of the children in the school playground over the road. It is interesting that the sound of their laughter and their playful shouting to be heard over the voices of everyone else is just like you would hear in any other primary school playground the world over. It’s like any other group of children playing with each other and having fun, but I can’t help think about how very different their lives are compared to those of most schoolchildren in the UK.

 

It’s a bit cooler today – nothing like the cold I am sure you are experiencing in the UK, but compared to the last couple of days here, the temperature has a bit of a chill in the air, but it’s still only 7.30am so no doubt it will warm up later. I arrive in Chapel a bit earlier than usual so manage to get a bench against the wall which is a bit more comfortable for my back. Today's service is very short – only 25 minutes as they are having a patient audit following the service where they announce the statistics of deaths, infections, births etc over the previous month. It is suggested that I don’t need to stay for this part if I don’t want to. I take the opportunity to put together a spreadsheet of all the mattress measuring I had done the day before. I list each ward and then have separate columns for all the different sized beds (it’s amazing how many different sizes there are). I total up the number I have measured and indicate the ones still to be audited. I use my highlight and bold buttons to emphasize certain totals and overall I am quite impressed with the result. At Banana Break I learn that they have finally sourced the supplier catalogue so that I can see what sized mattresses are on offer so that I can work out how many of the ones I have measured come close to the standard size. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that there is only ONE size available to order – I have 10 columns on my spreadsheet, each representing a different measurement, so that is going to be a bit of a challenge!

 

One of the things being talked about in the staff room is the fact that Sister Moreen has had a pretty stressful morning as there is a suspected Marburg virus case on the Medical Ward. I had never heard of Marburg before I came, but as I had been tipped off that there was an outbreak in Uganda I googled it. I was now wondering whether that had been a wise decision. From what I had read it is a virus linked to the deadly Ebola virus and it didn’t sound as though anybody had ever recovered from it. OMG! - The Medical Ward - that was where I had seen a very sick patient the day before but fortunately I had not been able to get close enough to measure the bed. However I didn’t know for sure that this was the patient they were talking about? He could have been in one of the other beds I had measured? I did use hand gel after visiting every ward so assured myself there was nothing to worry about, although the little voice in my head still needed a bit of convincing. The staff appear to be in agreement that his symptoms do not meet all the criteria to enable a positive diagnosis to be made, so that was reassuring. As was the fact that Angus had examined him and he didn’t seem too concerned. (But perhaps that was just his medical training kicking in?)

 

Lunch was not my favourite today. We had fish pie that was decidedly grey in colour with avocado. I filled up on two bowls of fresh fruit salad which was lovely.

 

The electricity has been off today since 10.30am (they are apparently putting in a new cable) and as I write this at 2.45pm it is still not back on which is totally frustrating as I have a couple of hours to finish off the Santa plan but there is no electricity to charge up my battery pack for the computer. For some reason fully charged it is only holding the power for about an hour. It’s 5pm now and still no sign of the electricity – another romantic dinner by candlelight beckons! I meet with Carolyn as we have decided to walk to Upper Kisiizi village to look for material for the dresses I mentioned yesterday. It’s a very steep walk and with my chesty cough I find it difficult to walk and talk at the same time (probably also something to do with my lack of fitness) so I suggest to Carolyn that she chats on the way up and I’ll chat on the way down. It takes a lot longer than the 20 minutes suggested by Sarah to reach our destination but there are some beautiful views of the surrounding countryside as we make our way up the stony path. I find it a real eye opener to see some of the houses and “shops” along the side of the road as we continue with our slow ascent. Just taking a bit of time to look around at the wooden or brick shacks with their tin roofs , no electricity or running water and whole families sitting outside, reiterated just how little these people have.

 

Finding some suitable material was initially not as easy as I had imagined but eventually I found a piece to make a skirt for me (a bargain at just £2.50!), nothing yet for the girls dresses but there are a apparently a few more shops in Lower Kisiizi and there might be more of a choice there. Upper Kisiizi Village is an interesting place with a large number of shops, ‘hotels’ and even an Executive Pub! (photo to follow!) Cows and goats just roam around freely and dozens of children play barefoot in the road. We become like a pair of Pied Pipers as they follow us all trying to be included in the photos I am taking. Old men sit on the grass verges watching the world, and the boda bodas (scooters that double up as taxis), go by. Whilst looking in another material shop I find a bright turquoise sequinned and embroidered kaftan style dress which will act as a perfect lightweight dressing gown for our weekend trip to Queen Elizabeth Safari Park. Fortunately Carolyn has brought her torch as it is almost dark by the time we get back. Chatting to the team over the past couple of days I am starting to learn more about the programmes they are working on here, and am hearing about the successes and the frustrations they experience.

 

I go to make a cup of coffee before dinner, get as far as filling the kettle, and plugging it in before my brain registers that the power is still off. Instead I purchase a bottle of ginger been from the fridge outside by the front door. It is really refreshing and sets me back all of 1000 shillings (25p).

 

After dinner the lights are back on and I have a look at the books in the bookcase in the lounge. There is a real mix of novels, travel, and medical books. One that catches my eye is called “Facts about Intestinal Worms”. This is certainly the most diverse travel experience I have had. I wonder what tomorrow with bring as I venture out of Kisiizi and into the community to visit several rural villages.