This last week and a was mostly like all the others. We saw Tom off to Tanzania with a big party, including Tom, Muhsin, myself and Ama! Woohoo! To be fair, it had rained a lot just prior, and raining often creates flooding in many parts of the city that make it impossible to get around.
We had some tasty pizza at Afrikiko anyhow, which is a big outdoor restaurant, play area type place that I am sorry I just learned existed! It was great for Ama!
I told her that we were going to a party, which was sort of a lie since we were going to a restaurant, but I needed to get her motivated to leave the house. Once we got there, low and behold, there was a party hat! She was very happy about it. Muhsin drew plenty of pictures on her etch-a-sketch and was a big hit. There were tears at the end of the night because she spotted the "choo choo train" and desperately wanted to ride it. Poor thing.
This week was supposed to be my crunch week. I was supposed to finish my paper for Amend on Monday, and then finish my remaining course work the rest of the week so that I could be a free woman. Ama's epiglotis had other plans...
I got a call Monday at noon from her school saying she was unwell. I got there, she was on fire, and very out of it. She also had a barking cough, mostly when she was worked up, but otherwise had not wonderful sounding breathing. I quickly took her to the Dr at the Phillips clinic nearby.
Of course their lab was closed, but I saw the Dr anyhow. She seemed fairly unconcerned about Ama, who was at that point barely responsive and drooling and seemed to have difficulty breathing. She gave her a lolipop, which perked her up a bit, but it ended up all over the place since she wasn't swallowing anything.
She told me to give her antibiotics, that she just had a cough, and that she should also take some "anti allergic" medication that came in a bottle that was not the original, and not clearly labeled. No thanks.
I decided to take Ama to a different lab to get the ordered tests (CBC and Malaria) but after I got it done learned they wouldn't have the results till the next day. We went home, blasted the AC and gave her Tylenol. She slept for 3 hours, but woke up no better, probably a bit worse.
I was thinking I should go to a hospital, but also thinking that I really didn't want to do that in Ghana! So I called health link, who were surprisingly helpful, and the woman told me that if I were in Canada she would advise me to go, but that she could appreciate the situation of not wanting to go to a hospital here. She said if she got any worse to take her.
I called my colleague Muhsin who advised me on the various private hospitals in Accra, and recommended Nyaho Clinic. I decided not to kid myself any longer and take her.
When I got there, the Dr examined her and told me she needed to be admitted for "epiglotitis" and put on IV antibiotics. I initially thought it was total bogus, and scrambled to try to get a hold of anyone and everyone, who were predictably unavailable. I got a hold of Susan, and we agreed to just do it, since it was probably the best place for her if I was worried about her breathing.
Turns out it's a real, and dangerous, thing. So good thing I did! She was much better by morning, and seemed back to herself the following day.
If you are in Ghana and plan to have an emergency, go to the bank first. I only had about $300 on me, which I gave as a "deposit." This caused a problem because they wanted more. They also chose to ask for payment directly after they put Ama's IV access in, when we were on the way to the room. Good timing. I got a bit angry with the woman as she took her sweet time, and they took the money and sent me on my way.
They were totally unsympathetic to the fact that I was on my own, and didn't magically have 500 GHc on me. I was asking about payment on day 2, and if I could run to the ATM and leave my passports and other valuables, and they said no, somebody had to bring it or I had to leave Ama. And no, they don't take credit card. What? And no, you can't have your bill in advance, even though all the meds have been ordered and we know when you will be discharged. And no, I can't give you an approximate amount so you can arrange for the cash to be brought. What? There were a few tears on Tuesday night, not gonna lie!
In the end it worked out. Peace, the woman who runs the guesthouse, turned out to be my saviour. She visited twice on Saturday, bringing supplies from home, food, and of course cash. I was so grateful!
Well there you have it. Ama is doing fabulous now. She was causing plenty of trouble this afternoon, and was running around like a maniac. Perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment