A Night in Nairobi Hospital

So I figured that one of us would end up visiting the hospital at some point during the adventure. I would not have guessed that it would be me. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning on the day we were leaving Mombasa. I had a very sick stomach, which proceeded to make it impossible to keep anything down at all. I made it through the long, hot, humid, bumpy ride to the airport that morning (with only one emergency stop) and the hour flight back to Mombasa, but I was starting to get dehydrated and was in a lot of stomach pain. J’s boss, Dr. Florence called one of her colleagues to see me right away. He wanted to do tests and said that I should be admitted to the hospital to rehydrate overnight otherwise things could get much worse. I was feeling pretty miserable so I agreed, however I felt silly to be having my first hospital stay ever (other than when I gave birth) here in Nairobi.

What I didn’t anticipate was how lonely I would feel stuck in a little hospital room in a foreign country. You can only read so much and the best thing on TV was an old Tyra Banks talk show so there wasn’t much distraction. My parents were able to stop by on their way to the airport for their flight home and J came in, but they wouldn’t allow the kids back. Sad to say, my first night away from the kids ever was that night. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself and was incredibly anxious to get home in the morning. After the doctor checked me in the morning, he said that it was food poisoning and I should be okay to go! J took care of the kids like a champ and I had never been so happy to see them. Maybe I am just a wimp, but being in a foreign hospital (albeit very nice!) entirely alone was harder on me than I would have expected and very, very humbling. Thankfully, I am feeling much better though I still feel a little low! I think it is due to still not feeling perfect plus having my parents head home and having a ways to go on our trip. They all took wonderful care of me (I was really impressed with hospital), but hopefully, that will be the last time we visit it in our remaining month! I am incredibly thankful that we have access to good medical care. I can’t imagine being ill or having your child be ill without it. We are very blessed I realize!