Going to the hospital in the middle of the night

I have noticed that living in Nairobi is actually quite expensive, I feel like I am food shopping everyday. I have started to get used to all the zeros, 1000 Kenyan shilling is about 9 Euros or a 100 Sek and before having a feel for how much you get for your money it was easy to spend them. Saving time is here, well not really but why pay double the price for something?

Locally grown fruit and vegetables are really cheap and so are flowers. Beef filet has become or new "kenyansk falukorv" (a Swedish type of sausage)and we eat it frequently so that we'll get sick of it before moving back, in Sweden you just can't get fine meat that cheap. A liter of yogurt is about 1.4€, a 500g package of Kellogg's Cornflakes is 5€ - super expensive, I am not buying that again! Hold on it gets worse a package of Kraft's Philadelphia cream cheese is 7€, when my friend told me I thought she was kidding, by the time I got home to have a look at my receipt I was crying.

Now we also know the cost of going to the hospital, last night it was time to go and see a doctor again. Some time after midnight I felt something wasn't right with Noah because he was having a restless sleep, tossing and turning. I put my hand on his forehead feeling he was really hot, we took the temperature and noticed he had 39.3 degrees Celsius. Back home this would be of no concern to us but since we've just come back from Lamu, malaria infested area, where we despite insect repellent and mosquito nets got bitten every night, we thought we better check it quickly.

Children that age are much more vulnerable and in case of malaria, it is easier to treat it the earlier it is discovered. We had to call and wake the driver since he had taken our car home and we probably wouldn't have found our way to the hospital on our own in the middle of the night anyway. The poor fellow got there 20 minutes later and we took off. Nairobi is not known for being the safest place during night time, not only because one can get car jacked but more because people drive like mad and often after having had quite a few drinks. Only the night before 28 people were killed in a severe accident where a bus hit a truck at 1 am in the morning. Have a look at this terrifying photo and you'll know what I am talking about. Nairobi bus crash








Luckily the roads where more or less empty but for a few cars and trucks. At nighttime, Nairobi looks surprisingly Western, it must be because one only sees the lit up buildings and petrol stations while the wooden shacks remains hidden in the dark.

We reached Nairobi hospital around 1.30 am and I suspected it to be packed with people but it was nearly empty. We signed Noah in then paid 1200 Ksh (12€) at another counter and were then showed into a room where we waited to be taken care of. The doctor, a young fellow turned out to be as friendly as the doctor we met on Lamu, in Sweden they are usually quite uninterested and stressed. Noah's temperature was taken and it was decided that a few test were needed to decide the cause of illness. I had to go to the counter again to pay another 2920 Ksh (29€) and was then given a voucher to bring to the lab, funny system that must be very time consuming especially during busy hours! Anyhow, the test were taken, Noah who knows exactly what people in white coats do, behaved very bravely, his mother again had to look in another direction when sticking a needle into his vein.


1 hour later, around 3 am we received the results, no malaria, what a relief! It turned out to be a "normal" infection and we could all happily go home and sleep.

Sick as a dog

On our fifth night on Lamu, I was woken up by a terrifying sound, it was the sound of Mats throwing up (sorry to be so indiscreet), it was so violent that I thought he was about to die. That was the start of the rest of the vacation. First Mats got sick then myself and just when we thought Noah would make it, he got sick too. We all had caught some tummy bug and I tell you it wasn't pleasant! The only good thing that week was that we had moved up to the top suite with a large terrace and there we resided like in a house arrest for the remainder of the holiday.

The day before New Year's Eve I was feeling quite alright (after a few Imodium pills) and ordered food for the next day. Unfortunately I felt worse on New Year's Eve while Mats was feeling better and had two grilled lobsters and coconut prawns to himself while his other half was lying on the day bed trying not to puke by the mere thought of eating. We managed to stay awake to see the spectacular fireworks which came to a few little puffs and some sparkles, we couldn't help but being a bit amused.


On the day of leaving, Noah woke up but he was definitely not himself that morning. He was very tired and withdrawn and didn't reply when speaking to him. We got really worried and decided to call for one of two doctors working on Lamu, we caught him just before catching the boat to Shella, a lucky strike.

The doctor turned out to be a very pleasant Somalian man who seemed to know what he was doing, no witch doctor here. Poor little Noah was dehydrated and we felt like sucky parents since we hadn't managed to make him drink enough. The doctor comforted us saying that when small kids catch a tummy bug they get dehydrated very quickly. As soon as the crew of Subira House heard the news they all came running up to show their support, I got really stressed having everyone around and I asked them kindly to leave. Only later did Christina tell me that this is the way people here on Lamu show their support and I felt ashamed for having sent them away when they were being so sweet. Noah had to be put on a drip and I tell you it was not a nice thing watching them put a needle into the small veins on his hand. I actually had to look in another direction because I couldn't bare watching the whole thing and yes by the way they had to do it twice.

Anyhow, after a liter of fluid Noah's face had gotten the color back and he was smiling. We were all given medicine which we of course cross-checked with our health insurance company but everything was in order.

We flew back home later that afternoon and I was relieved the airplane was a little larger this time and the journey was quick and comfortable.

That was the end of that vacation.