King Faisal

     What an adventure the doctor was! Quite a miserable one I must say. I couldn't sleep very late so I tossed around in bed from 6 to 8 AM. Finally I woke up and got ready for my fun-filled day in a Rwandan hospital. Celine, the HR person in the Village, kindly picked me up and dropped me off at King Faisal Hospital. She walked in with me, helped me with paper work and sent me off to get medical advice. Pretty quickly I was seen by a nurse who asked what was wrong. She sent me to a waiting room where I sat, waiting for the doctor. As soon as I was in the waiting room by myself I started to freak out. I got really scared being at the hospital by myself. But I wiped my tears away and in came the doctor.
     I explained my medical ailments to the doctor, hoping to find a solution. Instead of being the friendly, helpful medical professional that I hoped for, he asked me what I wanted him to do. Taken aback, I didn't have an answer. He offered to give me an IV to help me regain strength. Immediately I freaked out and told him that I would prefer to drink water from my water bottle. He made me take out my water and drink it in front of him. Still waiting for a plan of action, I suggested that I get a stool sample. He agreed that maybe that would help and sent me to the lab to get a container. Unlike hospitals or doctors offices that i've been in before, he didn't direct me to where I needed to go. So in my weak and terrified state, struggled to find where I needed to go. I asked people who only knew broken English where I should go. Finally I spoke with a lab technician and was on my way to giving a stool sample.
     Sitting on the toilet, I finally figured out the best way to provide a sample (it's really complicated!). Sample complete, I was ready to wash my hands. Only to find that there was no soap in the bathroom. I was shocked! Good thing I brought hand sanitizer with me.
     The doctor said that he wanted me to come back to talk to him after my stool sample so I went back down, hoping to meet with him quickly and get back my room. Unfortunately, I had to wait for over an hour. I was totally confused by the order in which people were going to speak to the doctor. There were no lines and no names being called out. It was pure chaos! After an hour of waiting I made my way to his room and asked him if we could talk. He promised me only 30 more minutes and then he'd be free. So after 1.5 hours I went to his office and was ready to find out the next steps to cure myself. Instead of a solution, he said, "I just wanted to ask if you feel strong enough to go back to the Village today." Shocked by the fact that he made me wait 1.5 hours to simply ask if I was strong enough, I started to show my frustration. He told me that I had to come back to the hospital tomorrow to see what the results were. He refused to talk to the nurse at the Village to clarify things and was upset when I asked him for phone numbers to call about results.
     So here I am, sitting at an internet cafe, totally frustrated and without answers on what's ailing me. At least I have a tasty chicken sandwich, salad and fries and some internet. But hospital in Rwanda...no fun AT ALL!