We stood facing three cows, two baby goats and a rooster on the side of the road in front of our home for what seemed like a half hour. Public transportation is hard to come around where we live. Mrs. Pastor stood with us swinging her hand to get white station wagons to stop. Most whisked past us, others stopped expecting all four of us to squeeze in with the 10 who were already in the 5 passenger vehicle. Finally a car stopped and the four of us were on our merry way to our doctor’s visit in Migori, Kenya.
What should have only been a fifteen to twenty minute drive took nearly forty minutes as our car stopped and turned off the ignition and offered a ride to each passerby. Thank the Lord we weren’t an emergency. Lauren feared going deaf in her left ear due to an abundance of water that had been poured in, Hannah feared not being able to play with the children in the neighborhood due to being down with a cold, and I feared not being able to walk straight again due to a cyst. But, we were okay. What are five or ten more minutes?
When we arrived at what looked like a hospital from the 1950’s, we all laughed nervously. Our laughter continued as we were sent to the dental office to be checked out. We each took our turn consulting with the dentist about our various issues. Tom, the dentist, pulled Lauren’s ear and yanked Hannah’s neck into the light, and had me examined on his dental chair.
I was a bit hesitant being seen by a dentist. I called Lauren to go to the back room with me while my cyst was examined. As I sat awkwardly on the chair expecting to have my teeth examined instead of my cyst, Tom said, “This is a dental chair.” REALLY! Is it? HA. I wanted to fall out laughing.
As I gathered myself and sat in his makeshift office he said, “It’s very common for diabetic patients to have cyst like this. Do you have any diabetics in your family?” OH NO. DIABETIC? I CAN’T BE! I told him that not only is my father a diabetic but his parents and my mother’s parents. He was for sure my blood sugar must be checked. Sure enough, I am not a diabetic. My sugar was just fine. I cried for nothing.
After all of that Lauren and I both were told to return tomorrow morning to be seen by a doctor. You mean the dentist isn’t a doctor? HA.
Like every doctor’s visit when you’re a child, we deserved a treat from the store. Lauren bought us chocolate. (I miss my Daddy taking me to Sonic or McDonalds)
The way home was the caramel topping on the ice cream. Lauren and Mrs. Pastor squeezed in with two men in the back seat. Since there was no room for Hannah and me, we were escorted into the hatch of the vehicle. On down the road a bit as the car was moving, the hatch door was opened and a man jumped in with us. I was laughing uncontrollably. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS DAY. Then before we knew it, the door was opened again and in came a gigantic bag of rice or something. But that wasn’t it, the same man and another man joined us. So, our car had the four of us in the trunk, four in the backseat, the driver and two in the passenger seat. Now that’s an African road trip for you!
Want to find out of Lauren got her hearing back? Wondering if I’ll forever walk funny because of my cyst? Tune in to Part 2.
