NOTE: PLEASE DON’T READ OR LOOK AT THE PHOTOS IF YOU GET SQUEEMISH OR GROSSED OUT EASILY!
As our teams were winding down to leave Botswana some of us decided to take a weekend and see Victoria Falls. After lunch in downtown Maun, we split up to conquer our errands. As I headed out to get stamps, a couple of my teammates went to the ATM right down from where I was headed and then we planned to do a final run through the market…however that never happened.
As I started to cross the street, I felt a sharp pain in the bottom of my foot. I thought I must have stepped on a thorne. But when I looked at the bottom of my foot, I saw a 4 in. x 2 in. piece of glass pierced through the sole of my sandle!
As I pulled it out thinking that it probably just cut my foot, my foot became soaked with blood. Blood was literally gushing out like you see in those cheesey horror movies. As I went toward Courtney and Tamara, the blood overflowed my sandle leaving small puddles along the way.
As I reached them, looks of horror came on their faces. They quickly got water to clean the wound trying to see where the cut was. (I knew where the cut was but couldn’t see it due to all the mess!) As I sat down I started to cry. We couldn’t make the blood stop, my pain was getting worse, and I had no idea where the hospital was. Locals started circling around us, some just to see what was going on and others to offer words of encouragement. One man kept saying, “Miss, please stop crying. It will be alright. Please stop crying, Miss.” (I later found out that Botswanans don’t like people crying. They become uncomfortable and just want to make the tears stop.) The man was more upset because of me crying then my blood.
The locals told us where the hospital was so Courtney, Tamara, and I headed off to the hospital. We ran into Casey who accompanied us. While Courtney signed me in and filled out my paperwork, Casey and Tamara sat with me offering comfort. Soon I was called back and Courtney went into the back with me while Casey and Tamara went to finish all four of our errands!
After walking room to room we finally were offered seats in the hall awaiting the room where I would soon get stitches. I looked around realizing my worst nightmare had come true. I was sitting in a bare hall with an empty hosptial gurney in the corner with a single light bulb in the hall behind it flickering as if the lights may go out any minute. I look at Courtney and asked if it looked like a morgue, but she reassured me that it in fact looked like a hospital hallway and smelled very clean. (I still had my doubts.)
Soon I was in called into the room. As I laid on the table, I asked Courtney to make sure everything was clean. The began to give me shots to numb my foot so that they could clean the wound and stitch up the gash. However the shots hurt worse then the actual glass! How many times do they really need to stick a person with those things?!?!!? The more they stuck me, the harder I squeezed Courtney’s hand. Then finally…RELIEF!!!!! I couldn’t feel anything!
The stitches didn’t take long and soon I was bandaged and ready to go! The doctor that was helping me actually attended the church that we had been going to and was in Love Botswana’s Bible School! How cool is that?! Of all the doctors I got him!!!
I can’t speak highly enough of my teammates! Courtney, Tamara and Casey – you guys rock! Although we were on a tight time deadline and had thousands of things to do before we left for Vic. Falls they stopped everything to be with me. Thanks ya’ll. I love you guys! At times like this you realize how much we’ve all become like family.
Oh and did I mention that the hospital we went to was only one block away! It could have easily been on the other side of town, but thank God it was right next door! Even though my worst nightmare came true, the ending was much better!
