June 13th Another Day, Another Pig Pen

The road to the grandmother’s farm was torturous, but we made it! I was a little nauseous and hadn’t slept so I passed on the millet even though I risked offending my host. I think she understood my gestures and I figured it was better to politely decline rather than puke under her matoke trees. Despite picking up new supplies (2 hammers, 2kg of nails, a panga, and a spike), we didn’t actually help that much. They holes were dug when we arrive and I just finished one off before the poles were added. I mostly handed the one guy nails. I guess if there is a man present, he is given the hammer and is the only one allowed to actually pound nails. I figured with 3 hammers, we could have multiple people hammering and cutting, but it didn’t seem to work because everyone stopped and waited. After a few failed attempts at hammering (I was pretty weak), I sort of decided I should give up. These grandmothers were amazing with the pangas again and it was almost embarrassing how pitiful my chopping attempts were. The language barrier was huge today since Carol came rather than Hilda, who speaks much better English. There was a lot of nodding and gesturing. I caught on to “Mzungu move”…and “give me a nail.”

The woman who the pen was for had a pig. She was so cute and wanted a picture with it, us, and the new pen. They actually tie their animals by the leg here. The pig had a piece of rope around one leg, which the women cut off with a panga. I was sort of scared when they went after the pig with such a big weapon, but it worked out okay. I managed to eat some lunch of beans, matoke, and sweet potatoｅｓ．

We got to play veterinarian twice today since the Veterinarians Without Borders vets are away for a short holiday. The first goat we examined was a 1-day postpartum nanny goat which had prolapsed 2 weeks before delivery. We diagnosed her with having ridiculously large twins that may have caused premature straining. Luckily, the goat seems to be fine now with no evidence of inflammation or abnormal discharge. She had plenty of milk and her kids looked very strong. I was shocked when she said they were only delivered yesterday.

Our second patient was a 2-month post-partum nanny goat that had 3 swellings on her udder. Our exam failed to reveal no pain or heat. Her milk was great. We took pictures to show Dr. Leanne and Dr. Judy when they arrive. I suspect neoplasia or a granuloma, but really I have no idea. Overall, I don’t think we did too much, but I hope that us looking at the goats reassured the women to some extent.

I was so dirty after today, I thought my tan was actually starting to develop. Turns out it was a thick layer of red dust. I did laundry when I got home and I really have come to appreciate washing machines. Kudos to women the world over who wash clothes by hand, this is no easy task.

We had supper at the Lord’s Bar (that is actually the name): muchomo (meat on a stick) and a Tusker beer. It is brewed in Uganda, but it tasted like all the other beer I’ve tried.