Klein's Camp was fairly quiet, so Tiffany was enjoying a “pregnancy” massage with Florence in Room 2. I was idly whiling away the time in between budget lead sheets when Kina (Jackson's nanny) gave the office a call saying that Jackson was very ill.
I raced up to the house to find Kina sitting on the couch sobbing and holding in her arms a limp, pale, unconscious little boy that didn't look at all like Jackson.
I picked him up and placed him on our bed. He wouldn't wake up. His eyes were rolling in the back of his head, while making violent guttural moans. I felt as if a dagger was being driven into my heart and shattering it into 1000 pieces.
I had to remain calm and collected. I checked his temperature, 39.4C. Jackson was 'boiling' hot, shivering with goosebumps and unconscious. My first thought – Malaria!
I had Kina try and call Wasso hospital which is over a 2 hour drive away. No answer from anyone there. I called our office for them to alert Tiff that Jackson was extremely sick and we needed to act now.
I met tiff in the parking lot. She was white, ghostly and looking like a mother in shock.
I called our medical rescue company in South Africa. Things seemed very slow following protocol, so I decided to rather call the Flying Medical Services (FMS) based in Arusha, where I had a made a contact, quite coincidently, the week before.
Pat from FMS was quick on the ball. He basically said they will send a plane and we could sort out the costs later. Unfortunately the Govt. has closed down our airstrip (for no apparent reason) and Lobo in the Serengeti would be too far and cost us $50 each just to drive there. However The airstrip (that's a very loose term) at Ololosokwan is closer to Kleins and easy for a Cessna 206 to land on.
They would only arrive in 2 hrs. It would take us 40 minutes to get to the airstrip. This gave Tiffany time to go and pack a night bag, while I organised final details for the lodge to be left without managers and to arrange some cash for ourselves. It's a very surreal moment running around wasting time on purpose while in between turns looking at your son lying in his nanny's arms all limp and lifeless, but breathing.
Pat also told me Jackson could take a paracetamol to help reduce the fever. If he was unconscious the tablet had to be administered as a suppository. As if on queue, Jackie decided to wake up and therefore I could give it to him orally. He was only allowed 240g due to his weight.
Amazingly when we decided it was time to leave for the airstrip, Jackson woke up, partly because of the paracetamol and I think partly because he knew he was going on a “game drive”, which he just can't resist. He was very happy boy for about 10 minutes before he passed out again. This continued all day.
The plane eventually arrived at 15h25. There was a pilot and a doctor on board. The doctor didn't even look at Jackson who was once again asleep, didn't even take his temperature and didn't even give a shit. I think he was just there for an emergency should the need arise. Not sure.
The flight to Nairobi was going to be 1 hour. Jackson woke up again as we got on the plane and stayed awake the whole flight. He also loves “airplanes” and will not miss out on 1 minutes flying time if he can help it. We landed at Nairobi Wilson – a bit like Lanseria – and there was an ambulance waiting for us. Tiff went through customs while I transferred Jackie between vehicles.
He was very excited about the ambulance. Not yet in his short little life has he driven in a car with a bed. He stayed awake all the way to the hospital.
I was starting to wonder if this one going to be like one of those moments where your car is stuffed, will not even function like a car and when you take it to the garage it is purring perfectly and the mechanic thinks you're an idiot who is just over reacting.
But I saw what Jackson looked like and I knew how I felt. So I knew we were not over reacting flying across country borders in a little Cessna where we could have just gone to Wasso two hours down the road.
We were quickly checked into the A&E. This was four hours after the incident. It just proved to us that should a “real” emergency arise, we are completely out of our depth. A scary and sobering thought. The doctor did a quick once over of Jackson and could explain everything very simply.
Jackson's tonsils were septic. His body was probably carrying a bacterial infection aswell. This caused him to pass out and convulse. We actually didn't know that he had convulsed. It took a while to get the details of the actual moment from Kina.
It all seemed to make sense (well sort of) and the doctor convinced us that all would be fine. We were so happy to be in Nairobi as opposed to Arusha or even worse, Wasso Hospital.
We also spent an hour at the laboratory doing blood count tests and a malaria test for just in-case, plus a few other tests I can't pronounce. His white blood count was very high, indicating bacterial infection. It took a couple of hours in the A&E to get anywhere and it was getting late. Were were all very tired, irritable and just wanted to be admitted. All 3 of us were to spend the night together in the paediatric ward and a bed couldn't come quick enough.
It didn't take long for Jackson to hate doctors. The first one put one of those wooden spatulas down his throat to check his tonsils. The next one put an IV in him - a process that seemed to take ages. He wanted to pull it off, but we mentioned that he looked like Iron man and he was chuffed.
IRON MAN
The hospital administration screwed up our registration. We had to pay a R6000 deposit before Jackson could be admitted. We should have paid nothing (I am still waiting for my refund). We eventually made it into the ward at 21h00. At 21h30 we got dinner (not what we ordered) and at 22h00 there were finally 3 beds for us to sleep in.
As it is in hospitals, sleep comes intermittently, what with heart and blood pressure tests, aswell as the administering of medication at ungodly hours. Besides the noise, the crap food, even though the menu looked good, and the disease riddled paediatrics ward, the nurses were very nice and friendly albeit somewhat slow off the mark. The doctors are also professional and we felt that Jackson was in good hands.
Jackson was much better in the morning and the doctor said he could go home. He only needed one more dose of anti-biotics and he would be as good as new.
Enjoying our triple room
Jackson looking a lot better
Breakfast - Not so appetizing
I was getting Jackson discharged and Tiff decided she would go for a scan while she was at a hospital.
I was holding Jackson in my arms as Tiff's tummy was being scanned. Immediately we could see no movement and the silence was deafening. The doctor confirmed that our little baby had died about 10 days ago, and there was no way of finding out how.
Jackson smiling and laughing and telling mommy to get up off the table was oblivious to it all, which made expressing our true feelings impossible. Discharging Jackson was just the next step in admitting Tiff, much to the confusion of the hospital staff. The rest of the day was spent in a haze of sadness and uncertainty.
It turned out that we could not afford to pay another deposit, for Tiff's admission. This time it was for R15000. Medical aid had not sent a letter for Tiff. They had apparently for Jackson which the hospital decided not to tell us about and happily charged us for Jackson's expenses.
Tiff at this stage was in an absolute state and after her card was declined, she broke down. The finance guys felt sorry for her and asked me how we could guarantee the payment. I said we could and to please just admit her.
I asked my boss for and advance and if the company could pay it immediately. Everything was approved, but it never came through. Tiff was discharged and we had to borrow the money. More stress!
Anyway, after much deliberation we were allowed to stay in the same room in the paediatrics ward. Tiff was induced and so she had to go through labour, which lasted 30 painful minutes. That night at 00h10 Tiff's body ejected the foetus . It was extremely traumatic.
Jackson, luckily sleeping, was moved to the middle of the passage way. There was Tiff lying on the bed, me standing next to her holding her hand and both of us staring at a miniature lifeless tiny little Steyn just lying there on the bed.
Eventually the nurses came and cut the little foetus from Tiff and said that the placenta was still inside. Jackson was again wheeled into the room and we slept.
The next morning Jackson wasn't overly happy. He wasn't himself and I could see that everything was starting to get to him. Two days in a hospital was enough for him. For all of us! Our lovely friend Jo quickly organised a place for us to stay in Nairobi.
Jackson's and I left Tiff to go into theatre for her scraping out of the placenta. The doctors were delayed again and Tiff's nightmare seemed to linger a while longer. Meanwhile Jackson and I made ourselves as comfortable as possible at Malcolm and Debbie's house.
I spent the afternoon finally having an hour's rest then taking Jackson to the park where he played on the slide. All the while his mom was lying on a metal table going through her final physical torment for the week.
Tiff made it home at 7pm and was looking good, but very tired. We were treated to a delicious meal, a friendly home and tremendous night's sleep.
The next day Tiff, Jackson and I were driven to Giraffe Manor by our new found friend's driver. We all got to feed a giraffe called Jock some pellets before a group of Americans physically pushed us out of the way to get their photos taken with him. Not impressed.
The tickle of the giraffe's whiskers and the lick of his tongue drooling saliva all over our hands was a truly childishly tantalising experience. Seeing Jackie's face light up was a Godsend and just what we needed to heal ourselves, even just a little bit.
After Giraffe Manor we trundled along to Sheklins Elephant Orphanage where we were introduced to an array of tiny elephants. Jackie was very excited to see “toto elephants” up close and personal. He was however more interested in taking photos of them.
Jackson insisting on getting the camera
Jackson's artistry
Later, Jackson being a little daddy-vas wouldn't stay out of my sight. I had to be with him every minute of the day. Tiff rested and we played all day. It was obvious that Jackson was feeling very unsettled and need to get back to his routine and be in his happy place where mommy and daddy are more at ease and not so upset.
Nairobi is a very cool little city. I briefly quite enjoyed the vibe and the amount of half decent shops. The quality of goods on offer are a mile better than anything Arusha has to offer. The traffic is just as bad and there are cool coffee shops and places with names like “The Taj Mahal Brazilian Steak House” and “Golden Shower Villas” . Hmm interesting!
We managed to book flights back to Kleins Camp for the next day for $1500 – an absolute joke. I just hope that our medical insurance will cover the cost home. Surely if they pay for you to be medi-vac'd out they should cover your return flight, otherwise how do people afford it? Time will tell.
Over all I have to say this was a very painful and trying experience. We will learn and grow from what has happened and I am sure find some peace in knowing that everything could have been worse. We are just so happy and relieved that Jackson has made a full recovery and that his illness was nothing too serious. Although you could have fooled me at the time of discovery.
We received a hero's welcome coming back to Kleins and was very moved by all our staff's sentiments. We really do have an amazing bunch of people working here. We also found out just how wonderful our friends and family and other work colleagues are through all their love, support and encouragement for us.
Jackson is playing happily again and seeming somewhat oblivious to it all. Thank God for that.
