Some weeks have a very distinct nadir and zenith, others seem to flow pretty evenly. This was one of the former. the low point for me was Tuesday morning. I mentioned that I had been complaining of a toothache and it was particularly bad when I woke up. I had an appointment to go to the dentist for a root canal (I thought) and was not looking forward to it, except for hope of some relief from the pain.
What I was not expecting to find as well was a distinct burning sensation on my left arm near the bicep when I woke up, as well. I was alarmed to find that I had what looked almost like a bad burn, blistering flesh, and in fact where my arm had been closed, I noticed another smaller burn on the other side of my elbow--like something had started on the upper arm and spread to the other side of the elbow when it was bent in my sleep. Honestly my first thought was of those horrible flesh eating staph infections I used to hear about on TV in the US.
I was on an antibiotic for my tooth so I was not sure what else to do. When the kids and Rebecca woke up we took Oren to school then headed for the clinic to see a doctor. He gave me a prescription for an antibacterial wash, and told me I should be fine soon. There was no explanation of what it was.
I called some of my public health family in the US for ideas. There were speculations of everything from spiderbites to an allergic reaction to the antibiotic I was on--but no conclusions.
I covered the sore as best I could the rest of the week and went about my business, hoping it would not get worse. (I did quit the antibiotic just in case.)
Tuesday was the same day I had two dental appointments, the first was at the central hospital to have an X-ray done of the tooth where I would have the root canal. The second appointment was to fill a small cavity he had found the week before.
I found, with some difficulty, the stomotologie dept. at the hospital for the x-ray. After a short wait I was taken in where the dentist took a quick x-ray. No lead apron here, in fact, the dentist held the film in my mouth with his index finger while he took the x-ray. Later that day I went and saw him at the office for my filling. He did use novacaine which deadened my tongue and lips but left the tooth nerve intact. It was very painful when he drilled and I was glad when it was over. This gave me considerably more reason for concern about the root canal scheduled for Thursday. I even began to reconsider the wisdom of deciding to do it here rather than go to Kenya or Rwanda.
Wednesday was no worse as far as my arm was concerned, but it was also no better. To add to our misfortune though, our great internet connection went out and we had to call a technician to come. Needless to say, he did not get there that day.
Thursday was, surprisingly, the turnaround day. It was a day that I really prepared spirtually for an ordeal. I had a nice morning quiet time with prayer and Bible reading. (Among my prayers was that the procedure would be painless, or that I would be able to bear the pain if it was not.) I took a long swim after dropping Oren at school. I went to the dentist at lunchtime. He showed me the x-ray of my tooth and said it was necrotic and a root canal was essential. He told me to open my mouth and before I could say a word he began drilling furiously into the tooth. I sat still and stunned and could not believe he had not asked me about novacaine. I was prepared to let out an awful scream when he came close to the nerve, but then, I felt a click, and he said: "I am now in the nerve chamber of the tooth."
I could not believe it! Where was the pain? I asked him how it was possible that he could have drilled into the nerve without me feeling it. He said: "The tooth is dead, trust me, I know what I am doing." He took about 20 minutes to clean out the nerve chamber and pack it with some kind of disinfectant medicine. I have to go to finish next week.
I really felt that prayer was answered quite dramatically. There was actually no pain in this procedure, and it did not seem particularly complicated at all. I asked him how much this was all going to cost and he told me about 160,000fbu ($120). That is not bad for a root canal! Another reason you might consider coming to Burundi for a vacation. You can get some really cheap denal work done here.
Another high point of the day was dinner with Robyn and Brandon, our SALTers who we invited over because we had quite a bit of leftover guacamole which we knew would go rotten if we did not eat it that night. (Our cook had taken all the avocadoes I bought for smoothies and made them into guacamole.) Because we fast from after dinner on Thursday to Saturday night we knew that the guacomole would not make it. Robyn and Brandon were happy to oblige us anc came over for an ecclectic meal of homemade tortilla chips and guac. followed by thai peanut noodles.
Friday morning was the final surprise of the week. I was swimming at the pool and one of the attendants there, a woman, saw my arm. She asked me what happened. I told her I thought I had been burned somehow. She looked at it, got very animated and said 'Non' and explained that it looked like something caused by a small animal called colloquially 'Beatrice' she did not have great french so could not tell me what this animal was exactly. She showed me a scar on both sides of her elbow like the one I had. When I got to the office, I asked Zachee what 'Beatrice' was. He said it was a small beetle that lived in all of our houses. (Here is a link to information about it: http://www.forces.gc.ca/health-sante/wn-qn/adv-avi/Paederus-eng.asp)
So apparently some of the animals that run all over our walls have an irritant in them that they can emit through their skin when they are threatened. I guess one got in the bed and on my arm at night, not an entirely pleasant thought, but it is good to know it is not a deadly flesh-eating bacteria.
We were also happy to get our internet connection working again on Friday, AND to finish all of our database program plan entries for the coming year. Friday felt like a kind of night of celebration as we began the process of replicating to our homeoffice. We also had some good Skype conversations with families.
Saturday was really a fabulous day (The zenith of the week). It began with morning yoga which is now attracting a growing group of ex-pats, --our friend Duncan, his fiance Kristy, and another friend joining our SALTers for the morning ritual at 8am. This is now usually followed by coffee/tea and muffins and conversation. (Some even tote along their computers to enjoy our pretty good internet connection.) It is a very nice way to spend the community service time on Saturday morning.
Rebecca worked on a sermon Saturday afternoon that she preached on Sunday afternoon. We went to the pool with the kids later that day and had a very nice swim then ended the evening with dinner at a new Indian restaurant with our South African friends Tim and Jeanette. It was a great day.
We went to the English service in the afternoon where Rebecca preached on 'worship', and I watched the kids in Sunday school. This was followed by pizza at Ubunu, a restaurant by the lake.
The kids were tired when by the time we got home and went to bed shortly after their baths. (Despite Oren's claims that he was going to stay up all night.) Rebecca was invited for a 'girls night out' with some friends and has just arrived home as I finish this entry.
(Extra note: Despite the fact that I have been out of my job at Vassar directing the Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre for 2 years now, I could not help but feel a pang of nostalgia for the Bardavon Opera House Gala that happened this weekend. Any Vassar folks that are reading this, my heart goes out to you all! I trust that it went fabulously!)
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