A long bumpy ride

I experienced another first today – being overtaken by a bicycle on a flat, open road! To add insult to injury the bike was carrying a live goat in a plastic crate tied to the luggage rack. I kid you not!

Our Landrover is very old but there is a good explanation for the slow progress we were making. This afternoon Hilda and I went to the District Hospital in Oyugis, (about 20 minutes drive away), to bring the old lady I wrote about yesterday home. The District Hospital has done all that they can for her so the doctor discharged her. She is still in a lot of pain. Having now seen the x-ray of her broken femur it’s easy to see why. After finishing up the discharge paperwork we managed to get the lady onto a mattress in the back of the Landrover and propped her up so that she could be taken home, accompanied by her son and another, female, relative.

I’ve written a number of times about the state of the road between our place and Oyugis. It’s bad enough being bounced around when you are fit and healthy enough to brace yourself as the vehicle pounds through potholes. If you are nursing a badly injured leg without very effective pain relief the journey must be torture. We drove back from the hospital in first gear for most of the way, crawling along the road. There were still one or two painful moments for our passenger.

We managed to park up about fifty yards from the ladies home, on the compound that she and her husband share with her son and his wife and children. Carrying her on the mattress into her house was less painful for her than getting her into the Landrover at the hospital and she looked very relieved and happy to be home once we had made her comfortable. The doctor has prescribed pain killers and it seems, for now, that there are enough family members around to look after her.

Hilda and I left with mixed emotions. Home is the best place for the lady to be. When Judi and I first came to live in Kenya, nearly ten years ago, an elderly neighbour broke her leg just below the knee. I don’t think her leg ever healed properly but she managed to live on for some time afterwards. We prayed just before leaving the lady this afternoon. I trust in God’s love and mercy and believe that He will bring comfort and strength to this lady and her family. I would ask any of you with the prayerful inclination to include this lady in your prayers tonight and in the days ahead.