Elisa

Pat, the director of the Flying Medical Service, picked us up at 1:15 today to make the trip to Haydom. Elisa's uncle Emmanuel came along for support and to give a history. He was pretty excited to fly in a plane, as he had never been on one, or even outside of the Arusha area in his life. Elisa was, at best, mildly interested. Fortunately she slept during most of the flight. Ironic thing - when I got to the ward this morning, Elisa looked better than she ever has. Of course that's a good thing. But I have to admit, it shook my already uneasy sense of confidence in this grandiose plan that we'd hatched on Sunday to fly this child over the African countryside for a head scan. Never fear - I was still supported. So we went.
The view of the African landscape is amazing from that height - below the clouds but high enough to see the to the mountains in every direction. Around Arusha the ground was a quilt of browns and yellows - barely a hint of green anywhere. Occasionally I could see a small tasmanian devil-like swirl of dust on the ground moving across the fields. It was a reminder of why kids like Elisa are so malnourished. It's hard to raise a family at a time like this, when your income depends on your crops.


The facilities at Haydom were very impressive. After an amazingly soft landing on in an open field (If anyone from the Flying Med Service sees this, I want to point out that it is actually a landing strip. it just looks and, well, feels like an field of dirt and dried grass), we were escorted to Haydom Lutheran Hospital. They led us directly into the radiology department and laid her on the CT scan table. Within an hour we had a complete head CT and a radiologist to interpret it.


















Everyone was extremely friendly and - might I add - efficient. They clearly have a lot of respect and admiration for Pat there. Who wouldn't.


Elisa does not have brain cancer. Instead it looks as though her brain has suffered from a previous infection, although it's impossible to know what kind. The good news is that we have treated her for most infections and are in the process of treating her for Tuberculosis, which is one thing that could have caused this. With therapy and some serious attention to her nutritional status, she will likely get better. The bad news is, she might not. And she will likely continue to have seizures, although the medications we have her on have mostly alleviated those.


Elisa will probably go home from the hospital this week on medications for TB and seizures. I sincerely hope that she continues to take them. The question is, how will her family afford to refill them when she runs out?


I am so grateful to the Flying Medical Service for taking us to Haydom today. And thankful for the people around me -- Dr. Matthews, Megan, the nurses, my roommates, the families of the kids who are sharing a hospital room with Elisa -- for believing that pursuing an answer for Elisa's health is necessary and worthwhile. At the end of today, I feel good and so does Elisa's family. Maybe with some rain, a bottle of multivitamins and a reliable follow-up plan, she'll do okay...


What Tanzania lacks in resources often is replaced by the will and the generosity of the people here.