Exposure to a New Culture

The stay here in Kenya has been very enriching and rewarding so far. Being exposed to the different culture as well as eating new foods, figuring out grocery stores, driving…everything is an adventure. Exposure can sometimes be a bad thing.

My good friend that lives here was gracious enough to allow me to stay with him for a week or so until I secured my own place to live. He lives as a traditional Kenyan family does; something lost in the United States. He and his Wife have three children and also his Mother and Brother, and Brother In-Law live with him. When his Father passed away two years ago, he brought his Mother and Brother over to live with him from India. He provides food, shelter, clothing…basically everything that they need. From the outside, looking in, it is a great and noble thing. From the inside, it is something that is done because, simply, that is the way it is supposed to be done. Not like the United States where the first thought and action is to find a Nursing Home to ship off their loved ones to.

It was especially challenging as his Brother is somewhat mentally challenged. He has the mindset of a 9 year old, but is 36 years old. That brings its own set of adversity, all taken in stride by the family and accepted. Each in the family helps in the ways that they can, including bathing him, making sure his special needs are met.

Unfortunately, his brother fell ill a few months ago. By the time I arrived, his brother was looking very poor, emaciated and despite eating more than any two people in the family. My friend carried a book, which were actually his brother’s medical records, with him most all the time. He had taken his brother to the major hospitals here, various doctors, had tons of tests done…all of which state that his brother was in fine medical health. Any fool could look at him and know that was not the truth. The majority of the doctors that looked at him all felt that it was a mental issue that was causing his concerns.

As I arrived in Kenya, my friend was actively looking for Hospitals and Assisted Living facilities in India to place his brother in. It is a widely held opinion (fact) that India has a much better medical infrastructure than Kenya…almost rivaling that in the United States. Two weeks after I arrived, he was scheduled to make the trip to get the assistance he required. Unfortunately, he had an “episode” where he was extremely weak and unresponsive four days prior to traveling. Because my friend was out of the country, his Brother In-Law and I took him to the local hospital…having to just about carry him in and out of the car. The Hospital ran their tests, gave him IV fluids and nourishment…basically just got him healthy enough to travel and came up with nothing.

There is finally a diagnosis within three days of him arriving in India. He has Tuberculosis. Crap. When I knew of his ill health prior to him going to India, I had called my wife. She is a physician (Internist) and the first words out of her mouth were, “…does he have TB? Has he been tested?” According to the medical records he had had the tests.

Regardless, now I have to wait a month or so and get tested to see if I have contracted TB. I have had a barrage of injections to protect me against all the nasty bugs here, or at least all the ones that are available in the United States. Folks are no longer inoculated against TB in the States as there is close to zero issues with it. It is treatable with antibiotics…taken over a 6-9 month time frame.

For those not in the know, Tuberculosis is spread much like the common cold. Germs coughed/sneezed/spit into the air are inhaled. Not everyone that gets the germs become “active” TB folks, they can be “inactive” and not have any symptoms, just carry it around for years until it finds its opportunity. Inactive folks do not spread the disease.

Some interesting points:
• Someone in the world is infected by TB every one second
• Overall, 1 in 3 people are infected with TB
• Only 5-10% of people infected with TB become sick, or active
• Most all new cases are in Southeast Asia and Russia
• The highest per-capita TB is Sub-Saharan Africa which accounted for 34% of all cases globally

There are many drug-resistant strains because of the strict regiment required to kill the bug. Poverty and stupidity (just like the States) leads people to not finish their courses of antibiotics, which leads to “superbugs” that no longer respond to treatment. Even more sad, there is a vaccine for it which prevents TB, but not readily available to the population. That is just sad. Everyone thinks about HIV or Malaria when thinking about Africa, yet the number one killer and disease is preventable. No sad, very sad.

Being exposed to a different culture is very rewarding, but also in retrospect, a bit scary too. Even paradise has its drawbacks.