August 6th

This day things started out better. But first today was Kathi's birthday. The kids and teachers at Jamii school put on quite a show. They put a hat, tinsel flowing necklace, and sang a variety of happy birthday songs, including a dance. Then they had us cut the cake and like in a wedding feed it to one another. Then we toasted the Coke to one another. The whole team loved the celebration. 

The tents were all set and ready to go. The team understood their roles and fell right in. The patients arrived in an orderly fashion. The day just went smoother. We learned some things about making the pharmacy cheaper and more sustainable for the patients once we leave. 10 shillings instead of 36 shillings – which translates to 1.25 cents instead of 4 cents.

            The one case that stood out today was an 18 year old woman who had “spells.” These started with itchy eyes, then progressed to headaches, which then progressed to loss of consciousness with flaccidity for 3 to 7 hours. These did occur infrequently, but were quote alarming. They had been present for 2 or three years. No head trauma preceding these spells, and no post ictal phase. The pattern was quite a mystery to me and the Kenyan physician that we were working with. We’ll get a neurology consult, but I suspect she will need a CT scan of the brain and an EEG to sort this put.