Street Boys

Yesterday I had two random, fortuitous encounters with street boys.

 

1) After a morning at the mission, lunch, and a visit with our patient at Black Lion, Katie and I were walking down to Rick's when we encountered a street boy laying in the middle of the sidewalk having trouble breathing and his body wracked by spasms.  One lady was standing by watching but no one had yet stopped to help.  Realizing that he was not having a seizure, I got down and rolled the boy onto his side.  This didn't help his symptoms but at least he wasn't in danger of choking on his own vomit.  By this time a small group had gathered to watch and some of his street boy friends were busy lighting matches, blowing them out, and sticking the still-smoking match under his nose to try and wake him up from his "seizure."  Other people in the crow tried to get the boy to drink some water but when he was unable to swallow Katie and I hailed a cab and took him to Bethzatha Hospital, a nearby private hospital (Rick's spine patients have their x-rays done there).

 

When we arrived at the hospital, I carried the boy into the ER where he was immediately placed on a bed and the nurses diligently checked his vitals.  His blood pressure was low, he was running a fever, and was still having the respiratory spasms.  The nurses brought a Fanta and were able to get him to drink the whole thing (slowly but surely).  Sure enough, his spasms stopped and although still too weak to move, he wasn't in the same state of distress as before.  The doctor ordered a bevy of blood tests, initially predicting a diagnosis of relapsing fever.  This virus commonly affects the homeless, who get it from the infected lice that inhabit their blankets and clothing.  It was around this time that the patient's friend began filling us in the boy's history: 12 years old, orphan from the countryside, hadn't been in Addis too long, and hadn't "eaten in two days."  He claimed to be HIV -  but I doubt he had any idea.  

 

During the hour wait for the blood test results, Katie and I took the friend across the street for some juice and bread (my new favorite is half mango - half banana).  We returned to the hospital and it turned out the blood tests were all relatively normal (low blood sugar, which probably accounted for his symptoms) and as the doctor said, "His disease is starvation."  We gave him a protein bar and some bread, and off he scurried with his other street boy friends.  

 

The entire experience was such a surreal, "only-in-ethiopia" incidences that we were walking down the street right when the boy started having trouble, that we took him to the hospital and spent hours getting him tests, and then it turns out that he simply needs to eat.  I was actually hoping that he had relapsing fever because then I could have gotten him admitted to the Mission for treatment today; it was yet another reminder of how deep the problems of this country run and how multifaceted they are.  For those who lament the lack of adequate health services for the majority of the population, here was a case where an orphan street boy received the best care possible for what ended up being a simple case of starvation and low blood sugar.  (This is not to say that the health care system should not be improved, simply that there are more fundamental issues that need to be addressed as well). 

 

2) Thirty minutes after leaving the hospital, Katie and I were walking down to Rick's when we were followed by another street boy.  This happens every couple of blocks and so I thought nothing of it and kept trying to wave him off.  When he continued walking with us I took a look at his face and was shocked to see Wondee(r)ful - a 10 yo street boy that Jake, Zev and I spent a considerable amount of time with last summer.  His smile beamed as usual and he was ridiculously happy to see me.  We spent five minutes saying hi (the ethiopian custom...no wonder nothing gets done here b/c every conversation starts w/5 minutes of 'are you fine? ok but how are you? is everything good? are you fine?...'), and then walked down the street w/my arm draped around his small shoulders.  He was accompanied by his two "brothers" - 8 and 5 - and we walked to a supermarket down the road where Katie and I bought him and his brothers bread.  He needed a new pair of shoes and luckily I brought over an extra pair to give away, so if he meets me @ the hotel this afternoon, as we planned, he will be the lucky recipient of a pair of Nikes.  I hope he shows up but I'm not going to hold my breath.  In any case, it was great to see him and so wonderfully (I love puns) random that he was begging on that street on that day and I ran into him.                        

 

In other news: Our patient at Black Lion is doing very well.  Ari and Diana arrive in 3 days!  Rick comes back on Monday (maybe?).  This morning was spent at the mission, wrapping some but then took a nap on Sewalem's bed while he worked on knotting a lanyard.  Maybe Merkkato this afternoon, massage is definitely in the plans now, and hopefully a tasty dinner.  Also planning to go to church with Bewoket on Sunday morning, but I'll have to get to Rick's around 6:30 AM - at least synagogues have the decency to start services around 9...we'll see if my alarm works.