Oct. 5, 2022

Picking up from where we left off at the Luthuli hospital neurological clinic. While we were waiting to be called, I saw that the clinic was full, mostly with mothers with children, mostly babies.

I was parked in my wheelchair at the wall on the left and I saw two mothers with their  1 yr. old babies opposite me and both babies had head as big as watermelons. I felt so sorry of them (encephalitis) with their problems and ashamed with my minor, non-life threatening problem.. At least I had time to pray for them, to have the strength and love to be able to handle the daily demands that these children will make on them. My partner, Michelle, was the only white, besides me, but she had no problem communicating with the other women and nurses in the clinic. To be like that in South Africa is rare and a gift.

   Finally we were called and were shown to a room with a junior doctor who examined my case. First, he made it clear that they don’t do Baclofen pump operations at Luthuli, although both Neurosurgeons (one a friend and classmate of our family doctor and the other, the one who got us into Luthuli in the first place whose children’s godparent is Michelle , who accompanied me both knew that that is the reason we were going there and both of them were heads of the neurological dept. in their time and one of them presently..

the doctor made a few checks with my leg and eventually wrote a report  that made it clear that the pump was not an option. He gave a form for another MRI if we wanted to book an appointment for that. We were called to him just after 12 noon and left him, disappointed, about 12:30. So, that was that. I kind of expected that but it didn’t really hit until Friday and Sunday when I really felt down, as I said earlier.

    So I Made the decision to put it out of my mind completely and just get on with life without bothering   our friends neurosurgeon friends any more as I felt that it wasn’t fair to stretch the friendship any more than we already had. They had tried their best. So we just let go and let God s the AA slogan goes, sure that it’s not the end of the story and it will come one day as a surprise.

    That night I went to bed at 6pm and slept till 12 midnight, hade a  pee and went back to sleep till 5 am and again till 7:30 and spent most of the day lying down, having no energy, psychologically, emotionally, ;physically exhausted. The first time I slept through the night I months, never feeling the spasms.

So. As for most people with problems that don’t seem to be solvable, we just take it a day at a time.

Nothing new for most of you.