A middle-aged woman from Tanzania is visiting the United States. During her stay, she becomes ill with bacterial meningitis and then suffers a devastating stroke that has left her paralyzed on one side of her body. This is her story.
Naliwo Grace Birigwa is determined; you can see that in her face as she struggles to free herself from the restraints that hold her fast to the hospital bed she is currently lying on. Her eyes burn with a combination of sheer terror and determination; she wants to be free of the straps that hold her in place, but she is unable to free herself, and one can definitely tell that she is getting ready to blow up.
Naliwo is a 50-year-old woman visiting from Tanzania; she has been in America for only about a month when she suddenly fell ill with a very high fever. When brought to the hospital, she was in very rough shape: she was brought in, unconscious and was seizing uncontrollably. When doctors did tests on her, it was found that she had a virulent strain of bacterial meningitis. She was immediately put into the Neuro ICU unit, in strict isolation (nobody can enter her room without taking preventative measures; gowns, gloves, and masks must be worn at all times when one is in contact with Naliwo), and she seemed to be getting better; but then last week, she suffered a devastating stroke that has left her right side completely paralyzed. She cannot talk because she has a temporary trache tube in her throat; and it is very uncomfortable for her.
Naliwo is a Maasai from Tanzania. She lives in Korongo, which is what the Maasai call Ngorongoro; and she lives just outside the game reserve there. She is married, has thirteen children (11 living, two deceased), and has never been outside her native Tanzania until only about a month and a half ago. She was visiting friends who had lived in Tanzania, but now made their home in America; they now lived in Tennessee.
Naliwo's medical history is rather sketchy, at best; and it is made more difficult to obtain any additional information from her because her English skills are severely limited, and she cannot communicate that well with the trache tube in her throat. All I know about her is the fact that: A.) She is from Tanzania, and is of the Maasai tribe; B.) She is married and has 13 children, 11 still living; and C.) She is 50 years old (but somehow looks younger). She is very tall and elegant, and she has probably never experienced big city life until she came to America to see her friends; so everything is decidedly foreign and different to her. This is when I wish I had my friend, M'buti Sormiento, with me because M'buti is a Maasai from Kenya, and she knows the language well. But M'buti is busy enough, and somehow I don't want to disturb her, especially since she is the mother to three small children, two of them only babies.
It is unclear right now as to whether Ms. Birigwa will ever regain the use of her right side again; it is going to take much in the way of physical and occupational therapy to get her moving again, and it is unclear as to whether she will require the use of a wheelchair, or even a walker, braces, or crutches. Her stroke has paralyzed her totally on her right side, and she has shown little, if any, improvement. All I can do for her right now is to offer her emotional support and try to comfort her when she gets frightened or wants to pull out the hose in her nose (or any of the other tubes in her body). I also can talk to her in VERY basic Maasai (what very little I know!) and tell her that everything is going to be okay.
(To be continued.)
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Reviewed by Robert Blackwell
7/8/2003
Beautiful, as always! {{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}
Reviewed by serenety L
7/8/2003
This is beautiful and touching Karen. Love it.
Nico
A poignant story about letting go of a narcissist in your life. Have you ever been attacked FULL force by a narcissist? It's the closest thing to being stabbed over and over in the back.
A poignant story about letting go of a narcissist in your life. Have you ever been attacked FULL force by a narcissist? It's the closest thing to being stabbed over and over in the back.
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