Storm and sting
on Michael Cashman (Ghana), 22/Apr/2010 23:59, 34 days ago
Well to begin with the storm is enjoyable - one heck of a breeze through the house, which makes a change. We watch some of the spectacular lightning. Then the rain starts. Horizontally. (These windows face the veranda, so are "under cover"). The rain comes through the windows, the doors and the ceiling. It's been low-voltage anyway (fluorescent lights flickering), but now we turn off all lights. This is officially holiday, but we've both been catching up with some urgent work. After spending a while on some necessary OD emails, I'm helping Charlotte with her District Teacher Support Team proposal, and she's mopping the floor by torchlight in flip-flops. Until her foot strikes a scorpion (unknowingly) and the scorpion strikes back the only way he knows how. WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE DONE (I'm told).1. Tourniquet.2. Ice3. Elevate stung part4. Hospital.(and maybe at step 1 tried the little vacuum pump I bought for the purpose to suck the poison out).Charlotte is in a lot of pain which is coming in waves, and can feel the poison travelling up through her leg. We have actually Googled scorpion stings but advice seemed inconclusive. Impact varies from mild discomfort to mild death. Impact in this case will also mean cancelling our trip toOuagawith Mar and Mark as we're due to leave 9am tomorrow, but we decide to leave it till the morning to phone them since it's late now.We tryVSOemergency number - network is down with the thunderstorm. Eventually we raise Accra. "Get to hospital". We can't raise a taxi driver. We try Charlotte's boss - no luck. I try the neighbours - doors locked barred and bolted but I stand outside and shout "George". George, bless him, gets out his 4x4, and off we go through the storm toWalewalehospital at midnight.George is trying to get close to the door at the hospital. Crash. His nearside front-wheel is now waist-deep in a concrete drain with vertical sides. Don't worry about the car George says. We're ushered through darkened corridors to a lit (but flooded) part. Paddling through we get to see the doctor. Before long (Charlotte might not agree) her foot has been anaesthetised and the world seems a better place, and she's given other drugs too.George has found helpers to build up rocks and planks to create a ramp out of the drain, and the car is out. Charlotte turns down the offer to stay overnight in the flooded hospital. George won't drop us on the track, but insists on driving up to our front door ... and gets his wheels stuck in the quagmire that our frontage has become since the storm. Charlotte hurries to get to bed before the anaesthetic wears off, and I find some scraps of wood to help George's back wheel out of the hole it's made for itself.(Then at 3 am as it turns out George is up again to pick up a sick person from a nearby village - you're popular if you have a car! We are very grateful for his help).