Before taking a trip, Brian and I always discuss our concerns with the areas, especially when the kids are also coming with us.
With any trip, our biggest concern seems to be illness, because it is not only extremely stressful to be sick in an unfamiliar area, but also can be extremely dangerous if you don’t know where or who to go to for aid.
Well, our biggest fear came true on our second day at Madikwe when Aram not only contracted a serious bug, but the stomach bug caused vomiting every 15 minutes for 24 hours.
Within the first hour of his symptoms we alerted the staff at Madikwe. The lodge is almost on the border of Botswana, and the closest clinic is a 3 hour drive. The closest reputable hospital is a 6 hour drive. We knew, in a medical emergency, a helicopter would be used to bring the person needing medical assistance quickly to the hospital.
The team at Madikwe are trained medics and our lovely guide, Andre, came in to look at Aram. He seemed okay, but it was important to keep a close eye on him.
Within the first hour of his vomiting, I called Jay Gordon, which awoke him (because it was around 2AM in California). For the next two days, Jay had me give him almost hourly updates, where he assessed Aram even when it was the middle of the night in California.
When Madikwe was alerted they brought a phone over with a doctor who specializes in assessing situations in rural areas, and also will tell you where the nearest reputable clinic is, if the case is severe enough to need medical assistance. He gave me his cell phone number to give to Jay, so they could come up with a plan together. However, after speaking with Jay, the other doctor had the exact same assessment of Aram. All agreed we could and should stay, but monitor him. If we decided to go to a clinic (even if the doctor’s said it wasn’t necessary) Madikwe assured us they would be ready at any time we needed them, we just needed to say the word.
After three days with improvement, but still illness, we left Madikwe for Cape Town. We were met at the airport by Terry’s partner from Destination Southern Africa, Craig. He was alerted that Aram was sick and assured us that Cape Town has some of the best doctors in South Africa.
When we arrived at More Quarters, we were warmly welcomed by the staff that immediately let us know a doctor was on his way over to look at Aram. He arrived about thirty minutes later and did a thorough examination of our little patient. The doctor said we did a great job keeping him hydrated, as he was not dehydrated at all, which was inconceivable for the amount of vomiting he had done the past three days. He also did an instant malaria test, which was negative (thank God). At the end of the examination, the doctor gave us some prescriptions, only to fill if he wasn’t improving the following day. He believed Aram was going to be on a quick road to recovery.
Aram, unfortunately was not improving much at all so we did fill the prescription. Two days later, he was back to his old self… Oddly, he requested only McDonalds the first two days he felt better (we do not eat that at home). We were so happy he was eating, and gladly obliged his request.
I never thought I would be happy seeing my child eating a McDonalds hamburger…Never say never!
The lesson I learned in this is that if you plan accordingly, you should never be afraid to travel abroad with your children. Even in light of this illness, our experiences from our trip outweighed the awful parts of being sick, and Aram wholeheartedly agrees.
Also, I’ve never felt more safe and secure during an illness with my child than I did on this trip. What a wonderful feeling to not feel alone and to have so many people genuinely caring about the well-being of someone you love so much.
A big thank you to Destination Southern Africa, Madikwe Safari Lodge, More Quarters, and Dr. Jay Gordon for really going out of your way to provide excellent care for our child during what could have been a terrifying time for our family.
So glad he got better — must have been scary! Sounds like you did everything right and were surrounded by wonderful, helpful people. I’m like you and like to be prepared — when we went to Ethiopia, I located a English speaking medical doc in Addis (and had a couple people in the U.S. on stand by), as well as made sure my political connections knew we were traveling in case something crazy happened. Hope the sickness didn’t deter too much from you all thoroughly enjoying the trip — by all reports, it looked dreamy, and I’m not even more interested in going there now.
Also, happy belated birthday! Hope it’s your best year yet. Let’s chat when you get back from ET.
Loved reading this post. We are travelling in Costa Rica with our 22 month old and our first week here he had a high fever of 104.7 and had a febrile seizure! We thought he was dying– had never experienced anything like that. The place where we were staying called the local doctor that barely spoke English (our spanish is limited)– so a very kind surf instructor was translating everything for us. My husband got on the phone with our home pediatrician who was very reassuring that he was experiencing a typical febrile seizure and there was nothing to worry about. But, it was very disconcerting to not be in our home country and to be imagining strange viruses or hidden bites! The local doctor turned out to be super and got us through the week with antibiotics (to cure what caused the fever) and the corresponding diarrhea. The rest of the 5 week trip has been amazing with my son learning Spanish and making friends on the beach and it has been very enriching. There was a moment, though, that I questioned the wisdom of traveling with him. But, we have no interest in raising him in a bubble. Anyway– I have been enjoying your blog. We are a trans-racial family– our son is adopted– and it’s been nice to read your thoughts and experiences.
I feel like a total stalked commenting on all your posts but the more I read, the more I love what I am reading and the more I can relate…esp the never say never with the McDonalds hamburger….I have learned A LOT since being a mother, and the “never say never” is definitely one of the bigger ones. Glad your little babe was ok.
Raven! I love your comments! I am a crappy commenter, but I have been hanging out on your blog a lot lately. Even when I read the infamous post I remember going through your blog and thinking “darn it…I wish I didn’t read that because I really like her…”
Hey Jaimie!
Been thinking of you and your beautiful family lately and wanted to stop by to see how your trip was…only to read this!!!
Wow, what an epic experience, that thankfully had a wonderful happy ending.
So beautiful to see Aram smiling with his burger!
The whole experience must have scared you at the time, but wow, what a way to be supported through it all by the loving people there.
Gotta go read your other stories, you’ve been busy honey!
Lara, I’ve missed you! So, I hear that South Africa and Australia have a friendly rivalry. Any truth in this? It seems very playful….