A Cautionary Tale (with a very happy ending)

I got a call from my friend Sarah this afternoon saying that she was at the hospital and was in labor. I told her I would come as soon as I could and asked if I could bring anything for her (The hospitals here don't provide anything apart from medical care. You must bring your own food, bedding, tp, etc.). She said something to drink would be nice, so I stopped at a grocery store on my way to the local hospital to pick up some juice and small snacks for her.

I arrived at the hospital, a place I've been less than five times in total. I made my way to the maternity ward, and found it without too much trouble, thanks to good directions given by a friend. She told me I would find women sitting on benches in the hallway, and I did. Now I just had to find Sarah.

I first looked around for a nurse or someone to ask where she might be. No one in sight, and I figured that ladies on the bench wouldn't know either. I decided to enter the ward on my own and see if I could spot her. It was tricky, though, because the room was jam packed. Every single bed was full and every spot on the floor between the beds was full, as well. It's pretty much BYOM (bring your own mattress) here, so they squeeze patients in where ever they can find room. And this ward was packed.

I slowly wandered down the aisle, painfully aware every eye in the room watching me. I glanced briefly at each bed hoping to see a familiar face. I got to the end without seeing Sarah, so I decided to head back out and attempt to find a nurse again. Just as I was about to exit, though, an older women waved and smiled at me like she might know me. I certainly didn't know this woman, but I knew that Sarah's mom was with her, and I knew that her mom, who is an older women from the village who doesn't speak any English, was expecting me to come. This women greeting me and pulling me aside seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

I greeted her and asked if she was Sarah's mother. She grinned and laughed and gave me a hug. I took this as a good sign. I conversed with her briefly in my basic Runyankole, which she appreciated very much. She seemed like a very lovely women!

The only problem at this point was that I couldn't actually see Sarah. The patient laying on the bed was completely covered, head to toe, in multiple heavy blankets (about five of them, in a typical Ugandan fashion). I asked if Sarah was sleeping, and the mother said yes and motioned toward the bed.

I was still carrying the few small items I brought at Sarah's request, so I gave them to the mother. She was so happy, gave me another hug, and tucked them away with their other belongings under the bed. Then the patient under the blankets began to stir. The mother reached over and pulled them away from her face slightly. I peeked around to say "hello" and greet my friend, and you can guess where this is going, right?

Yep. It most definitely wasn't Sarah under there.

That was not my friend under all those blankets, and that woman was not Sarah's mother.
Oops.

I politely greeted this stranger on the bed (who very well could also be named Sarah), asked how she was feeling, and then made my excuses to leave to go find The Real Sarah.

Moral of this story: Make sure you correctly identify the patient before attaching yourself to them and giving away your gifts. 

I hope Fake Sarah and her mom enjoyed their juice and g-nuts.

I found this incident hilarious, if not slightly defeating, but I told you this story has a happy ending. And it does!

I found Sarah (for real), who turned out to be in the ward on the other side of the Ladies On The Benches, and I was able to be there for the birth of her lovely baby girl!

meet Mahoro
Dec. 17th  7:45pm  2.7 kilos

her name means peace