My Neck!! My Neck and my Back!!

Nothing serious...  at least compared to what it could have been.  So after six hours in the emergency room I finally got a diagnosis.  Amazing though that given all my time in Eastern Europe that I never had to wait so long for care.  No wait to get a room though, just then sat and waited... and waited... with empty rooms around me... Still though, I'm thinking the service I got was probably more than I can expect in Sierra Leone should something happen...  ;)

Dazed and Cufnused...

Anyway, so that american football game the other day proved to be more of a nuisance than a real problem.  Officially, I have a sprained neck/back.  No serious/permanent damage to my spine.  The doctor said maybe a little tearing of ligaments, which I thought was a big deal, but he said wasn't really evident in the scan and would be miniscule and not really any issue if that small.  As it is, I have to rest, take an anti-inflammatory, heat and stretch the area, and can run when "the pain is 80% of what it is today..."  What?!?  Yeah, I guess that means I can run when I feel like it...  lol.

I did find it quite interesting that after claiming he had spent some time working with alternative and eastern remedies in his career, that the doc was both amused and dismissive when I said I would use bromelain (which is a natural substance derived from pineapples that he had never heard of) as an anti-inflammatory instead of Advil (he'd never even heard of arnica either).   I can't understand the arrogance of western medicine as it looks at other options.  I mean Western medicine has a profound place in the treatment of illness and affliction, but how as a medical practitioner can someone not at least be interested and open-minded to other possible ways to treat people and make them better?  If it works it works, who cares where it comes from or if the FDA says it work??  

But all told, the good thing about all that waiting in the ER was that I got a lot of reading and note-taking done.  I am almost finished going through my guidebook on Sierra Leone for my itinerary.  Granted its not geared to find key socio-economic areas/opportunities and concerns, as it is after all designed to sell the country for tourism  The econ part of my agenda will take a bit more work, but I am starting to see the journey on paper, and it is going to be ambitious to do everything on foot.  But then again... what fun would it be if it wasn't ambitious?   ;)  I'll finish up the guidebook part of it and post it later.  Finally, starting to feel like my head might be coming back to me...  been an odd week...

My New Friends...

So as my computer issues are growing, networking has become more difficult.  I have been able to establish though what looks like will be a great working and friendly relationship with two people.  If you remember my Child Help post from a while back, I've gotten a great response from two people.  One person works for this organization - his name is Kaprie Thoronka (Kaps) - and he has been exceptionally helpful already.  He has even offered to pick me up when I get into the country and even that a member of his organization would show me their projects and make sure that I get to see the things that I need to see while in the country.  That is incredible compassion and hospitality, not to mention foresight. A most welcomed help.

Kaps and Stefan on top of mount Kabala...

The second person that I have been communicating with is Stefan Ernst.  He works for a similar child help organization in Germany.  He has been great in helping me get a bit better understanding of what I will be facing.  He went to Sierra Leone for a month last year and Child Help also showed him some of their work throughout the country as well.

Stefan with some of the teachers and students...

They are going to be of great help to both me and this project...  Good people are good people, and they exist all over the world!!  ;)

They look more excited about school than I did!!!