This morning (Saturday), we left Nairobi around 9:30 bound for Nakuru. It's over a 2 hour drive and was going fairly smooth. About 40 minutes outside of Nakuru, we saw several baboons running down the side of the road. Our driver pulled over to the side of the road and I thought he was giving us an opportunity to take some photos (even though we hadn't asked). He started getting out of the van and he said, "I'm just going to stretch my legs." He stepped down and stayed very still, looking at the oncoming traffic and then back at me (I was sitting right behind him in the van). When he looked at me I got very anxious. I could tell something was very wrong. I said to my husband, "Walt, get out and go around and help him!!" I followed Walt, and my son Harrison followed me. When we got around the van and the driver looked at me, I could tell he had no clue who I was...he was looking extremely dazed and confused. Mind you, we are trying to keep out of the lane of oncoming traffic. Walt and Harrison both put his arms around their necks, and I pried his hands off of the van door. They carried/helped him (although he was not able to walk) to the side of the grass and layed him down.
As my daughter so aptly put it, Kenya may be a dangerous place, but when something goes wrong there are 17 people that immediately come to help. Different van drivers were pulling over on the other side of the road and running across the street to lend a hand. One van was filled with Asian tourists, who did not seem to speak English, but they had a vast array of medicines they brought over. We gave him some of our water and watched for baboons, which can be scary and aggressive towards humans. The Asians had to pantomime how to use the medicines which included some smelling salt type of thing and a vile of something. People were all huddled around him, they took off his shirt to cool him down, doused him with water and fanned him as he lay there. After several minutes, he sat up and said he felt better. All of the good samaritans said he'd be okay and went back to their vans. He sat there for a few more minutes and said he was ready to go...I looked at my husband with an "ain't no way in heck he's getting back behind the wheel" look and my husband said, "He'll be fine, he said he felt better and only he knows how he feels." I stood there in disbelief. The ONLY thing that gave me comfort was that he did have good enough sense to know when he needed to pull over. I said a prayer and put my children back in the van. We were in the middle of nowhere and I didn't know what else to do...so I trusted my husband.
He got back in the van and off we went! We asked him several times how he was feeling, and each time we could tell by his responses that he was okay and alert. I watched the lines on the road to make sure he wasn't swerving at all and it was the longest 40 minutes of my life (or at least that I can remember lately). I knew if we could get to Nakuru we would be okay because our Kenyan friend Julius would be with us from then on. Julius did convince Jonathon (the driver) to go visit the doctor this evening to make sure it was an isolated incident and he could finish the job (we got the sense it was high blood pressure and NOT his heart).
I am telling you, I have been to Kenya SEVEN times and have never had even half of these issues. What is the good Lord trying to tell me?
This afternoon we did get to go to the Virginia Home and I watched my family and friend enjoy themselves, singing and dancing. My friend who works at the Virginia Home, Rosemary, asked me if I was tired because I was quiet in comparison. I told her, "I'm just a mom." Moms worry. We don't mean to, we just do. I was worried about Hudson and his traveling companion, Cambry, having safe travels today. I was worried about our driver and his health. I know it's out of my control, but I think it's just what a mom does.
I told Walt that I wondered if maybe I wasn't supposed to be in Kenya anymore. He told me that maybe I was being challenged to overcome some obstacles and not be distracted. I'll think on these things, but first and foremost I'll keep our driver and his health in my prayers. And, I'll probably continue to worry.
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