Saturday, February 7, 2015

Rice and Beans...

 …don’t forget the ROCKS!

Before coming to Uganda or deciding to start our Peace Corps journey we read lots and lots of blogs. We looked for both the good and more so we looked for the bad. Just so we could get a good idea of what it is like and what we could expect. Here is a little dose of what could happen to you. 

You hear horror stories of people eating rocks and cracking their teeth; it happens a lot especially in the villages...ok maybe it's not a horror story. You see simple post harvest handling techniques in the majority of areas is not a big thing. And because of this Ashley has become a victim to post harvest handling neglect.

A few months ago while eating a yummy carb filled Ugandan meal, Ashley took a big bite into rice and found a gift, a nice little rock. The pain was instant but shortly it subsided and after some inspection she thought she was in the clear. This wasn't the first rock she had enjoyed and it is sure not to be the last; it is what seems all too common of a thing to happen here. Over the next few months a slight ache would come and go but it wasn't anything to be alarmed about, right..? Fast forward a few months later and Ashley is at camp eating popcorn. Luckily there were no rocks, but when eating the popcorn here you sometimes have to be careful because looks can be very deceiving...what you think is going to be soft and puffy ends up just as hard as a rock. And so it begins, Ashley is struck with a sharp aching pain that comes and goes, a now loose tooth, a fever sneaks in a few days later and in desperation of relief PCMO is called. The next week we are in the capital getting blood taken (for the super bad fever), a follow-up shot (that was needed) and off to see the dentist.

To spare the details of the entire one week process of waiting in the capital for them to decide and approve everything, we will get to the end. Ashley has now joined the countless others to be affected by rocks in food and is now living with one less tooth; a lovely premolar is resting in the trash can. Apparently, the rock from a few months back fractured the tooth and the last blow came from the popcorn. There was a really bad infection that had been sitting for months and thank goodness they decided to extract the tooth, instead of simply doing a root canal like they first proposed. All in all, a hectic two weeks, but all is good and soon Ashley will be rocking a new "gold" tooth, something Matt and Lynda (a fellow PCV) believe would be awesome... not really but hopefully she will get a new tooth soon. 

Who would have every thought....don’t forget about the rocks! 

2 comments:

  1. Ah, memories...I had dental work done in Moscow with no novocaine, while I was in the Peace Corps in Ukraine! My fellow PCVs tried to talk me into gold teeth too, but I declined. Your mother, Matt, just told me about your adventures and your blog, so I am officially getting nothing done at work while I catch up! Your wife is lovely, and it sounds like you are having a fantastic adventure! - Ami (Segna) Jones

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was in luck they had novocaine and soon I will have a new tooth, hopefully! It's nice to meet other people who have been in the Peace Corps; I bet you had an amazing time in Ukraine.We are happy you enjoy the blog and we plan to keep posting more updates. So Enjoy!

      Delete