Last week Alemu called me at the office to see if I could come to a
beneficiary's home and give him some help. Dr. John White (the newest
MTW person here) and Alemu (my favorite Abasha nurse-social worker at
the project) were seeing a very ill woman, named Asgernish.

As I pulled up in my large diesel Bingham pick-up truck, two men were
carrying her out of the corrugated tin gate of her compound. She was
too weak to even hobble. One man got in with Asgernish into the back
seat. Alemu hopped in beside them and John got into the front seat.
Alemu directed me to drive toward ICL -- International Clinical
Laboratories. John softly informed me to roll my window down, as
Asgernish is suffering from Tuberculosis.

Asgernish is HIV+, has AIDS, TB, a serious GI infection, and mental
issues which are the result of her suffering from AIDS before she was
on ARVs. Previously, she was admitted to Black Lion -- Ethiopia's
most prestigious teaching hospital, just to be quickly released after
receiving some IV fluids and told that she needs more lab tests. And
since the premier teaching hospital isn't proactively running basic
tests for Asgernish, our project is taking her to a lab to get tested
for typhoid or any other bug which might be causing her GI infection.

Asgernish lays against the shoulder of her brother as we fight
downtown afternoon traffic to climb the hill to ILC. Alemu later told
me that her brother has helped Asgernish so much as she has fought
against AIDS. It was amazing the way he cared for her, even during
the ride. He held her hand, helped to readjust her headscarf, and
rubbed her shoulder silently.

Of course there is road work (aka guys digging up ditches with pick
axes on major roads), and momentarily I am stuck in a busy
intersection, waiting for the one lane of traffic to clear for my
passage to ILC. Taxis are not happy that I am clogging up a major
intersection just to get Asgernish to the lab, henceforth they are
wildly shouting and honking and trying to get me to take another road.

We don't give way to the taxis, and eventually make our way to ILC.
Asgernish is too weak to get out of the truck, so the John and Alemu
go inside and come out with a lab technician. The lab tech proceeds
to draw a large vial of blood from Asgernish in the back of the
truck. Asgernish's brother comforts her through the entire ordeal.
After the necessary sample has been obtained, we head back to the
office to get instant oatmeal for Asgernish to eat as she can hardly
keep anything down. The last thing she needs to be eating is injera
be wat.

While we head back to Asgernish's house (or tin shack, as it would
more aptly be called), I think about lackadaisical attitude of Black
Lion in comparison to Asgernish's loving brother.