get back to the camp, because of the aftershock of the adrenaline rush.
God, I think I’ve used ten years of supply in one day. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life, and scary isn’t my thing. My thing is quiet, thought-out, calm and planned.
I’m not breathing a word of this to Agatha, because if I do she’ll have a shit fit, and will insist that I never leave the camp alone when I go for my walks. Of course, it would be safer if I was armed, but then again, what are the chances of running into another big cat?
❦
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE NEXT DAY I RETURN to see my patient. The buffalo is a little further upstream than before. I guess the boy changes the pasture site every day. He sees me, and silently rushes back up in a tree.
“Yes, your red demon has come back to haunt you,” I tell him.
The buffalo’s looking to be in good health. It flicks it tail continuously on the wounded flank to chase the insects away. I’ve taken a small jar of honey from the kitchen, and I clean the openings again, and cover them with the honey. It will serve as a disinfectant and will coat the flesh.
“See you next week,” I say to the cow and the boy as I turn around to walk away.
When I do, I see that, today, the boy is not alone. There’s a teenager with him. By the way she looks at my hair, I can tell that she’s scared. She’s also brave because she walks toward me, joins her two hands, and bows to me “Sabaidi.”
“Sabaidi,” I answer back doing my best Wai.
“You doctor?” She asks.
Well yes… but probably not the type of doctor she needs. Nevertheless, I’ve got so much medical stuff in my room maybe I could help with whatever problem she has.
“Maen.”
“You come, kaluna?”
“Sure, why not, it’s not like I have anything better to do.”
She looks at me, uncertain of the meaning of my answer so I say “yes” and then “maen” again. She walks away, beckoning me to follow.
Two minutes later, we’re in front of a small house. She enters and comes right out with a baby. I’m about to protest that I can’t help her with baby stuff when she shows me the baby’s back. Ouch. There’s a very red spot, probably a spider bite, surrounded by concentric rings of lesser red hues. I touch the skin: it’s way too hot. The baby is very feverish.
Now, usually the quickest way to deal with that type of bite when you have nothing at hand is to burn the bite. Most venom types are thermolabil, which means that they are de-activated by heat. So an incandescent piece of wood is enough to do the trick, a cigarette tip works, too.
I can’t use this here for two reasons. First, because I don’t see myself burning a baby. This red demon is not crazy about kids, but has issues with torturing infants. I guess if I had no other choice, I would. However, and that’s my second reason, I’m not sure it would even work, now. The inflammation is too advanced for the heat to suffice. The baby needs antihistamines.
I have some steroids in my room that would work, but I need to weigh the baby to figure out the proper dosage. On the packaging, there’s a cc per grams chart. The dosage varies according to the weight.
I take the baby from her, and say the words she’s used, and that she understands: “You come,” and then I start to walk back to the camp.
Now the red demon is a child kidnapper. I can’t laugh about it, because the baby is so feverish that she doesn’t even squirm when taken by someone she doesn’t know. Her breathing is labored. If nothing’s done soon, she’s going straight to baby heaven in a few hours. I hope it’s not too late.
When we reach the camp, I go in the lab room, and give the baby to Vieng Neun. I ask her to weigh the baby. Vieng Neun does not know the verb weigh, but when I point to the scale the geologists use she understands. I run up to my room, and pull my suitcase out from under my bed. I find a syringe,
God, I think I’ve used ten years of supply in one day. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life, and scary isn’t my thing. My thing is quiet, thought-out, calm and planned.
I’m not breathing a word of this to Agatha, because if I do she’ll have a shit fit, and will insist that I never leave the camp alone when I go for my walks. Of course, it would be safer if I was armed, but then again, what are the chances of running into another big cat?
❦
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE NEXT DAY I RETURN to see my patient. The buffalo is a little further upstream than before. I guess the boy changes the pasture site every day. He sees me, and silently rushes back up in a tree.
“Yes, your red demon has come back to haunt you,” I tell him.
The buffalo’s looking to be in good health. It flicks it tail continuously on the wounded flank to chase the insects away. I’ve taken a small jar of honey from the kitchen, and I clean the openings again, and cover them with the honey. It will serve as a disinfectant and will coat the flesh.
“See you next week,” I say to the cow and the boy as I turn around to walk away.
When I do, I see that, today, the boy is not alone. There’s a teenager with him. By the way she looks at my hair, I can tell that she’s scared. She’s also brave because she walks toward me, joins her two hands, and bows to me “Sabaidi.”
“Sabaidi,” I answer back doing my best Wai.
“You doctor?” She asks.
Well yes… but probably not the type of doctor she needs. Nevertheless, I’ve got so much medical stuff in my room maybe I could help with whatever problem she has.
“Maen.”
“You come, kaluna?”
“Sure, why not, it’s not like I have anything better to do.”
She looks at me, uncertain of the meaning of my answer so I say “yes” and then “maen” again. She walks away, beckoning me to follow.
Two minutes later, we’re in front of a small house. She enters and comes right out with a baby. I’m about to protest that I can’t help her with baby stuff when she shows me the baby’s back. Ouch. There’s a very red spot, probably a spider bite, surrounded by concentric rings of lesser red hues. I touch the skin: it’s way too hot. The baby is very feverish.
Now, usually the quickest way to deal with that type of bite when you have nothing at hand is to burn the bite. Most venom types are thermolabil, which means that they are de-activated by heat. So an incandescent piece of wood is enough to do the trick, a cigarette tip works, too.
I can’t use this here for two reasons. First, because I don’t see myself burning a baby. This red demon is not crazy about kids, but has issues with torturing infants. I guess if I had no other choice, I would. However, and that’s my second reason, I’m not sure it would even work, now. The inflammation is too advanced for the heat to suffice. The baby needs antihistamines.
I have some steroids in my room that would work, but I need to weigh the baby to figure out the proper dosage. On the packaging, there’s a cc per grams chart. The dosage varies according to the weight.
I take the baby from her, and say the words she’s used, and that she understands: “You come,” and then I start to walk back to the camp.
Now the red demon is a child kidnapper. I can’t laugh about it, because the baby is so feverish that she doesn’t even squirm when taken by someone she doesn’t know. Her breathing is labored. If nothing’s done soon, she’s going straight to baby heaven in a few hours. I hope it’s not too late.
When we reach the camp, I go in the lab room, and give the baby to Vieng Neun. I ask her to weigh the baby. Vieng Neun does not know the verb weigh, but when I point to the scale the geologists use she understands. I run up to my room, and pull my suitcase out from under my bed. I find a syringe,
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