FGM – The Aftermath (7)

Jioni…..
As she had promised herself, Dr. Kio made frantic efforts to trace Jioni. From the little that she had gathered from the students, she set out to go and look for the girl who had just disappeared from school. Jioni needed help and Dr.Kio was going to give it to her. There was no way she was going on with her rounds before finding out about this girl. She was that determined.
The doctor ended up questioning the shopkeepers who had a general idea where Jioni, that tall thin and unhappy girl, lived.
Dr.Kio finally ended up in a plot, which had ten houses in a rectangular formation. She parked her car outside and walked cautiously to the plot.
It was nearly lunchtime and there were a few people idling around the plot. Dr. Kio, as instructed, picked on the first door and knocked on it. No response. She knocked harder, her heart beating as hard as her knock. Still, there was no response. A harder knock did not materialize in anything and the doctor concluded that maybe there was no one inside. But she had her doubts, what if Jioni was… No she did not want to think of that. She had to find this girl, alive.
Dr. Kio decided to try the next door, and here she was lucky to find an old woman.
“Who are you?” she demanded of the doctor, showing her irritation at having been woken up at such a …….. godly hour of lunchtime.
“My name is Kio and I am a doctor who has come to look for a young girl called Jioni,” the doctor introduced herself knowing very well that the kind of respect doctors commanded in the shopping centres would work in her favour.
“Daktari,” said the old woman, who then went ahead to complain of imaginary ailments. The doctor had carried her stethoscope and she went ahead to examine her patient’s nose, ear, throat, listen to her breathing. The old woman looked satisfied and ready to help.
“The young girl has been very sick,” started the old lady. “I have been hearing her cough a lot at night. But yesterday and today I have not had much coughing.”
The doctor was more than curious. “What about the parents?” she asked, her eyebrows rising, expecting the worse. It seemed a very familiar story to her, but she was not sure.
“No parents,” replied the old woman. “She lives with an aunt who is never around to take care of her. She cooks and eats alone. Very bad life for a young girl like that!”
Dr. Kio listened intently before making the decision to go back and knock or break down the door if need be. The two women knocked, banged the door, but still no response. Dr. Kio gave up and was about to leave but the old woman convinced her that the girl was still inside the house. “I see and hear everything that go on in this plot. That girl has not left this place since yesterday.”
They had to break the door, which was not a difficult thing as the door was old and rusty, just hanging by its hinges. The doctor really felt like a thief, intruding into others’ lives. For this particular occasion she knew she would be excused.
It was quite dark inside the room, the curtains were still not drawn. The room was damp and heavy smells of urine hang in the air. Dr.Kio had to strain to catch a glimpse of what was in the room. Sleeping on the floor was a little girl coiled in her beddings, no sign of breathing at all. The doctor bent down while calling out the girl’s name. No response at all. Her pulse was very very faint, her eyes extremely pale. The doctor said a silent prayer, thanking God that she had found the girl alive.
The girl was famished, probably had not eaten in days. She had to be taken to hospital very fast. The doctor lifted Jioni and explained to the old woman what she was doing. She carried the girl to her car and then drove to the hospital, quietly muttering prayers to herself.
The girl looked vaguely familiar. The doctor was sure she had seen her somewhere, or was it her imagination playing tricks?
Jioni did not stir at all during the journey and when they reached the hospital, she was taken straight to the ICU, wheeled under the care of three doctors. Dr. Kio cancelled all her appointments, trips and travel plans. She wanted to be there to see this particular girl recover and talk to her to see if they had ever met before. This was one of those cases that one never let go of.
Jioni’s recovery was fast and swift. Within three days, she was up and about, chatting away and easily regaining her lost weight and appetite. She ate well and looked very happy to be around people who appreciated her.
Dr. Kio was troubled. Tests had shown that the girl was indeed HIV positive. She kept on wondering how this girl had been infected with the AIDS virus.
After one week at the hospital, the bond between doctor and patient had become tight and the doctor had learnt many things about her patient, though she tried her best not pry too much.
Jioni’s time to be discharged had reached but the doctor was not so keen to release her to the hostile world. Dr. Kio had to meet the aunt or any guardian and sort one or two things out.
The doctor made several trips to Jioni’s place to meet the aunt, left messages for her to get in touch with the hospital but all in vain. No, Jioni was not going to be discharged without a parent or guardian coming for her.

(c) oluochcliff@yahoo.co.uk