My Doctor

Hello faithful readers, today I want to write about my doctor.  Now I have had many doctors in my life as I’ve spent a good portion of my childhood in and out of hospitals.  However, I can honestly say I have never had a doctor quite like Jolita.  She's never been to medical school.  In fact, I don't know if she even went to any school at all.  We call her Doctor, though, because she helps so many people in the area. 

Once we had a young man who had seemingly dislocated his hip while playing soccer in our field.  He was in severe pain and crying out.  Someone called Doctor and she came and knew exactly what to do.  She calmed the boy down by speaking softly to him.  She told him he’d be alright in a few minutes.  She gently took his leg and moved it around a bit and then pulled hard.  The boy yelled at the top of his lungs, but he shortly stopped.  The pain was gone.  Doctor told him to get up and take his mat, and go home which the boy did.

Where Jolita learned to do that trick, I can’t tell you.  Perhaps it came from desperation over the years.  Back when she was growing up out here in the bush, there wasn't always access to a doctor.  You had to learn to do things yourself.  Perhaps her knowledge came through trial and error. 

I was introduced to Doctor because of my left knee.  About ten years ago, I was exposed to poison ivy.  As I am highly allergic to it, I quickly developed a terrible rash all over my body.  At the same time my left elbow and knee swelled up like a balloon.  I eventually recovered from the allergic reaction, though my left knee and elbow were never the same.  Over the years, the swelling in my knee came back along with much pain.  Here in Kenya, we do a lot of walking and physical labor.  The swelling and pain in my knee became unbearable.  Someone then told me about Doctor and how she could help me, so I thought I would give it a chance. 

When I first saw her, I didn't know what to think.  She was tall, as tall as me, bone thin and somewhere in her seventies.  She spoke no English so we communicated by sign language or an interpreter.  I had been fooled by the thin, old frame however.  When she started working on my knee, I found out she had a grip like Dwayne Johnson.  This lady was strong.  She pulled out this little white jar from her dress pocket rubbed the contents on my knee.  Looking at this home remedy, I figured it contained something gross like cow urine or another weird ingredient.  It appeared as if she was spreading chopped up grass on my knee.  It wasn't until weeks later that I learned it was Vaseline mixed with some local herbs and things.  Doctor started massaging this mixture into my knee.  I had already determined before she came that I was going to be a tough guy.  No matter how much it hurt, I wasn't going to cry out.  I managed to keep that promise, barely, over the next month of treatment.  I won't lie, the treatment hurt a lot.  She did a combination massage and physical therapy on the knee.  Again, I have no idea where she learned to do it but it worked.  Slowly over the next few weeks, the swelling started going down and I was feeling less pain in the knee.  Doctor also had me do stretches for my knee as well as deep knee bends.  After a month of treatment, we both decided I was better.  I'm walking and moving with very minimal discomfort now.  The best part was that she only charged the equivalent of one US dollar per session.  So the whole treatment cost thirty dollars, about the same as one co-pay to see a doctor in America.  God is good and I thank Him for bringing her into my life.  I also thank Him for giving her wisdom on how to heal.  Ultimately, all the honor for my healing goes to God who always takes care of us. 

This is my doctor working on the ankle of our friend Kennedy.  You can see her little white jar of medicine.