Day Trip to Nairobi

Many have been curious about what it’s like going to the doctor in Kenya, so I thought I would share my day with you. Yesterday, I had my 32 week appointment with my OB in Nairobi; we just have a few more weeks until we get to meet our baby girl! There are many wonderful doctors here in Kijabe, but due to some complications in previous deliveries, we decided it would be best for me to go to Aga Khan for care. The set-up is about as western as you can find here in Kenya, so it is a great comfort to me as I prepare to bring another child into the world (just so long as I don’t labor too fast and have the baby in the car on the 1.5 hour drive!)

So, the day begins! At 8:00 I made sure my bag was packed with all the things I would need for the day (passport, papers, gps tracker/satellite phone, plenty of snacks and water) and I met my driver, John, in the driveway. We said a quick prayer for safe travels and took off, leaving Bryce to manage the kids for the day.

Bryce has done a lot more driving than I have here, and while I feel very comfortable driving around Kijabe and even to Naivasha, driving in Nairobi is a very different beast. The main rules of the road include: pikis (the motorbikes) have no rules so you never know where they will be or where they’re headed, the bigger/scarier your car looks, the more likely you are to get to go first, lanes are optional and rarely marked, and there is no passive driving. It’s an every-car-for-itself situation that maybe one day I’ll feel prepared to tackle on my own. But for now, I’m grateful for reliable Kenyan drivers who can navigate the streets and traffic while I enjoy the quiet time. John is a big Dolly Parton fan, so it made the ride feel a little more like we were back in the US listening to some of her classics while dodging the pikis and pedestrians.

No trip to Nairobi is complete with just one stop. If you take the time to drive all the way in, it’s always worth making a couple more stops to buy things we can’t find in Kijabe and take care of any paperwork, etc.

Today was no exception and at 9:30, I arrived at Nyayo house to pick up my alien ID card. This is a very exciting acquisition because it means I am officially a resident of Kenya! (Hello, resident rates at all the parks!) It makes us that much more official and Kenya feels like home, so it’s nice to have a card to prove it.

By 10:00, I had crossed the 7.5 lanes of traffic (on a road that was wide enough for 6 US lanes) and reconnected with John to head to Sarit Center, a nearby shopping mall. The main tasks were finding a new pair of tennis shoes for Henry and replenishing our quickly diminishing supply of soy milk. 

Successfully finding almost everything on my list (plus one item I thought we would have to have brought from the US), I got to enjoy lunch in the food court. Apparently the whole country is out of soy milk, we have checked 3 different grocery stores in the past month, so I stocked up on oat milk instead. It’s a good thing Grace isn’t picky! For those friends in Kenya reading this blog, Sarit center may just be my new favorite mall! There’s also bowling and some other activities inside the mall, so we will be back as a whole family some time to shop and enjoy.

And now to the main event of the day…my doctor’s appointment. John helped me load the car and I paid for parking, starting the 10 minute drive to Aga Khan Hospital. As we drove down the side streets headed to the hospital, we passed dozens of men headed to Friday afternoon prayer at the mosque. It’s always a bit of a surprise coming to Nairobi. Kijabe is kind of in a bubble, where almost everyone except for the hospital patients are Christian. Since I’m not often in Kijabe hospital interacting with the patients, I sometimes forget who our neighbors are across the country. These days in Nairobi are a sobering reminder of why we are here and gives me a chance to reflect on our calling. 

Once I arrive at the OB office, I check in using a computerized system that will then call me to go to reception to pay, go to triage to get my blood pressure taken, and finally send me to see the doctor in her office for the appointment. The same system is used everywhere in the hospital, and though it took a minute to get used to, it is actually quite efficient (when it’s working). So, I got all checked in at 12:56. Baby girl and I both got a great report from the doctor. Today’s appointment was fast and I was scheduling my next check up by 3:00! I had finished in the lab by 3:50 and then I met up with John to begin the journey home. (I was very grateful things went relatively quickly and smoothly, some visits I’ve been in the clinic until 6:30.)

During the long waits in the OB’s office, I’ve learned to bring along something to do. One can only people watch for so long, so today I finished reading “Parenting” by Paul Tripp. This book was gifted to me years ago and it has taken me an embarrassingly long time to finish it. It has so many great insights that can directly apply to our lives right now and I know I will read it again in a few years as our kids grow and mature. If you’re looking for your next book, I would highly recommend Tripp’s “Parenting”! Here’s one of many great quotes from his book, “Nothing is more important in your life than being one of God’s tools to form a human soul.”

Grateful for a beautiful day to come to Nairobi, we left the city and head back out to the farmlands. Nairobi is a busy place and it feels nice to get back to the slower, simpler pace of life in Kijabe. Happy to report Bryce survived the day and the kids all had a blast with a full day of daddy time. I got home at 5:30, just in time for the kids to show off everything they did with daddy and have dinner together. 

Thank you for tagging along for my day in Nairobi, hope you enjoyed!