Romance that couldn’t be stopped by bone TB
Dec 27, 2005
I made the call to Gulu after a long time and Andrew answered the phone. “Jackie is at the hospital, I am here with Daniella,†he said. In the background, I could hear the three-year-old Daniella happily rhyming away.
By Catherine Ruhweza
I made the call to Gulu after a long time and Andrew answered the phone. “Jackie is at the hospital, I am here with Daniella,†he said. In the background, I could hear the three-year-old Daniella happily rhyming away.
Under normal circumstances, Andrew would also be away at Gulu Independent Hospital working on dental patients. But for 18 months, he had experienced a near to death brush with tuberculosis (TB) of the bones and was forced to stay at home in a wheelchair babysitting Daniella.
Jackie says it is a miracle that Andrew is able to move his limbs again. “At the beginning it was so hard. Many months after the attack, Andrew could not move his legs and I had to wake up every after two hours to turn him,†she says.
Eighteen months ago, I received a desperate SMS soliciting for prayers: “please pray for Andrew, he cannot move, he is in hospital.â€
I called a couple of times and in spite of what she had gone through, Jackie was in a jovial mood.
I was happy that Jackie still had the guts to laugh, the way she used to when she, Faith and I shared a room at university.
By then, Andrew Barugi was the constant bencher from Lumumba Hall whose jokes made Jackie laugh all day. She quoted Andrew like he was the Bible.
“Andrew says…. Andrew says…..†Faith and I would laugh.
Andrew would always pass by CCE Hall to oil Jackie’s braids or bring a new pair of expensive shoes. Sometimes they would stand very close by the bed and whisper to each other for hours as they smiled away.
Faith and I thought it was our duty to remind them they had vowed to “No sex before marriageâ€. They would just laugh and Andrew would say, “Cathy, I am going to marry her first, I promise!†Andrew married Jackie after she finished her internship.
When the TB of the bones struck, it found a young, but love-fortified couple. Jackie remembers Andrew returning from work and complaining of serious chest pain.
“I examined his chest. I am not supposed to do that, and I thought that maybe it was flu or a cold,†Jackie says. The next morning Jackie rushed off to work and left Andrew in bed since it was a Saturday.
“When I returned home, I found the house still in a mess, the dishes were unwashed and the bed unmade. I knew there was something very wrong with Andrew,†says Jackie, who consulted her colleagues at Lacor Hospital. “They told me it was serious and prescribed several tests.â€
They were referred to Mulago Hospital where further tests showed a TB lesion on Andrew’s spine. Andrew could not walk by now; his legs were numb. Jackie was all tears.
“I am a doctor but when it came to my husband’s sickness, I was as confused as anyone else,†Jackie says.
Dr. Naddumba, a bone specialist at Mulago, put Andrew on a three-weeks treatment to stop the spread of TB and recommended an operation.
“He told me that TB had eaten some of Andrew’s bones to powder and they had to remove the affected bones,†Jackie says.
“However, another consultant told me they would operate my husband in the next two days if we transferred him to another hospital. I became confused and called Dr. Naddumba,†Jackie says. He explained to her that the drugs were to prevent the spread of TB to other parts of the body during the operation.
Jackie recalls the day Andrew was operated. “They called me to go to theatre, I told them ‘catch me going there’. I could not sit, could not eat or go to the loo. I kept walking up and down waiting for Andrew to come out of theatre. When he came out, I cried,†she says.
The couple had to spend months in hospital and even when they returned to Gulu, they had to make frequent visits to Kampala.
Andrew’s recovery has been painfully slow, but Jackie and both their families have been real gold.
The sickness has definitely challenged them. They have had to live on one income and as a dental surgeon, Andrew has had to rethink his career.
And sometimes he gets frustrated.
“I can hug Jackie, but I miss taking Daniella for walks. I used to do that and sometimes it kills me that I can’t. I can’t wait to walk again,†Andrew says.
Lacor Hospital has been incredible, Andrew is given free physiotherapy and Jackie was shifted from working on a very busy ward.
“They are good and well organised people who respect their patients,†Jackie says.
Andrew’s mother is thankful to God. “We are going to call a priest to give thanks before they return to Gulu,â€she says.
There is no doubt the Barugis have hit what American evangelist TD Jakes calls “potholes on the way to destinyâ€. But it is also encouraging to see that they are coming out of it glued together.
They still have their vibrant sense of humour and not even the wheelchair can destroy that.
“The only thing that has changed is that Jackie and I have put on weight. However, I’d rather lose some weight, but I want my wife big,†says Andrew as his wife roars with laughter.
I made the call to Gulu after a long time and Andrew answered the phone. “Jackie is at the hospital, I am here with Daniella,†he said. In the background, I could hear the three-year-old Daniella happily rhyming away.
Under normal circumstances, Andrew would also be away at Gulu Independent Hospital working on dental patients. But for 18 months, he had experienced a near to death brush with tuberculosis (TB) of the bones and was forced to stay at home in a wheelchair babysitting Daniella.
Jackie says it is a miracle that Andrew is able to move his limbs again. “At the beginning it was so hard. Many months after the attack, Andrew could not move his legs and I had to wake up every after two hours to turn him,†she says.
Eighteen months ago, I received a desperate SMS soliciting for prayers: “please pray for Andrew, he cannot move, he is in hospital.â€
I called a couple of times and in spite of what she had gone through, Jackie was in a jovial mood.
I was happy that Jackie still had the guts to laugh, the way she used to when she, Faith and I shared a room at university.
By then, Andrew Barugi was the constant bencher from Lumumba Hall whose jokes made Jackie laugh all day. She quoted Andrew like he was the Bible.
“Andrew says…. Andrew says…..†Faith and I would laugh.
Andrew would always pass by CCE Hall to oil Jackie’s braids or bring a new pair of expensive shoes. Sometimes they would stand very close by the bed and whisper to each other for hours as they smiled away.
Faith and I thought it was our duty to remind them they had vowed to “No sex before marriageâ€. They would just laugh and Andrew would say, “Cathy, I am going to marry her first, I promise!†Andrew married Jackie after she finished her internship.
When the TB of the bones struck, it found a young, but love-fortified couple. Jackie remembers Andrew returning from work and complaining of serious chest pain.
“I examined his chest. I am not supposed to do that, and I thought that maybe it was flu or a cold,†Jackie says. The next morning Jackie rushed off to work and left Andrew in bed since it was a Saturday.
“When I returned home, I found the house still in a mess, the dishes were unwashed and the bed unmade. I knew there was something very wrong with Andrew,†says Jackie, who consulted her colleagues at Lacor Hospital. “They told me it was serious and prescribed several tests.â€
They were referred to Mulago Hospital where further tests showed a TB lesion on Andrew’s spine. Andrew could not walk by now; his legs were numb. Jackie was all tears.
“I am a doctor but when it came to my husband’s sickness, I was as confused as anyone else,†Jackie says.
Dr. Naddumba, a bone specialist at Mulago, put Andrew on a three-weeks treatment to stop the spread of TB and recommended an operation.
“He told me that TB had eaten some of Andrew’s bones to powder and they had to remove the affected bones,†Jackie says.
“However, another consultant told me they would operate my husband in the next two days if we transferred him to another hospital. I became confused and called Dr. Naddumba,†Jackie says. He explained to her that the drugs were to prevent the spread of TB to other parts of the body during the operation.
Jackie recalls the day Andrew was operated. “They called me to go to theatre, I told them ‘catch me going there’. I could not sit, could not eat or go to the loo. I kept walking up and down waiting for Andrew to come out of theatre. When he came out, I cried,†she says.
The couple had to spend months in hospital and even when they returned to Gulu, they had to make frequent visits to Kampala.
Andrew’s recovery has been painfully slow, but Jackie and both their families have been real gold.
The sickness has definitely challenged them. They have had to live on one income and as a dental surgeon, Andrew has had to rethink his career.
And sometimes he gets frustrated.
“I can hug Jackie, but I miss taking Daniella for walks. I used to do that and sometimes it kills me that I can’t. I can’t wait to walk again,†Andrew says.
Lacor Hospital has been incredible, Andrew is given free physiotherapy and Jackie was shifted from working on a very busy ward.
“They are good and well organised people who respect their patients,†Jackie says.
Andrew’s mother is thankful to God. “We are going to call a priest to give thanks before they return to Gulu,â€she says.
There is no doubt the Barugis have hit what American evangelist TD Jakes calls “potholes on the way to destinyâ€. But it is also encouraging to see that they are coming out of it glued together.
They still have their vibrant sense of humour and not even the wheelchair can destroy that.
“The only thing that has changed is that Jackie and I have put on weight. However, I’d rather lose some weight, but I want my wife big,†says Andrew as his wife roars with laughter.