Ok, hold on a second. I love Pastor Rony. He knows me pretty well, I think, and knows my limits when it comes to asking for help with things. I'm starting to get freaked out that he wants to use our limited supply of medical supplies to put a bandage on the leg of a cow. I figure it must be really bad, and I know what this sort of livestock investment is worth to his family, so I continue to search for ways to help. I started pulling out the leftovers and medical stuff we don't really use, and twine to stop the bleeding, and old rags for bandages, and a crusty old tube of ointment, etc. You get the idea.
R: I want you to make bandages while I massage it.
Thought that was a little weird, but it wouldn't be the first time I saw a strange medical misconception or practice here. Plus, remember, I had a "loaded head".
I kept bringing out my second-rate medical supplies, Rony started looking at me funny, and I asked if he thought we needed anything else.
R: Do you have medicine for the pain?
T: Ummmm, no, I don't think so. We don't have medicine for cows here. The medicine I have would not work because it is too big.
R: Eric is not that big. And he's not a cow.
(Insert screeching brake noise here)
Ok, so this whole time, I'm thinking "li" means 'it' - referring to a cow.
He actually was saying "li" and meant 'he' - referring to Eric.
No good. We both laughed hysterically as we realized what was going on and I discarded all the junk in exchange for real medical supplies for treating an actual person.
Here's the short version of the rest of the afternoon - We walked through the village to Eric's neighbor's house where he was laying on the floor. I patched up his (not the cow's) scrapes and one large hole in his arm. We gave him medicine for the pain and Rony began giving him the massage he mentioned. (I'd still like to see how one massages a cow...) We found Eric's thumb was dislocated. It was causing him (Eric, still not a cow) a lot of pain. Rony looked at me as if I'm the expert. I told him it should be put back in place, but that would really hurt. I was starting to cringe already at what was about to happen. Eric closed his eyes, signalling that he was ready and understood. I wanted to blow a whistle and stand up and say "time out...hang on...hold the phone..." while I found a better solution. Meanwhile Rony was holding his wrist and palm and telling me to "pull". So I did.
OUCH. I'll never forget that cracking noise, or the strange "pop" I could feel under my fingers. Eric is one tough dude. He let out a little tiny squeal when we pulled, and then a big sigh afterwards.
I'm not as crazy as Britt is for that medical stuff...but that was pretty cool. And I'm glad it wasn't a cow.
The story about the miscommunication has now spread throughout the village (thank you, Rony).
Everyone is very amused.
This is Eric. (Even in Creole, not a bef.)
-Troy
