Dumela rra

Dumela rra!

This the standard Setswana greeting--Dumela mma when addressing a female--which I'm getting a lot of practice using. The Batswana are a very polite people (except when you forget to say "Dumela rra") . Thus far my basic Setswana consists of the following:

Dumela mma/rra: Hello, ma'am/sir
Gosiame: Goodbye
Kealeboga: Thank you
Tswee: please
Ke nna Dr. Nate tswa Penn: My name is Dr. Nate, from Penn.
Howzit?: slang for "How are you?"
Re tang!: I'm well.
ngaka: doctor
breathe!: Hema!
ee: yes
nnyaa: no

Fairly primitive, I know. One of the amusing things which occurs on rounds each morning is that for many of the patients we have the nurses (referred to as "sisters") translate for us. Occasionally you will ask them to translate something simple, such as, "Does it hurt when you breathe in?", and they will proceed to embark upon a 10-minute Setswana conversation about god-knows-what.

Interesting case today of a young man who presented with the "worst headache of his life" and a spinal tap showing multiple red blood cells. In medical speak, this translates into having a very high suspicion for having a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Well, we finally got a head CT to clinch the diagnosis, and sure enough he has a bleed. Now what? In the U.S. of A., he'd certainly be followed by the neurosurgery service and perhaps undergo a clipping (surgical) or coiling (endovascular) procedure. There is apparently one neurosurgeon in all of Botswana who resides in Francistown, but rumor has it that he has not performed a surgery in several years, which to me sounds pretty suspicious. I guess in the morning we'll look into transferring him directly to South Africa where they are better equipped to deal with these issues...