FUTURES

INFECTIOUS FUTURES
Stories of the post-antibiotic apocalypse
Dr Miller reminded Ayanda of the Hollywood plastic surgeons on DSTV,
all white teeth and expensive open-collared shirts.
The urologist made a small circle with his thumb and finger. “You’re
emptying your bladder fine. So what I think we’re dealing with here is a
narrow urethra. In some people the walls are very narrow, so instead of
passing through with the urine stream the germs stay behind.”
Ayanda didn’t think she would ever get used to her bodily functions being
spoken of so casually. She adjusted her shawl and listened.
“I suggest a small procedure – completely safe, of course – where I dilate
the urethra. There’ll be some bleeding but you won’t have any problems after
that, I promise. I’m ninety-percent sure.”
Ayanda swallowed dryly. “Surgery?”
He beamed her a West Coast smile. “Next week good for you? I’ll have
my receptionist set it up.”
Urethral dilationa common procedure to correct urethral stricture; the
surgical widening of the urethra
“Hospital?” asked Anton. “But what’s wrong with you?”
Ayanda tried to explain how the narrowness of her urethra was causing
all her agony. He scratched his head. “Well, if it’s going to make you better.
Listen, I have to run. I’m assisting on a shoot tonight.” His camera bag was
lying next to the door.
“Again? Are you going to be very late?”
“Depends,” he said, shouldering the bag. “A shoot ends when it ends.”
Ayanda nodded and watched her husband slip away into the night for
the second time that week.
“You’ll feel some pain when you go to the toilet. But this should pass with
time. We had to use a catheter so there’ll be some inflammation.”
Ayanda blinked through the cloud of morphine floating in her veins.
There was a woman sitting on the end of her bed. “Who are you? Where’s
Dr Miller?”
The woman smiled. “I’m Dr Reed. I was your anaesthetist. Dr Miller was
called away to an emergency.”
Ayanda laughed. “A bladder emergency. Yeah right. Can you tell me if
the procedure was successful, then?”
“Oh yes, everything was fine. Give Dr Miller a call in the week. I’m sure
he wants to talk to you.”
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