Keita and I arrived back in Djenne on New Years Day.
We are waiting for results of some tests which will take two weeks to come through. We will then return to Bamako for the verdict. Things are not looking good. Although the scariest possibilities have been ruled out- it was at first thought that he might have secondary tumors on his spine- the remaining possibility is just as grim really. It is possible that he has something called multiple myoma, a form of bone cancer. His walking is deteriorating and although he is putting on a brave face, I can see that he is suffering, not so much from pain but from the humiliation of people seeing him like this. He has always been the big, strong, calm, encouraging Keita to whom everyone else has looked for support.
He is seen above to the right on the day of his circumcision as a ten-year old.

I am going about the hotel business and enjoying being back. The hotel is full more or less every day, and things are running relatively smoothly. My guardian angel Birgit is taking a well deserved rest while I once more take on my role of ‘patronne’. I keep very busy but there is an underlying something wrong. My body and whole consciousness is on alert, and I can't really relax. I laugh and chat as if everything was normal, but every couple of minutes I feel a sort of jolt when I think of the THING that is happening to us, which may not go away and which may change everything.