July 13, 2005
Brad's sick
Not the best advert for the Ethiopian tourism industry. Brad Pitt comes to town for a couple of days to help his "close friend" Angelina Jolie pick out a baby to adopt, and he catches viral meningitis.
Here's the story on CNN:
Brad Pitt treated for meningitis
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Film star Brad Pitt was released on Wednesday from a Los Angeles hospital where he had been admitted for a flu-like illness that turned out to be viral meningitis, his spokeswoman has said. Pitt, 41, was at home on Wednesday afternoon after his discharge and was "doing well," his publicist said in a statement...Pitt, who split up with his wife, actress Jennifer Aniston, earlier this year, traveled to Ethiopia last week with actress Angelina Jolie, his co-star in the movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"...
Just to put things into context, we've been here almost a year and never caught anything as serious as that. All I've personally suffered from during that time is giardia (with all its comedy side-effects including sulphurous eggy burps), food poisoning (from a certain buffet at a certain hotel) and a little breathlessness in the early days (it is so high here that water boils at 92 degrees centigrade).
There are also the rainy season blues which set in about now as Addis Ababa does an amazing impression of London in September, with extra rain.
UPDATE: And if you thought Brad was bad ...
Miss Ethiopia quarantined for not having medical cert
KUCHING: Miss Ethiopia Dina Fekadu Mosissa was put under a four-day quarantine after she failed to produce a yellow-fever card on arrival at the KL International Airport yesterday. The 21-year-old beauty will miss the Miss Tourism pageant’s preview dinner show here tonight.
Posted by aheavens at July 13, 2005 6:02 AM
Comments
That breathlessness may not solely be a product of the altitude, if your photos are anything to judge by.
Posted by: sissoula at July 14, 2005 6:25 AM
Poor Brad, I hope he really gets well soon. He has been extremely kind to my fellow Ethiopians and we don't want any harm come to him. I will be praying for him, I will be sending him all our good thoughts and good wishes and blessings and spiritual ye habesha medhanit so he gets well and fit soon.
As for tourism etc you mentioned, that would be a daft reason not to come to Ethiopia. Meningitis was not created in Ethiopia, it exists everywhere. He could have caught it in Kenya, SA or Morocco. Anyway, that's beside the point. We want him to get better, from the heart. We love him because he has proved Ethiopia's friend. God Bless him!!
Love and Peace to all!
Posted by: peace at July 14, 2005 11:41 AM
Well he won't be going to Africa anytime soon.
Posted by: Safiya at July 16, 2005 2:22 AM
Oh dear! Oh dear! Andrew, what brought about the relapse.... I wonder?
From....
"The only images that 'the West' sees of this country are the feeding centres and parched hills. They all do exist. But, as anyone who has spent even a short time in Ethiopia will tell you, they are only a tiny part of the picture. So I thought I would start with Langano..."
to....
"Brad's sick...Not the best advert for the Ethiopian tourism industry. Brad Pitt comes to town for a couple of days to help his "close friend" Angelina Jolie pick out a baby to adopt, and he catches viral meningitis."
Posted by: Asrat at July 18, 2005 4:20 PM
Oh dear! Oh dear! Andrew, what brought about the relapse.... I wonder? From "The only images that 'the West' sees of this country are the feeding centres and parched hills. They all do exist. But, as anyone who has spent even a short time in Ethiopia will tell you, they are only a tiny part of the picture. So I thought I would start with Langano..." to "Brad's sick...Not the best advert for the Ethiopian tourism industry. Brad Pitt comes to town for a couple of days to help his "close friend" Angelina Jolie pick out a baby to adopt, and he catches viral meningitis."
Posted by: Asrat at July 18, 2005 4:21 PM
Asrat that was not an attack, he was just stating the facts. Keep writing Andrew. It's always interesting to read other's perspective of your country. I enjoy your blogs.
Posted by: dinkitu at July 18, 2005 11:54 PM
Angelina's Baby: The Hospital Scare
July 21, 2005
It's been nearly two weeks since Oscar winner ANGELINA JOLIE announced to the world that she was adopting another baby, this time a girl from Ethiopia named ZAHARA. But in the process of bringing her home, Angelina discovered her new daughter suffered a number of health problems.
The six-month old baby was ill from malnutrition and dehydration and had to be hospitalized for a week in New York. According to the upcoming edition of Us Weekly, on newsstands tomorrow, after being admitted, doctors discovered she was also suffering from an intestinal infection.
"In spite of her illness, she was very sweet, engaging and responsive," her doctor, JANE ARONSON, told the magazine. "When she gained her strength, she began to smile and coo."
Aronson also tells Us that the baby had clearly bonded with mama Angelina. "She was very connected to her mother during the hospitalization," she says. "It was clear the love and devotion of her [new adoptive] mother ... helped her recover."
Angelina and even her 3-year-old son MADDOX were very hands-on during Zahara's hospital stay. "Angelina was sleeping in [Zahara's] hospital room," a staffer revealed to Us, who adds that Maddox came by to check on his new sister.
Aronson gives Angelina credit for saving Zahara's life. "Children with [these multiple ailments] living in orphanages in developing nations die quickly without medical intervention," she says. "That would have been her fate had she not been adopted."
For more on Angelina and her new baby, watch tonight's ET and check out the July 29 issue of Us for new pics of baby Zahara!
Posted by: senay at July 21, 2005 9:32 AM