Last night Becky and I visited a woman in the hospital just down the road. You can be sure that I have a much better appreciation for American hospitals now! Where to begin…? The woman we visited was in an “upscale” room apparently because it cost more than a regular room. There was only one other person in her room, a very sick man. And her room had screens on the windows. I guess that’s what made it “upscale”. Linens, food, and medicine are not included in the cost of the room. The family is to provide the bedding and food. There was an outdoor pavilion where families cook for their sick family members. The nurses do not change bedding and they only administer the medication that the family has purchased and brought over from the pharmacy. There are no machines- the IV bags hang from wooden poles and are monitored manually. There are no chairs in the rooms. Friends and families bring mats which they lay out on the floors and sleep on. The rooms are fairly small and have as many as five beds in them, which doesn’t sound too bad until you imagine five families camped out on the floor. You depend as much on your family to care for you as the medical personnel to administer the meds. The lady we visited is on the mend- yea! Becky and her sister Joan were both nurses, and although they have long since stopped practicing, they still have a wealth of information which they put to use when they visit the hospital to visit sick friends. They continually say that they have to be the ones to request that certain tests be done or suggest what the doctors should look for. I can’t even go into it all, but it seems incredibly frustrating. There are clinics here which are really private hospitals and they are supposedly better than the hospital I visited. Well,I've got lots of cleaning to tackle right now before I head off to a village tonight. I am so very glad to live near the ocean and not any closer to the desert. It amazes me how much that desert sand affects life here!
(Picture of an African kitty by the ovens used to dry fish)
3 comments:
Yikes. Take care of yourself so YOU don't have to go there! That's really cool that Becky and Joan were nurses. I'm sure that comes in handy a LOT.
We are so fortunate here in the USA. I thought it was sad to share a room with just one sick person, not to mention many, plus their families. I am so glad you can experience these things (not first hand). Sometimes I forget that you are also a teacher. How do you do everything? Aunt Pat
ok... so i will add to my list of prayers for you- that you NEVER have to end up there at that hospital for ANY reason whatsoever while you are there for the next few months. wow. as if getting sick isnt bad enough, that just scares me being in a place like that. makes it seem not fair that we just have sooo much available to us. but makes me very grateful.
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