how embarrassing

Just after New Year I was bitten by mozzies whilst doing a bit of DIY in the Volunteer Village.  It was getting late but I wanted to finish the job so didn’t bother with the mozzie spray.  So inevitably I took a couple of bites.  A little itchy but heh, not a problem.  After a couple of days the one on my ankle started to swell up and walking was not so much fun.  Ah-ha no problem I have the right drugs in my First Aid kit (thanks Darling).  So just get on them and I’ll be fine, right?

As the days went on the swelling was getting worse, it was quite red, now oozing a horrible gunk and really quite sore.  So I took to consultation by whatsapp, across the time zones (thanks Zanmi-Mwen) lots of photos and ever expanding rings of redness around the swelling (as it got worse!).  By the weekend I was beginning to get a little concerned, there was clearly something not right.  I had been on the antibiotics a few days now and no sign of improvement, so I looked again at the bottle…ummm ‘Use By’ was 09/16. 

So it was straight to the hospital to find out what it was like to be a patient.  Though I was a little apprehensive, my oppo seemed to be more concerned than I was (they were inevitably going with IV Antibiotics) and was constantly reassuring me about the standard of care “It is Haiti” he said, ”but this is the best hospital in the area”.  “Heh”, I replied “I’m fine about it and besides which, what sort of volunteer would I be if I was afraid to trust myself to the doctors and nurses I am here to support?”.

The process was quite long winded; over to the Cash Office to pay to register, then over to Records to actually Register, back to the Cash Office to pay for a consultation, over to the Emergency Room for the consultation, then taking a script to pharmacy to get it priced, paying for the drugs (at the Cash Office), getting the drugs from the pharmacy and taking them back to the Emergency Room to be administered… For an expat it was very cheap, the whole process cost less than the price of a prescription, but for the average local it was close to a week’s wages.  Yes, a week’s wages.  As for the treatment, my mate need not have worried, highly efficient – a dodgy moment when the nurse was answering her phone whilst putting on the gloves before stabbing me – but otherwise very competent.  The canula went in first time and I didn’t even feel it, which is not to say I wasn’t squeamish when she actually did stab me.  I think the infection was pretty bad though as it took the best part of another 10 days to settle.

What an idiot!