Hospital Visit

The kids and I walked into the hospital with Stephen, who was visiting and came down with a fever of 103 and digestive ‘issues’ just two days before departure. I did not want him on the plane if he had dengue fever or malaria – which could get frighteningly worse during the trip. We were in search of blood tests.

The nurse asked for the nature of the problem. She listened and then directed us to office number 2. The nurse came in and took vitals. Oddly, no one had yet asked him to fill out any forms. A hospital without forms? The stickers on the wall were for human rabies vaccines.

The doctor came in within five minutes and asked for Stephen’s name. “Mr. Stephen” was all she wrote on the paper. She listened carefully to the story and ordered the tests he wanted and suggested a test for “rat fever” – which was a new one to both of us. We were then shown to the lab, which was actually a lab. On the counters were half-filled bottles of solutions, a centrifuge and various pieces of glassware. The room had a computer desk and one chair for the patient. Most interesting were the eight jars on the top shelf with small human fetuses in preservative. The jars were of various sizes and they looked like they had a layer of wax to seal the tops. The specimens were probably around eight inches long, but they were curled in the expected fetal position. Not something you see every day. I would have taken a picture, but I did not want to be macabre. In retrospect, given that displaying them was acceptable, a photo would probably have been OK. The man at the computer said the tests would cost 1,500 rupees ($33) and wanted to make sure he still wanted them. Yes, absolutely.

After the blood draw, we were asked to wait 30 minutes. We were directed back to the waiting area. The cashier counter was in the waiting area, and a man collected the testing fees but did not ask for Stephen’s name. Then, we waited. Did I mention that the hospital did not have air conditioning? The kids mentioned this a number of times during the wait. The tests came back 30 minutes later – all negative. We were asked to go to the doctor’s office again. Her diagnosis was Montezuma’s revenge – though that was not the term she used. She added five drug names to the same paper where she had written “Mr. Stephen” and the order for the tests. She explained each medicine and wrote the dosages and durations. Then, she handed Stephen the paper and we were free to go. This means that the hospital did not have any record of Stephen’s name anymore. He paid for the office visit, 100 rupees ($2.20), and walked to the pharmacy counter. The drugs were under $10. In case you were counting, the total cost (including immediate consultation with the doctor, blood testing, antibiotic and anti-protozoan, Tylenol and pro-biotics to mitigate the effect of the antibiotic) was under $45 USD. Not to mention the value of a great story. Stephen is now back in the US and is completely recovered.

Favorite sign: “Leprosy is completely curable.” This was a public service poster.