The Little I've learned So Far

As I have written in other posts, I am continually amazed at how strong and supportive communities appear to be here.  Just last night Daniel told me about a young child that was brought in after being bitten by a baboon. I haven’t seen any baboons around our area so I asked where they came from.  Turns out they were from Angola, nothing less then a twelve hour walk.  So what means is that about twenty or so friends and family members made a stretcher and took turns carrying this kid up and down windey roads, barefoot, without water, Powerbars, Gatoraid, or really anything that you or I would bring on even a leisurely hike.  Just to give you a sense of how difficult this must have been, when we went to this area for outreach there were points where I wasn’t sure our “super-duper can get over anything tank” Landcruiser would make it. 

So why I am telling you all this? 
Unfortunately I found out recently that someone in my family was diagnosed with a pretty rare tumor.  At first they thought it was in the lung which would require opening up the chest to remove it but after a second opinoin it was actually found to be on the pericardium. A tumor on the pericardium is extremely rare, so much so that they have no idea what the chances are of it being benign or malignant. On the flip side, it means that the surgery no longer involves opening the chest (which is pretty invasive and difficult) but can be done thropscopically, which allows for a much easier recovery.  

Obviously being a zillion miles, time zones and without good cell or internet connection makes this a pretty difficult situation. I can’t be at the doctor’s appointments or able to give good moral support.  At the most recent appointment with a highly respected surgen he said that because the surgery no longer requires opening the chest it wasn’t necessary for family to come in from overseas.  No, this would be routine, in and out in a day or two with a recovery time of up to two weeks. And as it goes in the US, If she needs some help afterwards making food, getting to a follow-up appointment, filling a prescription.....well, hiring someone is always a possibility. 

Perhaps being here for four months has had a stronger impact on me then I first thought because his response seems just absurd to me.  At our clinic when we transport patients to bigger hospital we have to fight with families because they all want to come with.  I’ve seen patient’s families wait patiently for days and weeks by their loved one’s bed with little more to do then stare at the walls (no wifi, tvs or magazines in these parts).  When a patient needs to go to a bigger hospital we make sure they have enough money to pay the hospital fee and get transportation home, which can be no less then a year’s income.  I’ve seen people tell us there is no way they can come up with that amount of money, and somehow their community is able to come together to sell a cow or collect from one another the necessary amount.  

Everyone said that coming here would be a great learning experience and I can’t help but feel like I am being given the ultimate test right now.  Yes, I can listen to this doctor and tell myself that its not worth coming home.  The money, the time, the inconvenience--- all add up to being there not worth it I suppose for him.  If I go home, it will mostly likely mean we can’t go on the trip to Tanzania we were hoping to, my work plan will have to be adjusted and people at the clinic will all have to pitch in to fill in for my absence.  Are these the types of things the doctor was thinking about when we said returning was not necessary? Maybe its more that he only thinks of the physical surgery and nothing else.... not the emotional side that comes with being sick.  I feel confident that the surgery will be fine, but what about everything else?  Don’t people need their family to help them through the scared feelings, the worry, the anxiety?

I can’t help but think about the different things here that might seem so absurd to people back home; from having chickens living in your house to the necessity of collecting firewood in order to cook dinner. And yet I think what this doctor is suggesting would be equally shocking to my friends and colleagues here.  Not being with your loved one in a time of need like this and paying someone else to help them....I just don’t think people would even be able to fathum this as being a possibility.   When someone is sick, everyone pitches in. 

While being here had taught me a lot about public health, malnutrition, driving a stick shift, etc. I think the biggest lesson I have learned is that you should do anything and everything for your family and friends...that you should treat people the way you want to be treated.  If it was me I would  want everyone to drop what they were doing, put off vacations, reschedule meetings and be by my side. So contrary to what this doc said, I will be coming home to be with my mom while she watches tv and runs errands(anything really to keep her mind off of this) leading up to the big day, be waiting in the hospital while the surgery is taking place, have her favorite meal ready for her when she wakes up and make sure she has all she needs when she goes home.  It’s funny that we often think as the developing world as being “behind” and yet in a situation like this they seem to make us look like we have it all backwards.