It was clear I could not walk 4 miles in the hot sun before work; too much sweat too early. I had to have transportation. The most common practice is to hire a motorbike. Michael thought it was dangerous and wanted me to use a real taxi which was impossible to get.In the end Kaiba from the clinic came to pick me up on one of the clinic motorbikes on loan from UNICEF. Michael disapproved but I was doing it anyway. I said "small small" which meant "go slow". kaiba did not go too slow in the chaotic city traffic and the winding hilly village terrain. Next thing I know his bike ran out of gas and he told me to start walking. Just then another bike went by and kaiba arranged for me to get a ride with him the rest of the way. When I got to the clinic, I was a bit wind blown and wound up. But not sweaty.
Everyone wanted their teeth pulled out, some even made a pulling motion. After seeing the woman with the exposed jaw bone soaked in pus yesterday from a bad extraction, Sahr James was now on the same page with me about case selection. He was good at explaining things to patients by always starting with a soothing "You see", which I found out meant "she said".
We had one clinic staff giving oral hygiene instructions in the hall and two others keeping the boiling going to recycle instruments. Val had told me that was what they had to do in Haiti, and Sahr James followed the boiling protocol from his days at the Doctors Without Borders hospital.
So it was advanced decay with pain and swellings all day and I had to be the accidental oral surgeon as best as I could. I did have a 9 year old patient who was very good when he and his mother both got extractions. Sahr James said parents did not care about "milk teeth" because they would be changed; that was why there were no kids in the clinic.
Since I did have a 10 minute break to have bread and banana for lunch, I had energy to go to the United Nation compound for electricity and wifi after work. I was dying to go because the interns were saying the Internet was so much faster. Plus there was electricity ALL DAY!!
It was a walled structure with barbed wires and some buildings inside. The guard let me in and I got the password to get online. We quietly laptopped away sharing one outlet. The bathroom was bad but a bit better than the one at the clinic; still no running water though. This building was quite empty. Some say it is a good thing UN is not busy in SL nowadays, Some say UN people drive around in fancy SUVs but what do they really do. Right now I am just glad they have a building with power and wifi.
Next we walked to Dabo's ( one of the staff) house for dinner. Intern BJ had gone to the market this morning to buy 3 live chickens and gave them to Dabo so his aunt could cook them for us. We walked by village houses on dirt roads full of kids and adults leisurely hanging out or cooking on stone stoves.
Sitting on the porch of the small house we were each served a bag of purified water and a plate of rice with a piece of chicken and a piece of fish. Bailor and the staff ate SL style in a large communal plate. It was very tasty. When I was finished my plate was taken away by a teenager who gave it to 3 kids and they started on the leftovers on my plate. It was done casually and naturally, food was not to be wasted.
There was loud singing music; I was told it was the nearby church having a service from 9 to midnight. I went to check it out with three staff members who were attending the service. kaiba and Ali got permission for me to take a photo but by then all the kids and adults had spotted me and stopped singing. I was invited to church on Sunday 9am to noon. I left the guys at church but later spotted them on the street talking to girls, way before midnight.
Dusk gathered as we walked home. The Lebanese grocery store was a must so we all went. I found canned peaches this time, what a treat. The only girl intern Kulani decided to take a motorbike home so I joined her. We yelled " bike, bike" on the street and bike drivers stopped for us. I told my driver to follow Kulani's driver because I did not know my way. All of a sudden Kulani's bike stopped which caused my bike having to stop just short of running into them. Turned out the drivers did not know their way and Kulani had to stop and give directions. Riding on a hired motorbike at night in the dark on bad roads in dusty traffic is, ummm, not recommended.
Back to my room I was just grateful the lights were on and the water was running. I wanted to get some sleep but I kept thinking about the last patient, a woman with a huge swelling around her jaw and neck but could not afford the IV meds. Her face was tired and resigned. My friend Celeste once asked if Michael and I were ready for the suffering we were going to see in SL; we thought we were. And I have not even seen an amputee yet. I hope the lady shows up tomorrow as we asked so we can monitor her condition under oral medications which was free to her.
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