We have four patients in the hospital. Yesterday we had seven, but two went home and one was transferred to Hospital Vozandes Quito because he had a heart attack that wouldn’t slow down.
Why are things slow here in Shell? There’s a strike. Strikes in
The semi-good thing about a strike for a day or two is that hardly anyone can come to the clinic, which means we don’t operate, which doesn’t affect me, but we also have very few patients in the clinic, which gives me time to catch up on my journal, emails and other important communication.
The bad thing about strikes is that travel gets bogged down. Our ophthalmologist, eye doctor, got stuck about 10 miles away. They let ambulances through, so our ambulance went to get him from the far side of the barricade. He called us to ask the ambulance driver to come get him. Thank goodness for cell phones.
Another bad thing is that the medical student who took the patient having the heart attack to
The worst thing is that the patients who need to come to the doctor can’t get here. The ophthalmologist is only here one week per month. Most of the patients who received operations last month can’t get in for their follow ups appointments, and patients who need to come to the clinic can’t get around the barricades. For me, the worst thing is there’s no bread and no Diet Coke in the stores. We missionaries really suffer. (Just kidding.)
Tomorrow, if the strike ends, we will be extra busy. If the strike drags on, patients who early need care won’t get it, and that could be tragic. For now, it’s just a relaxing slow day after a few weeks of horror.