Medical Adventures

Twice now I have had to go to a doctor of some sort in this country. Both times have been slightly hilarious because things here are so different than they are in the States!

Incident One:

In preparation for my trip to Uganda, I needed a Yellow Fever vaccine. In the US, this is how it goes (I think!): You schedule an appointment with a special travel doctor. You have your doctor's appointment, and you get the vaccine, which is HIGHLY controlled by the CDC. You then pay an exorbitant amount of money.

Here's how it works in the DR: I told my boss (a Dominican) that I needed a Yellow Fever vaccine but didn't think they had them in this country. He makes a few phone calls and the next day tells me they'll have the vaccine within a week. The next week, I show up at school and my boss tells me, "Hurry - they have the vaccine but you have to get there before 9:30!" (It's now 8:30, and the doctor is 45 minutes away.) One of my coworkers drives me and my boss's wife to the Health Center in Puerto Plata, where I see benches upon benches of people waiting to see a doctor. We walk right past all the people waiting, up a set of stairs, into a small office where there are two women sitting. My boss's wife introduces me, I show them my passport, they draw the vaccine - I don't see the vial, so I assume it's for Yellow Fever! - and shoot me up. Then they refuse to record it in my yellow book, giving me instead a Dominican yellow book, still validated by the WHO or whoever it is that validates yellow books. I think/hope/pray that they have written down all the necessary information so that they let me into Uganda when I arrive. We walk out, back past all the people, get back in the car, and go back to school. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. You may notice I skipped the part about paying an exorbitant amount... I did not pay a cent. Vaccines are free in the DR - who knew?!

Incident Two:


I have now had the "gripe" (generic term for cold/flu/allergies) for almost 3 months. My head is full of nastiness, and the past few weeks I've had this lovely cough. After emailing with a friend who is a doctor, I decide to get a chest x-ray. I go to school this morning and tell my boss I need a chest x-ray. He goes and gets the same coworker who drove me to get my vaccine and tells him to take me to such-and-such doctor near his house. We get to the doctor's. I walk in and tell them that I've been coughing a lot and would like a chest x-ray. They write down my name (misspelled, of course) and my birth date and that I'm getting a chest x-ray. Then they charge me 600 pesos - about $16.25. The doctor takes me back immediately and does the x-ray. I sit in the waiting area for a few minutes until the image is ready. Here, if they read the x-ray for you, they charge you more. I figure, I have a friend who's a PA - why bother paying more than $16.25 for an x-ray?! I get the image, the doctor tells me I'm "malita" (a little sick) - no kidding! - and we're on our way. I ask my coworker if we can stop at a pharmacy so I can get some meds. At the pharmacy, I decide not to pay a ridiculous price for Singulair, not even for the slightly cheaper generic. I call my PA friend to find out what the Dominican version of Albuterol is, ask for it, and for $6 am the proud owner of an inhaler. No prescription, no ID, nothing. I love this country! My coworker then drives me to the Makarios school so my PA friend can read my x-ray. She diagnoses me and prescribes two other meds, which, thanks to the generosity of North American teams, she has ample supplies of. I am now adequately medicated in an attempt to get rid of my sinus issues and my bronchitis before I leave for Uganda in 5 days.


Moral of the story: good people to have in your life are bosses with connections, coworkers who will drive you around, and friends who are doctors. I WILL conquer the gripe.