Health?

I believe there to be two types of Peace Corps volunteers: ones that get sick and ones that don’t.  Some volunteers are doomed with the monthly bouts of infections and are on a first name basis with all the nurses in the clinic.  Then there are others who don’t even know where the nearest hospital is or claim to be the healthiest they’ve ever been.  It might depend on the person’s immune system or more so on their living situation, but either way, some are cursed and some aren’t.  I unfortunately have had many memorable trips to the hospital.  So far my dreaded hospital trips have included giardia, skin infections, amoebas, parasites, a bacterial infection, and early signs of pneumonia.  Thankfully Peace Corps has the greatest health care ever…almost too good, and the doctors all know it.  I could walk in the clinic with just a minor headache and come out on a wheel chair carrying every type of medicine possible.  They have no hesitation in making you stay overnight, even when it’s not necessary and seems to be a waste of Peace Corps money.  I think this generally deters volunteers from going to the doctors for something that might be serious.  There is a fear of being kept overnight in a depressing hospital room, all alone, with no internet, and maybe one English TV station….which always tends to be awful Jersey Shore reruns. 

My latest trip to the doctors was probably a necessary trip.  I had been feeling unusually weak and tired in site and woke up in the middle of the night with a massive side and chest pain.  I had planned to leave the next morning anyway to pick up my friends in the city who came to visit.  I started my hike out, and by the time I finished I was in tons of pain, shortness of breath, and feeling feverish.  I got on a bus to Panama City, but after talking to the Peace Corps doctor, I abandoned the bus and stopped at a clinic in Santiago about halfway there.  By this time my fever was raging and unbearable.   When they finally checked it, my temperature was over 103 degrees.  After a miserable two hours of waiting in the emergency room lobby I was finally given medicine and tests.  An x-ray showed that I had “demasiado flema” in my chest, which was either bronchitis or pneumonia.  I was fairly positive it was impossible to get Pneumonia in the tropics…but clearly not.

I was given IV meds as well as a face mask. Thankfully I was treated very well; just held hostage for two nights. Finally I was set free with antibiotics and was able to meet up with my friends.  Although getting sick in a foreign country is terrible, I can rest easy knowing I’m well looked after.  It does make me realize as well how lucky I am to have such health care while everyone else in my community is drinking the same dirty water and have to pay out of pocket for their health care.  Thankfully the health Gira comes to my community every 2 and half months for a few days to do free checkups for children, women, and elderly.  This includes giving away medicines, vaccinations, and birth control. However, when the gira is not around, my community needs to walk far to the nearest health post and pay out of pocket.  As a peace corps volunteer, I strive to integrate and live at the level of my community.  Eat the same food and water; live in a similar dirt floor house, etc.  But there are a few things, including health care, which will always keep me from doing so.

Another blog on the way…

Love, Kayla