Archives (25th May 2018): Hopitals and medics
01/12/18 03:22
Last week was all about doctors and hospitals. For now, all is good news, but there was definitely some drama happening in between. However I will start with the best news first. Tahir finally got called to do his medical tests, which means that he had successfully passed his security and criminality check in his resettlement process! Those of you, who know the story of Tahir, and are aware about all the hurdles that he has gone through in his strive to search for a safe place to live will appreciate how happy this piece of news has made us. Now, we need to wait for the results of various tests, and hopefully start thinking of the last phase of his struggle: packing for Canada! 
This is likely to take another 2 - 3 months, of course given that all goes as we hope it will.
Staying with Tahir: his mum, who is in Pakistan, has become ill. We do not know what the problem is, but she can now hardly walk, and her condition is getting worse. Being a poor, and an uneducated person from a religious minority does not make things easier to help her. Access to medical services is limited. This is mainly out of fear that one will be mistreated, if the doctor, nurse, etc., will find out what one's religion is (which is not that unlikely). Also poverty and consequently, lack of education, makes you more vulnerable, as you do not know what your rights may be. Tahir’s mum for example, was already brave enough to visit a doctor in her little town, but all what the doctor did was giving her multivitamins, even if it was clear that she was seriously ill. He just did not bother helping, and only wanted to make sure that he receives his fees. She was obviously too shy, or possibly even unaware that this was not fair, and that the doctor simply did not do a good job (either intentionally or not). Bottom line is that we wasted lots of time, before we found out that nothing was done to investigate the source of her problem, and that she was not treated adequately at all. It all resulted with her health deteriorating further (while taking her multivitamin pills). We do however, potentially, have some reason for hope now. A very good friend of ours, who is in Pakistan started helping us out in admitting Tahir’s mum to a very good hospital in Lahore (not far from where she lives). She reassured us that Tahir’s mum would be well treated, and the doctors in that establishment are all open minded, and do not mind treating patients of various backgrounds and religion. Not only this. They also said that they would not charge us for the service and would do whatever they can to help, until she feels better! She should be admitted to the hospital still this week, and hopefully, soon we will be able to plan what we could do to make her feel a little bit better! Watch this space for more updates, as they are likely to come soon!
Finally, just a day before I was about to leave Dhaka for Bangkok, I had a small incident in Bangladesh. When I had my lunch, I consumed a hard object that somehow ended up inside my sandwich (as it turned out, it was a small nail/hook). I will spare you all the drama and details, but just mention that the whole situation ended up in emergency endoscopy and colonoscopy and two days in the hospital. Luckily all ended up well, and I am now in Bangkok recovering and getting better!
What a week!
This is likely to take another 2 - 3 months, of course given that all goes as we hope it will. Staying with Tahir: his mum, who is in Pakistan, has become ill. We do not know what the problem is, but she can now hardly walk, and her condition is getting worse. Being a poor, and an uneducated person from a religious minority does not make things easier to help her. Access to medical services is limited. This is mainly out of fear that one will be mistreated, if the doctor, nurse, etc., will find out what one's religion is (which is not that unlikely). Also poverty and consequently, lack of education, makes you more vulnerable, as you do not know what your rights may be. Tahir’s mum for example, was already brave enough to visit a doctor in her little town, but all what the doctor did was giving her multivitamins, even if it was clear that she was seriously ill. He just did not bother helping, and only wanted to make sure that he receives his fees. She was obviously too shy, or possibly even unaware that this was not fair, and that the doctor simply did not do a good job (either intentionally or not). Bottom line is that we wasted lots of time, before we found out that nothing was done to investigate the source of her problem, and that she was not treated adequately at all. It all resulted with her health deteriorating further (while taking her multivitamin pills). We do however, potentially, have some reason for hope now. A very good friend of ours, who is in Pakistan started helping us out in admitting Tahir’s mum to a very good hospital in Lahore (not far from where she lives). She reassured us that Tahir’s mum would be well treated, and the doctors in that establishment are all open minded, and do not mind treating patients of various backgrounds and religion. Not only this. They also said that they would not charge us for the service and would do whatever they can to help, until she feels better! She should be admitted to the hospital still this week, and hopefully, soon we will be able to plan what we could do to make her feel a little bit better! Watch this space for more updates, as they are likely to come soon!
Finally, just a day before I was about to leave Dhaka for Bangkok, I had a small incident in Bangladesh. When I had my lunch, I consumed a hard object that somehow ended up inside my sandwich (as it turned out, it was a small nail/hook). I will spare you all the drama and details, but just mention that the whole situation ended up in emergency endoscopy and colonoscopy and two days in the hospital. Luckily all ended up well, and I am now in Bangkok recovering and getting better!
What a week!