Week 4

---

The last few weeks have flown by, and its odd to think that I'm almost halfway through my time here!

A few extra things about the hospital, resources and having to pay for healthcare. I found out yesterday that the hospital doesn't have a CT scanner. This means that if you've had a stroke, or been in a car accident and you go to this hospital, you can't get the scan you need. There is a CT scanner at the private hospital nearby, so patients have to be transferred to there. Obviously in cases of a stroke or potential internal bleeding, getting the scan as fast as possible is really important, but these people might not get one in time if they don't go to the private hospital first.

There was a paraplegic man in the A&E department for a UTI. Although he was treated straight away and could go home the same day, he stayed in for 4 days because his family said they couldn't afford a taxi or vehicle to take him home. Eventually, days later, the red cross agreed to take him home in their ambulance for free.

You can't get a termination of pregnancy in St Lucia. They just don't have the resources or facilities here to do it. If you want an abortion, you have to travel to Barbados or Martinique to have it done there. The Island also can't do surgery on babies, so they also have to be transferred to Martinique if they require surgery. It's all just a bit scary if you live here.



The other day we went to Gros Islet to see my great grandmother's old house. The land is very overgrown, and the roof has been taken down to stop squatters. It was a cute little house though and Uncle Mark told me how she had a chair outside that she would always sit on so she could be nosy and see who was coming down the street. Errol and Phyllis still remember visiting the house as children.



Yesterday, England were playing in the football, so all of us medical students went to the bars in Rodney bay and watched the football. The bar was filled with English tourists all watching the game. Then we had a whole load of Mexican food which was very good. The girls and I then tried to get the bus home, as it was still light and there were three of us, but we were harassed the minute we got to the bus stop by some guy. And every other guy that passes and sees you're being harassed doesn't help, they just join in and harass you too. They never actually came anywhere near us, just shouting and gesturing at us. But it's pretty uncomfortable and a little scary, so we ran back to the bar and called Errol to come get us. The boys felt really bad and said we should have gotten them to walk us there, but we would have still had to walk through Castries to get a second bus, and it's less touristy and you get harassed even in the middle of the day there. So we just decided we'll always get a lift or a taxi from now on to get home. It's the only bad thing any of us have to say about St Lucia, as girls you just constantly get shouted at or called to when you're out in the town. You can't go anywhere alone. But other than that, we did have a really good time.



And today we went to the beach. I spent a lot of time in the sea, then just chilling on the beach, and we had rotis for dinner, which was just like a chicken curry in a wrap. It was really nice. A very chilled day in the sun.

---

Photos

IMG_20180702_125611
Great Grandmother's house

IMG_20180702_141741
Houses on the hills

IMG_20180703_180614
Mexican feast!

IMG_20180704_144734
Beach

IMG_20180704_172226
Sun setting