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Published: September 3rd 2008
Santa Marta City Shoreline
As seen from the USS Kearsarge in portA different clinic today, held at the large regional hospital. We had 6 physicians from the Kearsarge and 4 from the Colombian military. I was happy for the latter when my first patient had molluscum contagiosum, a contagious (but not generally dangerous) skin condition. In the US we use electrocautery to treat it, but I learned that here where that's not available, they suggest the mom pick the top off each little lesion, pulling out the root, then apply iodine to keep it from spreading. I didn't bring a copy of
Where There Is No Doctor but I imagine the described treatment is outlined there.
The challenging part of the patient care is that we are really not equipped to provide much more than superficial care. We have a few antibiotics, Tylenol, ibuprofen and LOTS of worm medicine (we're routinely dosing all chilren 2-14). But we can't treat the woman with diabetes and 5 small children, the woman with hypertension (blood pressure 189/101 - same as it was in 2003 after she quit taking her meds), the man with leprosy, the woman with malarial symptoms. We can refer to local health care, but we're seeing the poor and uninsured who can't afford to pay for care (sound like another country we know - the US, maybe??)
Sometimes people with unsolvable problems (children with mental retardation or cerebral palsy) are looking for an umpteenth opinion (like second opinion, but moreso). They've already been to 4 or 6 other sources of care but want something done today to 'fix the problem.' I'm trying to take time to give an understandable explanation of the basis of the problem (thank goodness I speak Spanish and thought to bring a small wipe board with me). The patients seem appreciative of my efforts (but who knows if they'll drop in on the next group to come through, looking for The Answer).
Santa Marta is a pretty large, very typical Latin American city with a large port. It is on the mountainous NW coast of Colombia, with much vegetaion so the hills are very green.
We see the city from the ship or the bus but aren't allowed to move about on our own. The Navy is very strict about 'force protection', and armed Colombian military guard us wherever we go. I don't think much about my personal safety when I'm in the US, probably like most Americans. But there is something about having this guy with a machine gun near me that makes me wonder if there is someone out there planning to hurt us in some way. I don't like the feeling, but realize that much of the world actually lives with this and worse on a daily basis.
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Leo
non-member comment
Interesting.
I can see much work being accomplished.