Blog Post #1--CE

Late Thursday night, I was bitten by a bug and woke up to a severely swollen lips. Given that an hour later the left side of my face had puffed up, I decided that it was time to head to the clinic to seek medical attention. I had heard good things about the Care for Business Health Clinic, so I wasn’t too worried about receiving poor service from the health professionals. When Sabrina, Efe, Tatyana, and I reached the clinic, we approached the receptionist desk to gather more information. I was sent to the treatment center where I waited patiently for 15 minutes to even be greeted a nurse. In the U.S., I would never have to wait as long as I did in the treatment center to even be greeted or reassured by a health professional. Given that I had never had this bad of a reaction to any kind of insect before, I was both uncomfortable from the stretching of the skin on my lip and also fearful for what kind of treatment I would have to receive.

After 15 minutes of waiting for medical attention, the nurse finally walked in. I instantly perked up and greeted her, only to be completely ignored. She swiftly took my vitals without a word, making me feel uneasy and vulnerable. To fill the awkward silence, I decided to explain what I believed happened to me. From the blank expression on her face and the few notes she took on her paper, it seemed as though she was not interested in anything I had to say, making me feel even more underappreciated and very apprehensive to receiving treatment from this establishment. After the nurse departed once again in silence, I sat on the hospital bed and contemplated my life. Not only was tired from waking up so early in the morning but I also felt hideous. Finally, the doctor walked in and once again I was relieved. But, in a very rushed tone, he explained that I was having a possible bad reaction to a bug bite and that I would need to receive an injection in my bum. With not a second to spare, the same nurse rushed in with a rather large needle and began to prepare for injection. By this time, the doctor had already left the room to see other patients.  Before I knew it, I was impaled with a needle and in excruciating pain. I gathered whatever pride I had left and hobbled out of the treatment center. Overall, I was seriously disappointed in the lack of compassion in these health professionals. I was dealing with a serious medical issue and it seemed as though they had other things to deal with.

            When going to Zambia, one of my biggest concerns was the health care system. While this experience was certainly disappointing, I am grateful that my medical emergency was resolved in a timely manner and this is probably just one of the many eye-opening experiences that I’ll have while here in Zambia.