Reply #21: I spent my second day in the medical tent, handing out aspirin, etc.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

There's a lot of high blood pressure and a lot of diabetes.

The saddest case today was a woman who had not seen a doctor in three years but had come here on her friends' insistance. The medical staff believe that she probably has at least a massive tumor and possibly ovarian cancer, so there was nothing they could do in what is basically a tent (which is why I can see everything that's happening and hear a lot of it--there's no privacy except for one curtained off area that contains an examining table) except send her on to the hospital. It was the old story--going to the doctor would be too expensive. It's rewarding to help the local residents, but it's also infuriating to know that in a civilized country, people wouldn't have to be afraid to go to the doctor.

Today was really really windy, and I could see dust blowing around outside the tent. Inside the tent, it was chilly, and we huddled around the gas heaters (of a type I'd never seen before--they look like big floor lamps) and the electric space heater to keep warm.

Last night, we made a run to (ugh!) WalMart, which is, unfortunately, the only show in town. We all went with shopping lists for the areas that we had worked in during the day and came back with a total of about $500 worth of merchandise, everything from toilet paper to toys to hydrogen peroxide.

I've noticed a pattern in the medical section. Someone comes in asking for Zantac or anti-fungal cream, and we don't have it. Then an hour later, someone donates a box of it. We've started joking that we can almost predict what donations will come in.

I enjoy working in the "drug store" and plan to do so again tomorrow, especially since I'm begiinning to feel competent. Saturday will be our last day, and the medical tent is closed then, so I don't know what I'll do instead. Because of my cold, I'm not going out to a work site, and everyone I've talked to agrees. There's so much junk in the air that clearing lots and tearing down houses will do nothing for my respiratory system. However, other members of our group have gone out to work on people's property.

That's all for now. I need to get ready for the evening meeting/evening prayer service, which is followed by dinner.

Breakfast has been a tour of Southern cuisine, with corned beef hash and grits yesterday and biscuits and gravy today. Dinner has been more conventional, although the vegetarians are frustrated.

More later!