A visit to the doctor...

Sometimes Uganda makes me want to scream. Or bash my head up against the wall. Like when I walk into a clinic with a patient and the receptionist gives me a script and lets me write out the doctor's orders. Because my skin is white I can do that. There are times when this is an advantage, but it also just goes to show how corrupt and ridiculous things can be in this country. On monday it meant that the girl I brought to the clinic was seen quicker. It meant that she got the tests that I knew she needed. But really!? I can't find a doctor that knows on their own what sort of tests should be done! And was the diagnosis because the doctor knew or because it was what I wrote on order sheet?

Today I was back in the clinic with another girl and for 1 1/2 hours I sat in the exam room waiting for the OB who was supposedly coming from the other hospital sometime that day. Over 3 hours of waiting occurred before we finally gave up and left. For my OB friends... 3 hours of sitting and waiting for a specialist for a partial placental abruption at 20 weeks only to leave without being seen. And then I had to send the patient home on the back of a motorcycle out into the village in hopes that she heeds my warnings about bed rest. Those are the things that make my heart ache and make me long for a place here where women get proper treatment.

Did you know that it only costs 5,000 ugx to see the doctor? That's $2. And for an ultrasound... 20,000 ugx ($8).