Medicare

A couple days ago we got a call from Pastor Cesar telling us that Micheal's sister was in the SDA hospital, and were we going to help...? Well, Dad asked if any other help was available, and if the hospital was treating the lady or were they waiting for money to do so. She was being treated. We got a call yesterday saying that she needed to be transfered here to CDO to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center, formerly known as Provencial Hospital. They needed money to exit the SDA Hospital and we split the cost with Jimmy (bless his heart!).

When they arrived here in the ambulance we went over to see what they needed. The woman is 29. She is unconscious and ochre color. She has been diagnosed with cerebral malaria and she is yellow because her blood is breaking down from the malaria. Before this she had an ulcer, and that plays into it somehow. Her seven year old son also has a bad case of malaria and came too. The emergency room at NMMC is a huge room packed full of gurneys with people on them. It is hot and noisy. People who come in with the the patients just stand around and go look at the other patients. Our patient was of special interest because of her color and the fact that each breath produced a groan.

Today we went back again to see what we could do to help. The prescription she needed was only available two places in town, the Department of Health and the German Doctors. This Dad had ascertained by going to a number of pharmacies and finally another hospital. We went first to the DOH. The medicine may have been in stock, but it was only available if we could get the signature of a Dr. Dy who was in Manila at the moment. No one else was authorized to dispense it. It took a while and conversations with several people to find this out.

Next we went to the German Doctors. I was directed to stand in the line for the Information desk. I stood in line behind a man with leprosy. I saw people with facial tumors, leg ulcers and some strange skin conditions. After a while of waiting with people cutting in front of me, I decided that I should ask in the pharmacy to make sure they had the medicine and to find out if I really had to stand in that line. Yes, they had the medicine, and yes, I had to stand in that line. Okay, I went back to the end of the line. The one lady at the desk left her post twice for 10 to 15 minutes, people were trying to move in front of me... finally, after a hour of waiting (total) I got to the lady and told her I needed medicine that was only available here for a patiant at NMMC. She asked if the patient had been admitted, and I said yes. She said she needed to see a certificate of admission and a form with the signature of the social worker. I would have to get that and come back. I said the patient would probaby die in the meantime and left.

When I got to the hospital I had the mother go take care of the paperwork. I explained to the sister and brother that they needed to take the paperwork to German Doctors, stand in the line and get the medicine. I repeated it all three times, explaining the system Dad was off buying some other medicine. While I was standing around waiting for Dad, a man was brought in who died right in the middle of all those people after about 30 minutes. Three accident victims also came in and an unconscious child carried by his running father.

This evening, Dad stopped by after we finished our meeting with the Sonny and the partnership (another story) and found that no one had gotten the medicine because the line was too long at German Doctors, and the patient's status was the same. Makes me tired.