Late one night, we were sitting around the house, and Kelly mentioned that we had not tested the Namibian medical system to any real extent, yet. We drew straws and Tristan volunteered to be the guinea pig.
The next day at school, as planned, he tripped and injured his arm. Talk about taking one for the team... The school nurse called, and we made a quick trip to the Windhoek MediClinic (hospital). We got directions from all of Tristan's classmates, who apparently also have significant experience with the Namibian medical system--as you would expect for any 10- or 11-year-old, right?!
It turns out that the hospital in Windhoek is a very nice place. We're part of the Namibian Medical Aid system through Polytechnic--we pay US$50/month into the system. Almost all costs were covered. In the end, we paid the equivalent of US$8 for an emergency room visit, x-ray, and prescription pain killer.
Dr. Coetzee (in photo with Tristan) spent quite a bit of time with us, which is common in Namibia. Most doctor's visits include a 30-minute chat with the doctor--none of this 3-minute in-and-out stuff in the States. In this case, Dr. Coetzee was the one who wrapped Tristan's arm and applied the half-cast.
Tristan's wrist is in a sling for 2 weeks, but it looks like nothing is broken. His baseball coach, and fellow Fulbrighter, Steve Gray, has placed him on the 2-wk disabled list; he should return to action in fine form.
So, a fairly benign test of the Namibian medical system.
2 comments:
Tristan, great creative way to collect signatures of your new friends there and to document how big you are during your time in Africa! It will be fun when you are grown up to look at the cast for both things. Glad to hear nothing is broken.
Tristan, hope you are being well paid for being the medical guinea pig. I'm glad you're okay, and that the medical facilities were very good. Could you compare this to any emergency visits in Lincoln???? Take care, and we'll see you in a matter of WEEKS! Jan H.
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