DAY 3: 06/11/12

I was up and ready for the day at 0530 today. I had already had one full day of work on the mission under my belt and knew what to expect. I was invigorated by our exploits as a team the previous day and was stoked and ready to work harder to achieve better results today. I had no doubt in my mind that we will do better in terms of the number of patients we take care of and our quality of delivery. We were better acquainted with our formulary: what is on it, where they can be located and their major counseling points. We knew the major drugs prescribed by the providers present on the mission and the most prevalent disease states and conditions presented on the mission. A cursory look outside the perimeter of our camp revealed that the locals had already converged outside the camp waiting to be seen. It was a bigger crowd than I witnessed in the early morning of the previous day. I did also see some buses parked where the locals had gathered. I found out later from the resident doctor that those buses had actually transported patients from neighboring villages to our clinic. I knew it was going to be a hectic day, but I also knew that this indefatigable and resourceful team of ours was up to the task. I was ready to go!

We, as usual had our morning muster at 0700, after we had had some breakfast. It was suggested at this morning’s muster by one of the providers that the pharmacy provide the three clinics with some of the medications popularly prescribed by them to be given to the patients after they are seen, in an effort to take some of the load off the pharmacy department. This was accessed by our Pharmacist to be a good idea since a majority of the medications requested did not require extensive counseling. Ibuprofen, the NSAID of choice for most of the providers, particularly the Dental Clinic, adult and pediatric multivitamins and albendazole were some of the medications approved. This proved to be very efficient in treating and dispatching the numerous teeth extraction patients who were only prescribed painkillers and other patients whose conditions only warranted uncomplicated regimen. It really did help to relieve some pressure off our department, considering the size of the crowd today.

We were however still inundated with prescription to be filled. I was however actually enjoying the busy work. I felt more confident about my counseling skills, I could locate the medications on the prescriptions with little effort and we had developed a more efficient way of reconstituting our drugs. We had also established good rapport with our interpreters and were in sync with them. I had gotten to know more about the culture of the locals and could relate with them better. Everything was working seamlessly well and nothing was going to slow us down! The whole mission had seen 670 patients when we shut down operations at 1530. It was a very productive day for us and it was all made possible by virtue of our astounding teamwork.

                                               The wonderful team at the Pharmacy

A couple of the team members and the interpreters found it fitting to head to the beach and cool off after the evening’s muster. We took the opportunity to see more of the village on our way to the beach and fraternize with the locals. I volunteered the customary greeting of “salamat sorre” to every local I encountered. They always responded to my greetings with giggles and an obvious sense of amusement. They still loved us and trooped out of their houses to catch a glimpse and greet us! Sitting in front of one of those house with his mother and screaming “Mister, Mister” was this adorable and playful little kid. I went over to acknowledge him and say hello. I unleashed the Indonesian phrase of the day I had learnt from our interpreters: “Nama saya Kofi” and then pointed to the kid to say, “my name is Kofi, what is yours?” The mother instantly replied “Obama”. I asked: Obama? The mother nodded in agreement and I instinctively whipped up my camera! I just had to get a picture of Obama, with the consent of the mother!

                                                                     Obama

The beach had an awesome and scenic backdrop with sprawling, peaceful mountains, green and lush vegetation. A lot of the locals were already there at sunset to take a swim. Some had also followed us there. It was a breathtaking and welcoming environment with kids running around playfully with no care in the world. The water was calm, inviting and full of revelers. I would not be left out of the fun so I wasted no time diving in and having a swim. The cool water was just the escape I needed from the sweltering heat. I had a wonderful time carry kids on my shoulders as they jump into the rushing waves and also taking pictures with all the locals who requested them. We came back to the camp, cleaned up and honored the invitation by the wife of the Mayor to her home for dinner. Dinner was noodles cooked in spicy vegetable soup, just what I needed to fight off the cold I felt coming on then. I went to bed that night feeling a bit feverish and had to take some medication.....

                                                                   At the beach