Doctor Dawn

Peace Corps has, in my opinion, a pretty good health care system here. There is always someone on call whom I can reach by phone in an emergency. For routine visits making an appointment is optional and there is rarely a wait. The doctor I see also acts as a pharmacist and takes care of all the billing (funds courtesy the US Government). The office even has a couple bedrooms should I need to rest or spend the night there. Although Peace Corps Mali's medical facility is not all inclusive most issues can be taken care of on-site. Dentistry, optometry, and lab work, among other things, are contracted out to Malian facilities.

Today I needed lots of lab work done. After meeting with the Peace Corps doctor, a Cuban lady named Dawn, I was sent down the street a few blocks, on foot, in the scorching sun, to a Malian lab. I waited no more than five minutes (without having to fill out any forms) and was ushered into a small room where a doctor expertly filled five or six vials with my blood while being interrupted several times by employees and other patients. Personal space and privacy don't mean too much around here. Samples dropped off, I sweated back to my air conditioned starting point to finish up the consultation (blood pressure, weight, temperature, etc). Lab results were to be back this afternoon or tomorrow (minus the blood that was sent to Washington - thats almost like me going, right?). The whole ordeal took under two hours - ten minutes of which was spent in a waiting room. Except for the short walk riddled with harsh UV rays and old dinosaur I much prefer this to our American health care system.

As far as my health is concerned, this current ailment is by far the most enjoyable while at the same time the most troubling. Since Friday night I have felt like a decent amount of Tylenol PM has been trapped in my bloodstream and can't find its way out. The vacant staring, slurred speech, shallow breathing, and trouble walking a straight line has left me drunk but without the hangover. I doubt it is anything serious, but just so long as there are no long-term effects I wouldn't mind the ensuing excitement should it be. In the words of Snow Patrol, "For once I wanna be the car crash...not always just the traffic jam."