Power

It's routinely amazing to me how much power my 'white' skin and my profession bring. Most of the time I shy away from it, but last week I had an experience where I was happy to exert my influence.

I was at home eating dinner with Rachel when my phone rang. Since there's no doctor or CHO on duty from 4:30 pm until 8 pm, I always fear phone calls during those hours. It was a nurse telling me there was an 'emergency.' Then she hung up. Phone calls are charged by the second. So if there's an emergency you'd better walk fast. As I'm rushing through the hospital at dusk, Pastor Kamara calls me over and starts telling me a story. Standing next to him is a woman who is weeping. I listen to his story for as short of a time as is polite because I don't know what the emergency is.

Turns out, it wasn't an emergency. But after finishing the admission I go meet Pastor Kamara again. He tells me that this woman was attacked and beaten by 3 men. She went to the police station and was given a letter to go to Freetown to be examined by a 'Police Doctor.' Pastor Kamara explained to me that she had no money to get to town, no way to contact her family, and there wouldn't be any doctor on duty anyways. She was too upset and shaken to give much information. In fact it is common in Sierra Leone for severe emotional distress to cause unconsciousness. So, what to do?

I got to make a unilateral and unquestioned decision. I said that we would admit her to the female ward for free. There's security, light, a bed, and she doesn't have to be alone to sleep overnight. My exam didn't show any fractures or serious injuries and she denied being raped. She was lucky because rape is super common here. So I wrote myself (I didn't know her name yet) a prescription for Tramadol, paracetamol, and ibuprofen. She took some meds and Kamara brought her some dinner. She slept overnight and her husband showed up in the morning.

The accounts didn't question me, the nurses were happy to help, Kamara thought it was a great idea, and the pharmacy didn't care that I wrote a Tramadol prescription for myself. Every single person in this hospital is always happy to help. To provide someone services like that in the US would have taken multiple hours, but takes the Waterloo Adventist Hospital only 30 minutes. I am truly honored to work in a place where the church and the healing ministry can be so closely integrated.