Field Trip

Yesterday was a fairly interesting day in that we took a pseudo-field trip to a remote village some 3 hours away (by car) from Narsingdi. Our purpose was to offer medical advice to a family friend, who was initially described to us as lethargic and weak with both fever and a rash. He had been this way for at least five days, and since getting to a hospital or clinic was nearly impossible due to a combination of distance and expense, we were deemed the next best thing. At the very least, we could determine if a trip to the hospital was absolutely necessary.

Driving here is… special. To the bideshi (“foreigner,” like myself) there seems to be no organization. However, one quickly realizes there must be some order to the chaos, or no one would ever get anywhere (and certainly not in one piece). This particular car ride was slightly better than our trip to Dhaka. Rather than a 2 lane road for the entire journey, there was actually a 4 lane highway, and subsequently much less traffic. That being said, it was still a free-for-all between rickshaws, CNGs, scattered cars, massive trucks and of course 9 gazillion pedestrians. (And cows apparently. Per Jasim, the “Eid holiday” (I believe Eid al-Adha) is in ~2 weeks; beshi (many) cows are being imported from India (ironic, given that they are deemed sacred there) to be sacrificed here as part of the holiday; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha. The markets have been bustling in preparation).

Once near the village, we were forced to make a slight detour due to the current rain (and heavy rains the day before) which had washed out the road. We proceeded into the village on a mud path; the surrounding area was lovely - scenic, quiet (the perfect spa retreat). I wound up having plenty of time to take it all in: a little less than half a mile from our destination our car got stuck in the mud/cement. It takes a village… to get a car out, apparently. With lots of help we were able to free our transportation, thereby resolving to walk the rest of the way. It would have been a very picturesque trek, but I remained strictly focused on maintaining my footing. The mud really was like cement. There were times when I advanced, but my flipflops did not.

Our patient looked ill, but not critically so (yay)! We suspected he had a virus (affecting the respiratory tract and epiglottis). What he needed most was fluids, which we subsequently obtained at the not-so-nearby pharmacy. Pharmacists here do not receive any formal training, yet are front-line providers for many patients. Based on symptoms, they “prescribe” any number of medications (antibiotics, steroids, breathing treatments, you name it). The pharmacist helping us would actually also be the one returning to our patient’s home to place an IV and start the fluids. The entire concept seems crazy to me (given the recurrent possibility of medication misuse), though the lack of human resources/healthcare often makes it the best (and only) option for individuals who are sick.