21.02.2009
Once the measles epidemic had quelled, chicken pox took hold. Now not having had the latter childhood disease and after witnessing how severe the adult cases have been, I treated chicken pox houses like they had the bubonic plague!
The Government Doctor, who is supposed to come to the village once a month, stopped coming over a year ago now. Even when he was in town people seem not to trust him. His visits usually involved sitting in the chai stall for endless hours or playing cards. The only hint of doctoring that we ever witnessed was roughly placing some gauze on little Nikki's face after he fell from a roof. This last piece of information is important because that was all he did... the gauze stayed until it became a festering, oozing mess. By the time Nikki was brought to us the wounds took some soaking (to get the bandages off) and prolonged treatment to treat the infection. I remember the incident clearly as the Doctor actually watched the treatment taking place on the steps of our old house and he even managed a nod of approval en route to his card game. Nikki will bear the scars for the rest of his life.
No one trusts the fat cat who forgets to turn up to work or when he does he develops card playing, chai elbow and still manages to collect his government salary....
We have just been informed that he is NEVER coming back though I suspect he will continue to collect his salary. In his place we have been sent a government pharmacist who has the same card playing predilection. At least he does periodically turn up, is knowledgable and does restock government drugs to the dispensary which eventually find there way to the local dukkan (shop) where we find supposedly free drugs sold. A cocktail of inapproprate drugs dispensed and courses of 2 antibiotic tablets (yes - you have read that right:TWO) readily handed out because that is the stipulated government rule - you cannot have a full course if there is no government Doctor to administer them??
Bonnie
PEAK
