Some Reflections

They did the best they could. It is not their fault that the hospital in Tha Khek, Laos, is less than the best. I was treated with respect and dignity and the staff did the best they could with what they had. My bill, approximately $10, for sutures and medications is the same that a Laotian would have been charged. They did not radically inflate the bill because I was a foreigner. In a country where many people work for $1. a day $10. would be more than they could pay, but for me, pocket change. In a health care system that relies on families the doctor deputized my Tuk Tuk driver to be my family. The Tuk Tuk driver accepted the responsibility cheerfully and was always concerned about my welfare.
Because I'm a person of wealth and privilege I could go to Bangkok for treatment at a state of the art hospital. What would happen to a Laotian who got an infection as I did? Would they be able to get IV antibiotic treatment in-patient for two days? Many could not. The experience has made more conscious of the billions of people who live with that level of medical care...not to mention the millions in this country with out health insurance. Our work is not done!
The kindness of strangers who appeared when I needed them could be the subject of a sermon. The woman who took me under wing and assisted me as I bused across the border from Laos to Thailand is an example. In Mudakarn, Thailand, where I had a three hour layover between buses, a Tuk Tuk took me to an e-mail cafe. Returning to the bus depot I stood on the street waiting for a Tuk Tuk. The one that stopped for me had a passenger who told the driver to take me to the depot first. Tired, hungry and in pain I was very grateful. The nurses at the hospital in Bkk who un-bandaged me and decided to call the surgeon served me well. The Christian Guesthouse held my room while I was in the hospital and worked to find space for me for the three weeks of convalescence is yet another example. So, when people ask, "How was your trip?" I can honestly say, "Great"!