London Calling

Since Easter, I've had a whole new cultural experience - the Ghanaian medical system. The kids & I were at the beach for the holiday and I came down with a serious fever, body aches and acute abdominal pain. After a couple of days of only getting worse, I finally called various doctors here and in the US and it started to look like another case of diverticulitis. We packed up and drove to Accra late Saturday night and I headed to a private hospital. They wanted cash when I checked in - I know from previous experience with diverticulitis that it's not easy or quick to deal with and knew I didn't have the cash for a several night stay and oodles of procedures. I finally paid them about $70 and assured them that I would straighten things out with my insurance company after I saw the doctor, got some antibiotics and rest.

The biggest difference I saw between the US and Ghanaian system was that they tend to have a more "wait and see" approach vs. doing probes, scans and medications for every little thing. They also did not start an immediate morphine drip - which seems to be standard protocol in the US (I think they've decided that drugged patients are easier to manage). The other big difference was the tape. Yes, the tape – the kind used for IVs. They have some sort of light brown old school tape that sticks horribly to the skin - and hair. Apparently, Ghanaians tend to not have a lot of body hair, so the tape isn't too problematic. However, for those of us with lighter skin - and more hair - it hurts like hell. I had the kids bring me some no-stick medical tape from home to be used for the remainder of my stay. The food was also not really helpful for diverticulitis - oily sauces, fried proteins and fried potatoes or rice. I ended up having my housekeeper bring me oatmeal and fruit.


The hospital did not have a CT scanner. So, I had to go to another clinic for a scan. Getting the scan was one thing - getting someone who could interpret it properly is entirely another. After more than a week of being better but still not feeling well, I'm heading to London for more tests. While it seems weird to jaunt off to London for medical tests, I am trying to think of it like living on the Island - I often had to go "off island" for medical tests (which meant Seattle or Tacoma). This time, I'm just going "off continent" (which means London)!