Can You Hear Me Now?

June 13, 2012

We left Salt Pond early with the hope that we would get to George Town, Exuma before the Government Clinic closed for the day, if it was open at all.  Eddie's ear was getting worse, and we really needed to find some assistance to the point that we planned to wait it out in George Town as long as we needed to get his ear taken care of.

After lunch we launched the dinghy, and the patient and I headed into town to go to the clinic.  I have never been a big fan of George Town, a cruising mecca of sorts, but appreciate that it does a good job of meeting cruiser's needs despite its remoteness.

Impressive new sign

After we tied up in Lake Victoria, at the Exuma Market dock, I was pleasantly surprised to see a newly painted, even artistic, welcome sign.  As we walked down the street I noticed that many of the buildings had been repainted, there was less trash laying around than on previous visits, and overall, the town had a cleaner look.

Just to make sure that the clinic was still in the same location, I asked several friendly girls sitting outside the market where it was.  We were headed in the correct direction, and it was easy to spot the bright pink building when we had it in sight.  Most government buildings in the Bahamas are pink.

It seems like the clinic is housed in a building that was previously a mini strip mall.  The different areas of the clinic have exterior doors, so you have to read the hand-painted signs posted on the doors to figure out which one you should enter to check into the clinic.  Once we figured that out, we entered a small waiting area where a couple of people were sitting in the reception area chairs watching Grey's Anatomy on a tiny TV.  One of the women stood up and asked if she could help us, and I told her that Eddie needed to have his ear examined. I asked her if she was getting any good medical tips from the show!  She laughed and stepped around the counter and asked Eddie very basic paperwork questions; he didn't fill out anything himself.

Then we had to go back outside to an exterior alcove where another worker came to weigh Eddie and measure his height.

Gathering the medical data

It appears that colic and child molesting are two big topics at the clinic.  There were a lot of posters in the reception area about those subjects.

Eddie's problem was at the other end

After the weigh-in we were instructed to take a seat on a bench outside another entrance door.  Three other clinic workers were sitting out on the benches too, so we had plenty of people to talk to, and the time passed quickly.  They would yell and wave to people driving by on the main road.

Nurse Knowles called us in.  His area was packed with cardboard boxes labeled “Hurricane Supplies”; hopefully they won't need to use them.  The nurse just took Eddie's blood pressure and temperature, both of which were normal.  He wrote down notes about Eddie's description of his ear problem.  Then we were sent back to the original, interior reception area.

From there, we entered through an interior door into the doctor's office.  It was a combination of an office area and examination table.  After the handsome doctor (he could have qualified for one of the Grey's Anatomy beautiful people) read over the nurse's notes, he told Eddie to sit on the table so that he could look in his ear with an otoscope.  Eddie squirmed a bit when the doctor was looking in his “good” ear, which he said had some inflammation.  When he tried to get the otoscope in the other ear, Eddie started squealing.  I'm not sure he was ever able to get the otoscope in as far as he wanted, because Eddie seemed like he was going to pass out.  The doctor asked him if he was OK.  I asked him if he had been able to see any brain material!  The doctor laughed and said Eddie had an ear infection in both ears and would need a prescription medication.  We were sent back to the reception area.

The “accountant” called us up to the window to present the $39 bill, which included the cost of the prescription.  Another clinic worker came out of her office to write down the name of the drug that Eddie could use for pain, which was available OTC from the Exuma Market, where we had parked the dinghy.  When we were done with the front office staff, we were sent back out the door and down the walkway to the pharmacy door.

The pharmacy worker took the prescription and brought out the drugs and explained to Eddie how to take the medication.  We thanked the entire staff for their efficiency (we were there about an hour and had 7 staff members assist us) and hospitality and told them we will be hoping that no hurricanes come their way this summer.  I wrote a letter to the clinic telling them how much we appreciated how they made us feel so welcomed and for their professionalism at such a reasonable cost.  See the happy patient holding his new drugs.

Where Eddie was saved

We went back to Exuma Market to pick up a few things and then chatted with a couple from Britain who had left 7 years ago and had no intentions of returning because they were disgusted with the government giving handouts to people who didn't want to do anything to earn it.  We said that the U.S. was headed to becoming an entitlement state too, so we knew how they felt.  They were headed to Florida to have work done on their boat during hurricane season, so they will have the opportunity to see for themselves.  We left the dinghy dock and went back under the “bridge” and out to FLUKE to tell Wayne of our successful medical adventure.

Small boats only

There was still time to take Ursa for a land walk before dinner, so Wayne and I took her over to the opposite side of the harbor and landed near Chat 'n Chill, the most popular “watering hole” in the harbor area.  During the winter cruising season, when as many as 300 boats are in the harbor, this area is the center for all social activities, from church services, board games, volleyball, pot lucks, exercise classes, and whatever else anyone wants to organize.

Some things are best left unknown

I saw this huge cooking pot sitting outside behind the kitchen area and was wondering what the gull was picking at from the pot.  I decided not knowing what was in the pot was probably to my advantage.  I didn't plan to get anything from the restaurant anyway.

No boat, no problem, mon

If you don't have your own cruising boat and want to join the community for a short period of time, there are several of these cute houseboats available for rent.  With their shallow draft, you can nose around many picturesque areas within close distance to the harbor.

Since we had declared “mission accomplished” for taking care of Eddie's ear, we had no more reason to stay another night in George Town.  The next morning we got an early start and noticed we had a pretty stowaway aboard.

Giving the wings a rest

We planned to spend a full day heading north in Exuma Sound, with high hopes of some good trolling action and fresh fish for dinner.