olaoluwatomi

Its been a while since I wrote anything down, I havent written anything since I left PH. So what have I been doing? I now live in the Federal Capital Territory but since I moved here I have not spent up to a week in town. I have spent my time travelling around naija. Nigeria is a beautiful country but its also a country in a sorry state! Dont mind me but its difficult to be happy about your country when so much of it is in total upheaval. Im talking mostly about the health sector. I visited a few of our general hospitals and I can tell you that they looked no better than refuse dumps..................let me not get started on them thats a topic for another day. Im enjoying my new job, trying to build up a network for now, I have so much to write but very little zeal to pour out the words, I do hope you'll forgive my lethargic state. Ciao!

I came into PH in February as a scared observer of the proceedings in the Niger Delta. I was scared of even my own shadow and this was not improved by my working at a trauma centre where victims of violence and other traumatic injuries where brought. The area of town where the hopital is located does nothing to bolster any confidence in our security system, I lost my goldchain to 'bad boys' as they are fondly called which made matters worse. Right now im not as scared as I was I have no fears that I will be kidnapped, na who wan kidnap me sef? Going to and from work still leaves me with the jitters but I can boldly walk through the streets now and know that the young men at the end of the street have better looking targets than small me! (Don't mind me my confidence has increased ever since I found out I'm leaving , who wont be confident?). What exactly will I miss about PH? For sure I wont miss the public transport system, the danfos that where my regular mode of trans...

My mum always says that' the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof, why should one stay in one spot for the rest of his/her life when God owns the whole earth?'. She uses this to support her love of travel and I guess I get my urge to 'wander' from her!:) Anyway this will most likely be my last post from the NIger Delta, as I type my bags are packed to begin my journeying (yes my new job description involves a lot of travelling) around Naija. My base will be in the.................... part of the country! Dont worry my next post will reveal my new location(s). I have enjoyed my stay in the Niger Delta, Ill confess that my initial feat of the region has subsided somewhat and I am certainly relieved to be moving out. For those of you who have been wondering what part of the Niger Delta I was in Ill finally let you know. I will be leaving Port HArcourt this weekend Deo Valence! Ill miss PH certainly but im happy to be moving on, life is all about change isnt it? Hopi...

The letter below is a true copy of a letter that a patient brought with him froma trado-medical clinic! all typos are real! Traditional Orthopadic Home XXXXXX state The Orthopadic consultant In charge XXXX Hospital, XXX state. Sir, REFFERAL LETTER RE: MR XYZ ABC The above name patient had been admitted in our traditional orthopadic home after receiving medical attention and the wound sutured at the hopsital. But suture decayed as it was suture the same rather after 24hrs. Hence what is being required of you is to remove tibia (outer skeletal) so that it can give way for a new flesh and marrow to cover it up. Be it as it may, this is done as a result our inability t...

I know many of you will read this one:) Everyone even hardened pips like love stories. Well this is the first one I have encountered or actually paid attention to in the course of my work. I will change details in the story and of course their names to protect their privacy, sit back and enjoy the tale. David was a young healthy man whose body may have been something to behold before the mobster attack while he was on his way to work. But in the emergency room 3months ago he was desperately fighting to survive, he sustained several stab wounds to his abdomen, fractures to both upper limbs and his face has been severely disfigured by the machetes used to cut him up. At the end of his surgery he was a shadow of himself. He had a colostomy which was put in to divert faeces because of the injury to his gut. In simple terms he passes stool from his abdominal wall and not his rectum. His wounds have healed but he is badly scarred. It took him several weeks to recover and I must confess I wa...

I can hardly recognise myself. When I wanted to be a doctor I had tall dreams of being a very compassionate individual who did not yell or get frustrated with patients. One who took time to listen, empathise, understand......you can fill in the gaps. These days more often than not I dont slow down to listen, empathise or even understand them. Okay I'm exaggerating. Lets say I prefrentially discriminate. Patients who smile at me when they walk into my office greeting me first are more likely to leave my office feeling they have met a good doctor than those who barge in demanding to see a doctor, and even after I tell them I'm one they look over my head to see if there is anyone hiding behind me. Next they demand for drugs to aid in the healing of their wounds (pls tell me you know of one such drug) and when I explain that no such drug exists they look around even more as if to justify their previous thoughts that this small toad cant be a doctor. Forgive my rantings but why is i...

Sometimes the above caption is true especially when I see Naija through the eyes of non-Nigerians. Remarks not meant to hurt but just stating the bare facts are like barbed arrows through my sensitive heart. When you come froma country where 'everything' works, well almost everything landing in naija not just gives you a huge jolt but an attendant destruction of those organs that should act as shock absorbers to delicate souls,(well im exaggerating!) How can a countries health care system be so disorganised they wonder, Services the govt. should be providing is non-existent. Why are their roads so bad? Do the citizens not pay their taxes to help with road repairs? Why are hteir streets so dirty? How come there are so many accidents with motorcycles? Why didnt this patient get a CT scan as soon as he came in? Why is there so much corruption? What answers do I give to such questions? Attempting to explain the ineptitude of our govt to deal with issues that pertain to life leaves ...