Just when I thought there’d probably be no more contacts with my PLWHA clients this week after having sent all the cash donations and Raya goodies to them, yesterday morning just as I was about to leave for work, Rashid’s wife called.
Rashid needs to go for his hospital appointment tomorrow in Ipoh but he is too weak to even get up. The last appointment he went to, although he was quite weak, he could at least get up to walk to the taxi we arranged for him. This time he’s already bedridden and so someone would need to carry him down from his house to whatever transportation arranged for him. Other than their 3 small kids, only Rashid’s wife and her mom stay in that house. So, who’s going to help carry Rashid down from his house? (They stay in a kampong house.) Even if I were to go all the way to their house (not in Ipoh), I don’t think I’d be able to help carry him. Hospital ambulance? They'd only go for emergency cases. Appointments cannot be considered emergency.
Rashid’s wife didn’t know what else to do. She called the ID clinic to seek help (thinking maybe the nurse could arrange for an ambulance to come) but was told by the nurse to make her own arrangements to bring him for his appointment. Well… the nurse has many other things to do and so arranging the patients’ transportation is definitely not part of her job.
The problem is, when these patients miss their appointments, they always get scolded for not sticking to their appointments. It didn’t matter what excuses were given. They are always accused of being irresponsible and troublesome.
Well, yes I admit, there are irresponsible and troublesome patients who come as and when they like… non-compliant with their appointments and medication etc. But then there are also genuine cases like Rashid – too weak to walk and too poor to arrange for other transport -- who may miss his appointments not because he’s too lazy to come but because he’s bedridden and his wife doesn’t know who to seek help from (oh, with Rashid’s condition… forget neighbours!).
Their house is too far from Ipoh for me to go personally (not that I’d be able to help much even if I do) so I gave Rashid’s wife a few phone numbers to call to seek help from. So far she hasn’t called me again so I hope she has found a way to bring Rashid for his appointment.
On another note, Kak Hawa, the lady in charge of the shelter home where I sent Zana (her earlier stories here: part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4) sent me a text message telling me that Zana has started working as a security guard at a flat and she’s now renting a room nearby. And while she’s at work, the landlady takes care of her baby. Alhamdulillah, good news at last! I hope Zana will not bring any trouble to her new landlady. She’d better start thinking of her future and more importantly, her child’s future.
Rashid needs to go for his hospital appointment tomorrow in Ipoh but he is too weak to even get up. The last appointment he went to, although he was quite weak, he could at least get up to walk to the taxi we arranged for him. This time he’s already bedridden and so someone would need to carry him down from his house to whatever transportation arranged for him. Other than their 3 small kids, only Rashid’s wife and her mom stay in that house. So, who’s going to help carry Rashid down from his house? (They stay in a kampong house.) Even if I were to go all the way to their house (not in Ipoh), I don’t think I’d be able to help carry him. Hospital ambulance? They'd only go for emergency cases. Appointments cannot be considered emergency.
Rashid’s wife didn’t know what else to do. She called the ID clinic to seek help (thinking maybe the nurse could arrange for an ambulance to come) but was told by the nurse to make her own arrangements to bring him for his appointment. Well… the nurse has many other things to do and so arranging the patients’ transportation is definitely not part of her job.
The problem is, when these patients miss their appointments, they always get scolded for not sticking to their appointments. It didn’t matter what excuses were given. They are always accused of being irresponsible and troublesome.
Well, yes I admit, there are irresponsible and troublesome patients who come as and when they like… non-compliant with their appointments and medication etc. But then there are also genuine cases like Rashid – too weak to walk and too poor to arrange for other transport -- who may miss his appointments not because he’s too lazy to come but because he’s bedridden and his wife doesn’t know who to seek help from (oh, with Rashid’s condition… forget neighbours!).
Their house is too far from Ipoh for me to go personally (not that I’d be able to help much even if I do) so I gave Rashid’s wife a few phone numbers to call to seek help from. So far she hasn’t called me again so I hope she has found a way to bring Rashid for his appointment.
On another note, Kak Hawa, the lady in charge of the shelter home where I sent Zana (her earlier stories here: part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4) sent me a text message telling me that Zana has started working as a security guard at a flat and she’s now renting a room nearby. And while she’s at work, the landlady takes care of her baby. Alhamdulillah, good news at last! I hope Zana will not bring any trouble to her new landlady. She’d better start thinking of her future and more importantly, her child’s future.
