malagasy clinics

2011/03/10 malagasy clinics

So I had my first trilingual (EngGasyFrench) doctor’s office experience yesterday.  After waiting oh around ten days I finally conceded to the PC doctor that I needed to see a doctor.  I went to Fianar.  The PC house coordinator showed me on google earth where to go.  This real life picture did not translate in my brain to where I was meant to be.  I then proceeded to ask random people on the street where the clinic was, and as usual it took a minute to get over the fact that I was speaking Malagasy.  Eventually I found the building.  Asked sick people waiting where I should go and waited.  Spoke with a woman, I went to the wrong building.  She sent me out back to the eye care building and there again I just walked up to random people and pointed at my face and said “marary ny maso” “tokony handeha aiza?” my eye is sick where should I go?  I don’t even know if that is correct gasy.  Eventually I got into the right consultation room.  The guy asked me normal questions then another ten minutes doing the usual dance of “oh you speak gasy, why” “are you american?” “are you married” and so forth.  I had to do an eye exam, easy right? Try doing it by pronouncing all the letters in French instead of English, I made most of it up but at least I know my French vowels really well because all my students PERSIST to pronounce English vowels wrong.  Two hours after I began this saga I saw the doctor, my PC doctor spoke with him on the phone and apparently they are homies that go way back because they are both from Fianar.  Eventually I paid, picked up a medicine from the clinic and another from a pharmacy.  I will say this, access to healthcare is extremely limited by language barriers and it was so frustrating.  If I didn’t have PC staff helping me I probably would be blind by now.  Also that entire day – consults, eye exam, doctor visit, medicines, cost 20.000 Ariary around 10 dollars.  Bargain.  And I can get it reimbursed (and want to because that’s how little money we make here).  Oh and my eyes will survive.

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