Thursday, January 4, 2007

health care is becoming a rare luxury

Historical background (JUST KIDDING)... 3 days ago i was heading back to Baghdad from Fallujah and by chance i met one of my old friends at the bus station, he is a doctor, and he was heading to Baghdad also, so we took a taxi and said TO BAGHDAD. the road used to take about 30 minutes now it is between an hour to 4 hours, THANKS TO MILITARY CONVOYS AND IRAQI ARMY AND POLICE CHECKPOINTS, any way we were talking and catching up and all these things DID YOU GET MARRIED? was the main question THANK GOD, NO was the usual answer, then he told me he is leaving the country soon as he can not take it any more and he feels he is dying from the inside, imagine he is the doctor NOT THE patient. a month earlier another friend of mine, he is a doctor also, started to IM me and i said to him how is KUT city (One of Iraq's southeast cities) and then he answered I AM IN SUDAN now WHAT ?!!!! he left the country also...Back to my story, Today i had to go to see a doctor.... i went to Karada to Saint Rafael hospital or as we call it (Al Rahibat Hospital). it is a good hospital and well known in the country. the two specialist doctors that i have to see one of them had fled the country WELL it is OK, i said to myself, i know doctors are leaving the country so i headed to see another doctor near Salman Fa'eq square GUESS WHAT he fled also... i have one hour left to go back to my work and i have to do this fast and i am in pain, finally i found another doctor and he was good I AM LUCKY this time... the doctor smiled and said: you need to see a surgeon, i will refer you to one of the best surgeons and it is a minor surgery so you should be fine (HE SAW MY TERRIFIED FACE)... he gave me the address and thank God (Hamdu Lillah, in Arabic) the address was not far away I CAN GO and set an appointment, i have enough time. i went to the address and GUESS WHAT the surgeon have left the country few days ago.... i said to myself : you know what SCREW IT i am heading back to work and deal with this later.what about those who are injured by car bombs and terrorists attacks... what about their families... for my self i can afford it, i can go to any hospital that i want but the majority of the people can not... they are watching their beloved ones dying without being able to do anything to them (and that what happened to my Uncle a year ago... he died because of the doctors carelessness and his family ignorance).i bet those who die after sustaining injuries from a terrorist attack because of lack of medical treatment are more than those who die immediately.At the end of the day .... pain has gone after thinking that the future is so dark to the limit we might not find a doctor in a year or so to treat those who are in need.

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