Dr. Sawalha and Al Mahabba Hospital

October 12, 2013 - From Ronna

My turn. Today we had planned on a shopping tour of Abdoun which is an area of Amman noted for up-scale homes and department stores. Various embassies are clustered in the vicinity with armed guards stationed in front of big gates attached to big walls surrounding each. No pictures. Instead, we stayed in Madaba and established a physician for Tom, right now, and me, later.

Tom started to get sick two days ago with the sinus sneezy-peezy stuff. Knowing what was coming, he began amoxicillin (brought with us) and salt water nasal rinses. Friday(our Sunday), we relaxed and listened to General Conference through a link provided by Jack Wixom, husband of the Primary General President. Tom and he are good friends. He called all sorts of references of possible doctors he could go see, but no one answered. With the holiday of Eid Al-Adha this coming week, the prospects looked grim. My students told me that the holiday was like our Christmas only many people travel to Mecca instead of celebrating Christ's birth.

He took a chance and went to his favorite pharmacist at Pharmacy One for help. She recommended a doctor and we called him. He answered his phone! We met him in the emergency area of Al Mahabba Hospital after waiting in some records room with three young women visiting in Arabic behind the desk. It dawned on Tom that Dr. Ghadi Sawalha had said to meet him in the emergency area. As we descended the stairs, the Dr. saw the only Americans in the hospital and told us to sit and wait for a moment. He hurried off to attend to a woman who was hemorrhaging. Seated next to us were women sobbing. After about 15 minutes, a gurney with the woman was wheeled down the hall and about twelve people followed it out. The doctor joined us and told us that she had had an aneurysm in her brain and was being taken to the King Hussein II Hospital in Amman. "Very serious," he said, shaking his head.

We were ushered into an examination room. The room was basically empty except for a large wooden desk and two examination tables. On the only metal side table in the room, sat a box with fixings for a broken bone and underneath, it appeared to be the little drill to cut the cast off. Casually draped upon each examination table were sheets. Who last sat there or when they were last washed or the table wiped with disinfectant or anything in that room cleaned, were questions running through my mind as I watched Tom being checked. I had an overpowering urge to wash my hands and put on a mask.

Dr. Sawalha asked the right questions and seemed competent enough. He said he was an internist who was trained in the Royal Jordanian Army. I was hoping for Harvard Medical School. But, he seemed aware of the various medications Tom takes and, honestly, we didn't have a lot of choices! As part of the University's health benefits, we can see a doctor four times a year? semester? Some of the meds are paid for, some not. The Dr. saw infection pockets in his throat and so, he is starting him on a ZPAK, prednisone and finishing the amoxicillin. The usual. We went to the pharmacy, but had to return to the hospital for another signature and then back to the pharmacy. That is always the case.

When we first entered the hospital, a tall, good-looking man approached us and asked who we were looking for. I told him and he asked somebody else and we were put into that record area. But, before sitting there, Abdul chatted with us in quite good English. Always refreshing! It seems that his wife just gave birth to his third child, a boy. He is a mosaic and sand painting artist and is in the process of opening up a shop on the way to Mt. Nebo. He has spent time in Washington, D.C. running a shop and loves the town. He made us promise to come and visit him and meet his family soon. Typical.

After we left the hospital, I couldn't help but wonder what the infant mortality rates were here. I thought  about my last visit to Logan Regional Hospital and how clean it all was (and yet people still get staph infections there) in comparison. I imagined having a baby or an operation at Al Mahabba Hospital and couldn't wrap my head around it. We are so fortunate.  

Emergency Room Entrance. It's a dead end, down a steep ramp. ( Bad figure of speech )