Old Time and New Time

I know you've all been waiting for our posts with baited breath. So I apologize for the delay. Things like the internet and power are a bit special here. As Joel said, when we first arrived we were pretty wiped out and slept for most of the day. After waking up that night and setting an alarm to meet Jill the following day at 8:15 am we went back to sleep. Our bearer arrived the following day and began to take care of the chores and fixed us breakfast. I glanced at a clock and saw the time was 7:00 am more than enough to time get ready and have breakfast. I began to ponder how I was supposed to shower in water that is somewhat questionable without getting sick when the phone rings. Mark (the bearer) answers the phone and explains to us that the car is waiting downstairs to drive us to the center. At this point we scramble to get ready. In 10 minutes as I'm putting on my shoes Jill comes upstairs to see whats taking us. We grabbed the last of our things and hurried downstairs. After we were in the car we mentioned to Jill that all of the clocks in the house were an hour behind. She laughs and explains that for the first time ever, Bangladesh has decided to participate in daylight saving. That the locals, several weeks after the time has changed, are still utterly confounded with the unfamiliary concept. When scheduling a meeting people have to say 3:30 pm new time as opposed to old time.

After arriving at the hospital and doing some paperwork, we had our first tea time. More to come on tea time in later entries. Here we were introduced to other students at the ICDDRB who were doing similar shadowing experiences or research. Some were from the states (UVA med school, Emory) others were from Bangladesh, others from Australia, etc. Nothing helps you make fast friends like arriving in a developing country with no idea what the heck is going on.

After tea, we finished the paperwork and were given a tour of the hospital. The ICDDRB is mainly a diarrheal research hospital. As such, most everyone admitted has diarrhea as a symptom. There are 7 wards within the hospital. Patients arrive at the emergency ward. If the patient is severly dehydrated within a minute they are on a bed with an IV in. If they do not look in dire need, they sit and answer some basic history questions and are sent to a ward accordingly. If the patient only complains of diarrhea and shows little to no signs of dehydration they are sent to the outpatient ward where they are given ORS (a riced base Oral Rehydration Solution). After several hours they are evaluated and sent home. If they show some signs of dehydration or after the severe dehydration patients are stable enough to move, they are sent to the short stay ward. Those patients with other underlying conditions are sent to the longer stay ward. Patients in dire condition are sent to the special care ward. There is also a research ward where patients in clinical trials are housed as well as a nutrition ward for severly malnourished patients.

The ICDDRB provides all health care for no cost to the patient. Because of this and their excellent reputation with diarrheal problems, patients will come from hours away to reach the center.