Exiting AZP

 

ACADEMISCH ZIEKENHUIS PARAMARIBO

The saga of Layne’s four days at the main hospital in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname ought to be told now that she is back in our air bnb catching up on her sleep but I’m pretty tired of thinking about that place.

The funny thing was that the first three nights she got superb treatment medically from the doctors and proper care from the nurses in the ICU. Her blood pressure came up to normal from being low (80/40) and the blood oxygen percentage started well below 90% and soon came up to normal. When I was in the hospital in Miami they panicked when I went close to 90% and she was admitted at 83% and you should have seen them leap into action. 

The nursing staff did everything they could to keep her comfortable but beyond that they talked with her like real people and got to know each other. Suriname has a shortage of nurses (who doesn’t?) and they have been courting help in the Philippines among other countries. As a result I’ve had some cinnamon roll from the Philippines. You should try some if you get a chance, not too sweet and goes down a treat with some tea. 

The third day the ICU nurses kept her as long as they could and sent her upstairs at the last minute where she got a bed in a ward of six patients with no air conditioning and no nursing care. I was kicked out at six pm promptly but we were already talking about discharging her. She had an IV and a catheter but no monitoring of her vital signs anymore. 

On the morning of the fourth day I went in early bringing the usual supplies, diapers, pads, face cloths, bottled water and so forth. Nothing is provided by the hospital. Not even drinking water. I kid you not. That morning when I told the nurses Layne needed help they stared at me and made comments in Dutch about me not speaking Dutch but I have an ear for language and I knew what she was saying. That set me off and and I barked at her, the older nurse sitting at the nurses station writing in a file. I went back and changed Layne myself. Fuck them. 

Then I went on an odyssey to find the administrative office that had sent a letter to me handed to me by an ICU nurse, that of course couldn’t read and none of the nurses would translate for me. I had no clue where to go but I kept asking and after three false starts and an hour walking around I got to the office. 

The woman there said it was $900 a day ICU or general ward. I said where’s the bill and she shrugged. I said you don’t have an itemized bill? You expect me to be walking around in this credit card free economy with US$4000 in my pocket? And to hand it over to you without an invoice? Are you crazy? I’ll be back later I said and walked away. 

I went back to the ward and found  the doctor doing her rounds. I said I want Layne discharged. She protested. I said I’m paying nine hundred bucks a day to change her diapers myself? There’s no nursing care here, the nurses mock me for not being able to speak Dutch and I pay nine hundred US dollars a day for this treatment? No doctor has talked to me about her treatment and no one tells us what’s going on…I was in a towering rage. She said she’d go and speak to the specialist (who never showed up in person). Suddenly a nurse appeared and started cleaning Layne but the other women on the ward were applauding which was embarrassing. I never make a scene at a restaurant if I get the wrong order, I’ll just eat what I’m given but seeing Layne crying abandoned in her bed made me nuts. The catheter came out as did the IV and I got her dressed. Of course there was no wheel chair available to get her out.

Then the administrative person showed up. I said you want me to pay you in US dollars but you won’t communicate with me in English? No translation of your letter? Fine.  I’m paying in Suriname dollars. Work out the bill and give me a proper invoice like a real business. I gave her my email address and I’ve heard nothing more. Yet. So every day I go to the Republic Bank ATM and withdraw US$500 on each of our debit cards. Fucking crazy. I’m almost half way there to paying their bill. 40 Suriname to one US and the largest bill is $12 (below). $4000 in twelve dollar bills? Are you sure you want to live in a cash economy to evade the Federal Reserve? I have better things to do with my time. 

So I walked Layne slowly off the ward with goodbyes from the other five women patients. They told Layne (out of my hearing) she had a good man so I don’t want you to think I was demanding special treatment or trying to take nurses away from caring for others. I wanted them to put patients first and I’ve seen exhausted overworked nurses and there were none of them in that hospital of paper pushers sitting around chatting and laughing. 

Anyway that’s the whole story and Layne is now catching up on her sleep. What we do next isn’t clear. Her discharge papers are in Dutch of course so we will have to find a doctor and go from there. We have permission to be in Suriname till October 25th and similar for the apartment so we have time to rest and complete any treatment she may need. No hurry now that she is off the ward at Academy Hospital.

GANNET2 at home.

Update Thursday morning:

A private clinic. English spoken. They take Visa. It will probably cost the earth but I hope it’s worth it.