“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.” ~ Joyce Meyer
I spent a day in a South African hospital last month, with my new friend Siphewe. I had the opportunity to meet her when I arrived this year.
Siphewe was involved in a car accident in the Bongani area of the Township on December 24. Christmas Eve. She had put herself in a compromising situation that unfortunately left her with painful consequences. With 6 people crammed into a car, no seatbelt and a driver under the influence, the car in which she was traveling struck a concrete wall. Siphewe was thrown around and broke her back. She was the only one injured.
Afraid he would be in trouble with the law, the driver and the other passengers removed Siphewe from the car, called an ambulance and left her on the side of the road. These people were her friends. Or so she thought. The police were not called. No report was made.
Siphewe woke up in the Kynsna Hospital with no recollection of what had happened. Her friends tried to convince her that she fell down a flight of stairs. They did not want their secret revealed. And although Siphewe lay there on a hospital bed with a broken back, her friends continued to cover for the driver. She eventually started remembering the events that took place before the accident and was able to put the pieces together.
I met Siphewe in January, because her family had been struggling to have enough food to eat. She is a 30-something year old woman with her elderly mom, an 18-year old daughter, 18-year old nephew and his pregnant girlfriend, and 21-year old niece all living together in a 2-bedroom concrete home with a shack in the back. Because of her broken back, Siphewe was unable to work. Therefore, shy on money. I was asked to deliver some food to her family.
The day I met Siphewe, I liked her. She is very sweet. Quiet. Kind. I could tell she was in pain as she sat on the couch with a back brace, softly talking with me. She had just been released from the hospital the week prior to our meeting. As we talked, she mentioned that she was scheduled for a follow up appointment at the Hospital in George (1-hour away). I told her that when the time came, I would be happy to drive her. I couldn’t imagine her riding in a packed taxi with a broken back. (A taxi is a 15-passenger van)
Well… my experience in the South African Public Hospital was a true lesson in patience!
Here in South Africa, 84% of the population (45 million) poor, mainly black women, men, and children rely on government health care. People pay for services based on income. These state facilities are often over-burdened and under-resourced. The remaining (9 million) people are medical scheme members (those with medical insurance). These people have access to good but very expensive private hospitals. These centers are more efficiently run and less busy. The quality of care in this two-tier system varies drastically.
I experienced the first. A government run hospital. And it was like nothing I have ever seen.
Siphewe had a scheduled appointment with a doctor at the hospital for 8:30 a.m. I picked her up at 7:00 a.m and we drove a little over an hour to the hospital in George.
I parked the car and we walked in to the main lobby before 8:30. We were on time. But it didn’t really matter. It was packed! At least a hundred people or more were already waiting. Then I noticed the strangest thing. Everyone that was seated would get up together and move to the next seat. Over and over again. It was a huge queue of chairs. So, we got in line. Sitting, standing and moving over to the next seat at the appropriate time with everyone else.
After 1-1/2 hours, it was finally our turn to go up to the desk. We made it! Little did I know that this line was just to pick up her file. Next, we were to go upstairs to see the doctor. Ok. Good. Let’s go.
As we got off of the elevator, there was a line of people in wheelchairs down the hall (in the wheelchair waiting area). We walked past them to enter the waiting room full of dozens of people again! I looked at Siphewe, I could tell she was hurting. After all, she has a broken back!! We found seats and sat there quietly as did everyone else. Waiting our turn. Waiting our turn a little longer. Waiting our turn even longer. Then her name was called… 4 hours later. Yes, 4-hours after getting upstairs to where the doctor’s office was located, her name was finally called. Woohoo, here we go. Siphewe walked into the office, closed the door behind her and was back out within 2 minutes. What? How can she be finished already? We waited 5-1/2 hours for a 2 minute exam?
Haha. No. “We must go downstairs to get an x-ray”, she told me in her quiet voice. Well of course. I figured she would need one. This was, after all, a follow-up for a broken back. Really? They couldn’t have sent us to x-ray first? It took, at this point, a 5-1/2 hour wait for a doctor to tell us to go get an x-ray.
While I was trying to be patient, Siphewe was patient. This is how things are done here. Nothing out of the ordinary. Go from this line to that. Sit, stand, move over.
Downstairs to x-ray we go. You guessed it. Another line. This one was only 1-hour though!
My patience was really running thin when I found out that our next step was to go back upstairs to see the doctor that we had waited so long to see earlier. He needed to look at the x-ray and determine what to do next. What if we have to wait another 4-hours for him? Fortunately he only kept us waiting for about 30 minutes this time. He prescribed some pain medication for Siphewe and basically told her it would just continue to heal on its own. To keep wearing the back brace and return in another 6-weeks. Wow, all that time for the doctor to say, keep doing what you’re doing and come back and repeat this process again soon.
More than ready to leave, I escorted Siphewe back downstairs to the main lobby. Before we got to the front door, she said we needed to stop at the pharmacy in the hospital to get her medicine. I bet you can guess what I saw when we got there. Yes… another line! One more hour of waiting.
8-hours for a scheduled appointment.
As I sat there agitated and frustrated with this ridiculous process… Siphewe, the one with a broken back and in so much pain, exhibited patience and grace. She had received care. That is what mattered.
Sitting, standing and moving over a seat. Never complaining. ~Tracy Cooper
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