The Dr was quite a comedian, which initially allayed our fears of having a surgical procedure in Manila. He joked, loved that we were from the San Francisco bay area, asked us the name of the "gay" street - Castro! - and let us know he would do the surgery right then and there in his office as he liked us. We didn't sign any waivers, he didn't ask any questions, such as was Adam allergic to any medications, and brought us into the exam room, joking that most white people want to get general anesthesia, but that would cost double - ridiculous! When he left the room (presumably to wash his hands) I asked the nurse/secretary if there was a sterile drape for the exam table. She smiled and adjusted the plastic mat, smiled again and left the room...we aren't sure how many "surgeries" were done on the mat. The good Dr was extremely congenial. He asked if I was OK with the sight of blood and then asked if I'd like to video the whole procedure to post on You Tube! (I did film it, but it's not for the faint of heart)
He returned with a syringe, some gauze, a scalpel blade sans handle and some gloves. He took a look at the foot and told Adam it would only hurt like a pinch for the local anesthetic, and then pinched Adam hard on the arm. Adam was quite green about the gills at this point... the Dr then immediately injected right into the foot, then donned the gloves. While Adam was asking how long it would take for the drug to take effect, he poked the scalpel into the wound and started cutting away quite merrily. He kept up a hilarious dialogue, occasionally asking Adam "do you feel this?" then showing me how deeply he was sticking the blade into Adam's foot! He would hold up the blade for the camera and smile, and get back to it. Adam was holding my hand, and kept a good game face. The Dr then started singing "Under Pressure" by Queen, which I chimed in on for the chorus. The Dr finished sawing away, wrapped up Adam's foot and then gave handed Adam the bloody scalpel blade as a souvenir, which dripped on his nice work pants. I said maybe I would make a necklace for him...
He then finished the procedure by punching Adam's foot repeatedly like a boxer to demonstrate the effectiveness of the numbing medicine, all the while joking away. At this point, I think Adam was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the local medical system. We then signed the consent form, paid a large sum of pesos in cash (which seemed a tad shady) the Dr gave us some after care instructions, and told us to come back on Monday (which is a national holiday, so we aren't sure if the offices will be open...)
I don't even know what else to say about this other than if you come and visit us, we will do a private screening of the video. Adam has a great drinking story now, and we're only 23 days into our two year contract... The foot looks better, we do have a friend who's a nurse from CA and I'm going to ask her to make a hospice visit, however Adam isn't too keen on anyone getting too close to his foot. The little kids are keeping him on his toes so to speak, as they have no clue why daddy's foot is all bandaged up.
Hope you're all doing well, we're still safe & sound in the hotel. Typhoon Katring was supposed to hit today, but so far nothing. People here are quite cavalier about typhoons, much like most Californians are about earthquakes. We did get our visas & passports back, and got an update that our shipment should arrive early next month. Hotel life is OK, the kids have a touch of cabin fever. It seems like there's construction going on constantly, day and night, above & below us - we wonder if ours was the only floor that was completed in the tower???
What a trip!
Bahala na - H-A-S-A
I'm queasy just reading about it. What caused the infection?? This whole Philippines experience is not for the faint hearted. Big kisses to all. mendogrami
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