Final thoughts & thanks

I really enjoyed helping take care of the children down here. I was surprised at the variety of cases that I saw. Of course, there were plenty of cases of asthma, viral URIs, tinea and newborn checks but there was some other real interesting stuff mixed in too. I didn't see as much tropical diseases as I anticipated. Some days were very busy with numbers seen in the 20s. Other days were a little slower and my last day at Port Antonio only two children were brought to the Friday pediatric clinic but I did get a chance to meet and get to know several people while waiting (Jamaican networking).

I also witnessed a bizarre incident driving into Port Antonio to pick up some others at the health department (usually we aren't the only ones being driven to and from work). As we were slowly driving toward the town square, an old lady crossing the road reached down, picked up a baseball sized rock, reared back, yelled at us and then threw it at our truck. We all saw what was coming and our driver ducked behind the steering wheel. With a loud thud, the rock bounced off the front windshield. Fortunately, nothing was damaged. The lady continued on but we stopped because there was a police officer on the side walk. I couldn't understand the animated discussion but I think the officer was telling the driver "What am I going to do? Arrest that mad lady?" I believe she was mentally ill. It's one of those things that I don't think I'll ever forget-- a walk-by stoning from a Jamaican elderly lady. And I also don't think I'll soon forget talking to all these different drivers on these long drives around the beautiful country side.

Considering a case that was most memorable...I think maybe the 19 month old girl with Down's syndrome that had some major cardiac defects seen on an ECHO about a year prior. Mom had gone to the Cardiologist appointment in Kingston like she was supposed to but she never got the follow up phone call with instructions that she was told she was going to get. Despite Mom giving the heart failure medications as prescribed, the child had worsening failure to thrive at this visit. The cardiologist was unable to be reached so we tried to refer her again. She may need cardiac surgery but another ECHO and specialist visit first before making that decision. I hope she's able to be taken care of soon.

Before I leave tropical paradise to go back home to flooding and tornado damage, I just want to thank all who help make this possible and give to help this next generation of Jamaicans. Hopefully, more help to soon follow. Thanks to Diane who was always a phone call or a quick email away to help. Her passion for the children here is so evident. I'm thankful for the help and the teaching from the local doctors especially the two pediatricians, Dr. Ramos and Dr. Fisher. Finally, many thanks to the most hospitable and warm staff for the royal treatment I received here at the hotel the past month.

I wish that I could stay much longer. This has really been a great experience and I hope to return to Jamaica soon.

Last thoughts on my extra last day with Issa- April 2011

Ok, so my flight was cancelled and I got an extra beautiful day in Jamaica. How awesome is that!

So this is likely my last blog. My last week was short but still great. Monday was Easter Monday, a holiday, and Friday I got the day off to finish and do any last minute things before I left.

On Tuesday, I saw about 30 kids. It was like the post holiday/school's out rush as the week before there were only about 20. Tuesdays at Port Maria clinic has been the busiest days this month. You average about 25 patients. David and I figured out that maybe on those days we should both go to the clinic so that people who are there from 8am aren't getting too upset when they are still there at 3pm being seen.

The picture above (taken with permission from Mom) is of a little girl I saw twice this month. Initially she came in for recurrent oral thrush and a neck rash that looked like tinea versicolor. She was on the appropriate medications and mom was using it correctly so I was a little curious as to why it hadn't been getting better. I asked mom about her history (was worried about maybe some immunodeficiency, HIV etc) and sent her to get a CBC. Of course blood work wasn't being done that day so mom was suppose to come back to see me once she got the results and to continue using the medication.

As is obvious in the picture, this child also had a large head. She had already been sent to have a head ultrasound for hydrocephalus, even though there had been no documented hydrocephalus or even head circumference in the chart...EVER. Mom reported that the ultrasound was normal.

On Tuesday, mom returned with the CBC results and a bottle of medicine that she said the child had been on daily since January for a vaginal discharge. It was Septra. This baby had been on antibiotics since January for what it didn't sound like was a UTI or any type of VUR; The reason for the continual use was nothing more than a miscommunication. Mom was told to give the medication until it was finished (something we may say to our patients if we wrote a prescription for a specific amount). Unfortunately, she was given a large bottle of the medication and it was not finished. Her CBC was not grossly abnormal except for a slight anemia but I felt I knew the culprit for the recurrent thrush (I hope). So I had mom discontinue the antibiotics and return in 1-2 weeks.

I also did a head circumference and would like her to have serial head checks because unfortunately mom cannot afford a CT scan right away. I do not feel that this child's head is normal and fear that it will progress until she starts having sunsetting of her eyes (they are, as is obvious in the pic, already large and somewhat bulging). She is currently developmentally normal and a delightful child. Because this was weighing so heavily on my mind I asked the pediatrician at Annotto Bay on Wednesday what he would do. He recommended just referring her to Neurosurgery in Kingston and letting them sort out imaging. Great advice! I would never do that at home because for a referral to neurosurgery I would likely need imaging to prove that a neurosurgical problem exists and not just a referral for macrosomia. Would like to know that this baby continues to do well.

On Wednesday and Thursday we saw a lot fewer patients at Annotto Bay than usual. We finished both days a little early and were excited that we may get to return to the hotel earlier to do some activities if possible; That didn't happen. On Wednesday, we had a detour to the garage the hospitals use to work on the vehicle's brakes (pic above is the garage). On Thursday, our transportation that the hospital arranged for us was in Kingston and we ended up waiting for about 3 hours since they had delays getting back.

My final thought: Many of the problems here in Jamaica with health care stem from lack of resources. As you read blogs you hear about a hospital with no mechanical ventilators, makeshift CPAP, no sub specialists, labs that cannot do urinalyses, clinics not equipped for pelvic exams. They are all needed but aren't things that we can readily provide. However, there is one area I feel that we can leave an imprint in addition to our service. At Port Maria, the only vital taken is a weight. There are growth charts up to the age of 2 with only weight on SOME of the charts. I did not see them in the charts at Annotto Bay or Port Antonio BUT at Annotto Bay, all vitals incl temp are done and we were provided a copy of full growth charts (birth to 20, females and boys, wt, length and HC).

Maybe we can work to integrate full growth charts in EVERY chart as well as encourage full measurements incl temp, BP (age over 3 and would require they have the appropriate BP cuffs), HC, RR and weight. By doing this we could pick up the infants like the one admitted at Annotto Bay with meningitis at all the centers (the infant was clinically normal, mom came for well infant/newborn check and this was only identified because of a fever documented in clinic). We could avoid things like referral for 2 children who 'look thin with ribs showing' when they are growing well (50-75th percentile) and likely having more rapid height gain and from missing children that are failure to thrive because they have not been plotted in their last few visits. This is just my 2 cents and hope that maybe we can accomplish that.

Thanks again to Diane and Couples resort/Issa Trust Foundation for an amazing experience.

Last days in April

So I have somewhat of a potpourri of things to write so I will probably break it down into 2 blogs...one patient related and one not so much.

As I looked back on my month I have been super blessed for this opportunity. I thank Diane and the trust for it.

Things might be helpful for the next group:

1.PLEASE MAKE sure you walk with toilet paper and something to dry your hands. Some of the bathrooms are equipped with toilet paper, most dont have anything to dry your hands.

2. If you are a light sleeper walk with ear plugs....if you are not use to the island sleeping there are crickets and frogs that chirp all night (for most you just drown it out). Also, if you are in the inside room its a little closer to the road so you may hear an 18 wheeler trucking by once in a while (none of these are problems if you arent too light of a sleeper)

3. If you are in the clinic and you want to admit a child you refer them to A&E (ED) department!

4. There are 2 types of referral forms...an interfacility referral white form (form B) and a triplicate copied referral BOOK for outside referrals (i.e all pediatric specialists, most of which will be in Kingston at Bustamante Children's ; this is referral form A)

5. You can get laundry at the resort done without cost ( I washed many small items in my room

and then big things with the resort)

6. Get familiar with the drugs and their concentrations..Qvar inhaled spray I think is 100mcg, I had never used chloramphenicol eye or ear drops and it was not found in any epocrates so I had no idea the dosage initially. Same goes for their analgesics. DPH cough medicine IS diphenydramine as well as a brand..so plain DPH is benadryl then there is DPH cold that would have an expectorant in addition to benadryl. It is widely used for colds from birth onward.

7. Pediatrics is anything under 13 yrs old. All the children older than that stay on the adult floors/wards.

8. Vitals arent very common at Port Maria. They do a good job at Annotto bay but you only get a weight at Port Maria.

9. If possible do tours outside of the resort. IF you are adventurous the zip line and boblsed ride is fun. There is a blue mountain bicycle tour as well as some rafting tours. I enjoyed Dunn's River falls.

Hope this is helpful

Eye openers

So I expected certain things traveling to a “third world” country but some things I still found surprising so I thought I would list some of the eye openers on this trip.

1. A pediatric ward with a pediatric attending trained in critical care (ICU) that accepts as a regional referral center having no mechanical ventilators.
2. I heard a report of hospital ERs with no antiepileptic drugs like dilantin to stop a seizure.
3. Residents here are on call nightly for 3 nights or more in a row. (and I thought every 4th or 5th night call is bad as a resident)
4. All the hospitals in the northeast region with laboratories that have no ability to perform microbiology labs/cultures.
5. Send out labs that result by mail sometimes taking 4+ weeks to receive the results.
6. In the settings we were exposed to, a seemingly majority of foreign doctors providing care working long hours for comparatively little.
7. No land-line phones in some hospitals so doctors must use their own cell phone credits to call regarding patient care.
8. Often after making a diagnosis that requires a specialist care, if a specialist is available, obtaining transportation is often not feasible.
9. A hospital with a pediatric ward staffed by medical officers doing shift work with little pediatric training.
10. IV amoxicillin

Also at times I felt like I was taking care of the indigent in the inner city back home so similar problems still remain despite more resources or more health care dollars.

Last week of April 2011

This blog is LONG overdue. As the last week rolls around its only fitting that I write SOMETHING.

For the last 2 weeks I have to say that many of the patients seen have similar ailments as you would see in the US except probably alot more tineas. However, there has been a few cases thrown in that were interesting.

On one of the days we rounded with the pediatric team, we had a 9 year old boy who came in after having his first time seizure the evening before. Per reports the seizure happened during his sleep. Its funny I got a slightly different story from the boy (I'm thinking the way I phrased my questions probably werent the best). Anyway the going diagnosis was possible benign rolandic epilepsy. It's the right age group and description but of course without the EEG available it is something that will need more occurrences before a firm diagnosis is made.

In the clinic we also saw an infant with diffuse papular lesions on his face and extremities. The infant was very uncomfortable and scratching. Dr Ramos, one of the pediatricians, called us in to see the infant and asked what we thought. It really looked like maybe a scabies type infestation but more papular. He described it as a papular urticaria seen in response to insect bites. It made so much sense as he pointed out that the lesions were only in the areas that were uncovered when the infant slept. I have seen insect bites but never a reaction so widespread before. It was great to have someone show us things that may not be as prevalent at home.

There is one other case, more unfortunate than anything else but may help any one else who encounters a similar case and don't know how to proceed. I saw a 12 year old girl in the clinic with her mom. Per mom she had been complaining of vaginal itching, foul odor and 'bumps' for about 3 days or so. She did tell mom that she had her first sexual encounter with a 16 or 17 year old boy although he didnt 'go all the way in'. Turns out she had what appeared to be primary herpes outbreak. At home we would call our Child Assessment team and they would get right on it since the girl is a minor (under 16 here). However I was not sure how the system worked or who to inform and it became somewhat frustrating since I did not know the protocol. However, I got in touch with the Child and Mental Health nurse and the matron who assisted me in the protocol-----in essence you refer the child to the A&E department (Emergency room) where the hospital's social worker and the assault division of the police department can get all the information and deal with the case. Its imperative to get all that information and sometimes even admit the child for observation to obtain these things because most houses dont have addresses like we do in the US and also most families do not have phones. So for fear of the family disappearing (not intentionally) you may have to admit a child just to get all information sorted and proper treatment.

On a lighter note, we were able to have extra time off this week for Easter (both Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays). I was able to go Mystic Mountain and try the bobsled rides as well as the zip line...it was fun! If anyone comes for Easter, you can show how much you know about Jamaican culture by mentioning 'bun and cheese'; this is a tradition that involves eating a 'bun' (looks like fruit cake) with cheese in the center for Good Friday. The resort had some as desserts so David, my coworker, was able to try it.

I must say that everyone I have encountered have been so warm and welcoming. I feel I have inherited a new family of sorts with the workers here. It saddens me that I soon have to leave.

Fans

On tropical medical mission trips, the use of fans, if available and working, accomplishes at least 3 things:

1. Lessens the distraction to patients caused by sweat dripping from your face.
2. Decreases the diagnosis of asthma because listening for wheezing becomes, well, impossible.
3. Causes the impromptu transformation of nearby objects into paperweights for medical records and other papers blown onto the floor.

So thankful for fans!

Pimping at Annotto Bay

I’ll explain the blog title in a moment…

The past two Wednesdays I’ve had the opportunity of rounding with the pediatric attendings and residents on the inpatient ward at the Annotto Bay Hospital. The wards here are separate smaller buildings spread throughout the hospital compound connected by a breezeway. The “Pedi” ward houses both neonates and children in one modest, open room. Lately the census has been about 8, but they can accommodate many more. Although they accept referrals from outlying hospitals, the resources at Annotto Bay are limited as well. For example, they do not have mechanical ventilators. Neonates born in respiratory distress are placed on oxygen by CPAP. One of the residents explained that this is accomplished by placing an endotracheal tube into the nose (but not into the lower airway) and then attaching tubing that on one end is hooked to oxygen and on another end to a plastic bottle of water to humidify the air. I observed a baby on “CPAP” and it seemed to work quite well. If the baby’s respiratory status worsens, then it’s the resident’s job to call around to other “higher level” facilities to see if any ventilators are available. Most of the time, unfortunately, there are none or the other hospitals can’t accept the transfer. “So we hope for the best here,” the resident said. Occasionally, critically ill patients are airlifted to the children’s hospital in Kingston if arrangements can be made. I can only imagine being the resident on a 50 minute helicopter flight hoping that the aminophylline you’ve given is stimulating the baby’s respiratory drive enough to keep him alive until you get there.

Rounding with the team was helpful in gaining insight to how they manage care in the face of limited resources. Another example: microbiology labs are not available at any of the 3 hospitals that we visit. Cultures are sent out to other remote labs but only on limited, certain days...if transit is available. The process, however, is very unreliable and often the specimen is rejected when, or rather, if it reaches the lab due to it being “out-dated.” Urine cultures seem rarely possible unless the family can afford to pay for the test at a local private lab. Neonates admitted for concerns of sepsis receive empiric IV amoxicillin (this is not a typo) and gentamicin and if the baby does well the antibiotics are stopped after a few days, usually without any culture results.

Rounds were also helpful to observe how doctors are trained here. Doctor Fisher led rounds the first week and Dr. Ramos this past week. The patient presentations and the teaching style were almost identical to rounds back home. If a neonate had poor feeding or jaundice the residents were asked for all of the possible causes or a “differential diagnosis.” The questioning did not end until a list of all possibilities was exhausted. Other topics that required in-depth questioning included the signs and symptoms of congenital hypothyroidism, causes of failure to thrive, causes of newborn hypoglycemia, and all of the possible causes of low APGAR scores, that’s right, all of them. We discussed the expected pathological findings of a cranial ultrasound in different patient circumstances. Then it was on to the next patient (seriously). Another topic discussed at length was neonatal resuscitation drugs. Residents were not only expected to know the drug and when to use it, for example, nalaxone for respiratory depression from opiate intoxication, but also for dosages, route of administration, inappropriate routes of administration, preparations of the medication and even what the vials of the medications looked like. None of what was asked seemed malignant but rather important for the trainees to know because here the doctors and residents are the ones starting all lines, obtaining all lab work, and responsible for these medications in code situations. In our U.S. training, we often rely on others such as pharmacists or nurses to be responsible for some of these things. I was impressed with the fund of knowledge of both the pediatric attendings and residents.

I asked one of the residents if they had a name for when the attending asks questions during rounds to teach and to see what they know. He did not know of a name for this. I also asked Dr. Ramos, who trained outside of Jamaica, if he knew of an expression for this. He also did not know of one.

At U.S. medical schools and residency programs this teaching style is universally known as “pimping.” The attending will ask questions or “pimp” the residents and students to evaluate their fund of knowledge and to teach where deficiencies are exposed. The use of this word in this context is usually limited to the verb tenses (i.e. the attending is not a “pimp” during rounds). I asked both of them if they had heard of this term before. They had not. Well, I must say that here in Jamaica that I participated in one of the most intense pimping sessions that I’ve ever witnessed. Who knows, maybe in Jamaica the term will catch on.

I better do some more reading before next Wednesday.

The Start of Week 2

So we had our last 2 days in Port Maria. Since it is 2 of us we usually split up with one going to A&E and one in the clinic. However, on Monday the medical records department are striking (this was a surprise to everyone working there) and so we both were asked to go to the clinic since they were short staffed in A&E.

We saw alot of rashes including a pityriasis and likely lichen striatus that David saw (he got the cool stuff).

Today, I went to A&E and David managed the peds clinic. I took some toys to the pedi ward and it was like water in a desert! Everyone including some staff wanted to grab toys for their children. All of the 'play' areas are devoid of toys or anything for the children to play with and I now can see how appreciative they are. I'm not sure how long those toys will actually last on the ward but at least I know temporarily they have something to play with.

Over the last few days i've picked up some lingo I figure I might share. When they say they are rattling in their stomach....stomach actually means chest and belly is stomach.

Today was the first I heard that a child had 'short wind' aka rapid respirations or shortness of breath.

Clinic was very busy today...I think there may have been about 30+ patients because David saw I guess around 23-25 and I picked up another 5-7 at the end when I got through with A&E.

Saw a few URIs, overfeeding, scabies, laceration on the face (felt absolutely awful while suturing this kids wound because the sutures available were 0 to 2.0 with HUGE needles!!), pharyngitis and overflow incontinence, more scabies, eczema, constipation, wheezing and asthma follow ups.

Off to Annotto Bay tomorrow.

First Week with Issa

Hi all,

I am also a resident from the University of Tennessee. I am 4th year Med/Peds. I am SO Blessed to have this opportunity to come and work with the people of Jamaica. It has already been quite a week.

I had a rocky start getting here with delayed flights and lost luggage. It was a good thing I came a few days before starting work. It is absolutely calming and tranquil here and the people at the resort are very welcoming and accommodating. The food is plentiful, to be modest, and I now feel I have to work out twice a day on weekends.

We spent our first 2 days in Port Maria, the next 2 in Annotto Bay and the last day in Port Antonio. At Port Maria for the first 2 days I worked in the Health Clinic.

I saw the general run of the mill cases like viral illnesses, lots of tineas, candidal vulvovaginitis and complaints of worms. Many of the parents expected medications for their children's 'chest colds'. Down here cough medicine is DPH and that's not a brand name. It is actually Diphenhydramine. I spent some time educating the families on the ineffectiveness and detrimental effects of cough medicines. Most were receptive, a few didn't seem too happy.

The first day I saw about 16 patients, which was hard because I had to stop every minute to ask how things were done and what was available. The second day I saw 25 kids. In our residency, we never get to see that many in our continuity clinics because you have to check out to a superior etc so I was amazed that I could see that many in 6 hrs. I had a few pneumonias and a teenager who came in for many different complaints including vulvovaginitis, anxiety attacks and irregular menses. My interesting case of the day was a set of siblings who came in for generalized itching for 3 weeks after they were swimming in a river. I was SO out of my element because that differential is broader with tropical diseases esp ones transmitted from river water. They do have leptospirosis down here but the symptomology was no where close to that. Could it be schistosomiasis, or some other parasitic infection? I treated them as best I could and recommended they returned if things worsen or did not improve.

At Annotto bay I worked in the A&E department one day and the clinic the next. The clinic was mainly well child visits. It appears that about 3-6 weeks after birth the children are seen by a physician for an examination. After that they receive their "well child checks" at the health clinics with nurses and thereafter see a physician if they are ill. This is unlike our American system where the physicians are the ones doing the Well child visits.

You also are required to draw your own labs and start your own IVs. So far the children here have been spared from me but I do look forward to maybe perfecting those crafts. The most interesting child I saw at the A&E was a referral for a possible glomerulonephritis. The patient had no previous illnesses but was noted to have swollen legs and face prior to admission. I was very excited about working the child up and reaching a diagnosis, however many of the labs such as complement levels, renal ultrasound and maybe urine electrolytes were not available at that hospital.

At Port Antonio, it was a very light day with only 4 children on the ward and 6 total in the clinic (3 seen each by David and I). Two of my 3 cases were referrals for orthopedic issues that I unfortunately could not help. One was a beautiful 4 month old with club feet. The parents do not have the transportation available to get to the referral hospital. I hope they find a way because I am sure with braces she will correct well. In the meantime I tried to recommend a temporary way to get her feet to straighten by recommending buying stiff shoes that ae a direct fit.

While we were on a tour of the facilities (Port Antonio sits on a hill overlooking a lagoon) we got called into A&E to look at a chest xray of an 18month old boy who at a glance looked quite well. The xray looked like he had a whited out R lung with a mediastinal shift to the right and elevation of his right hemidiaphragm...looked like a possible foreign body aspiration. He had to be transferred to Kingston. He was still out in the yard of the hospital playing when we left, definitely in no distress and a little bit of a lady's man already.

All in all this week identified the biggest obstacle to care in the area....resources. There are few physicians and few resources available to a poorer population that arent able to travel very far for optimal care. I'm looking forward to what the remaining weeks will bring.

April Rotation

I'm a 3rd year pediatric resident from The University of Tennessee in Memphis. A couple of my colleagues have already done this rotation and have really enjoyed the experience and I'm glad to have been given this opportunity as well.

Arriving before the start of the work week, I had a couple of days to relax and enjoy Jamaica… 48 hours of rest here felt like a week off. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so rested in all of residency. I was able to SCUBA dive to a coral reef and I saw a variety of aquatic creatures such as a sting ray, sea turtle and lion fish.

The food is delicious and I've eaten several things I've never heard of before such as naseberry and star apple. The temptation to try all the different types of fresh seafood, fruits and other delicacies offered here resulted in several return trips to the buffet line. Fortunately there is a gym here.

Monday I worked at Port Maria Hospital A&E (accident and emergency) dept. Away from the main patient area inside, a small exam room was prepared for me outside with a door that opened to a walkway. In front of this door, families lined up on a bench partially shaded by a breezeway, awaiting their turn. Without a formal orientation, I was escorted to the room by a nurse and kinda winged it. This week has required some acclimation to their healthcare system, learning what resources & medications are available, as well as how to access those resources.

In just 2 days at A&E, I treated a wide variety of classic pediatric cases such as herpetic gingivostomatitis, radial head subluxation, vitiligo, bacterial cervical neck lymphadenitis, hand, foot & mouth disease, etc.

One young child returned to A&E with a plain film x-ray of his hand. Four days earlier he smashed his finger at school and when he was seen that day at A&E his finger was wrapped up and he was referred for x-rays. His finger looked horrible from the crush injury. The lacerated, necrotic distal end of the finger could be easily separated from the underlying bone. This time he was referred to an orthopedic specialist which will require a trip to another hospital. I’m afraid he may have complications. I wonder if in the sea of patients to be seen, some things don’t get the necessary attention that they really need.

The patient flow was interrupted momentarily when a nurse asked if I would give my “expert opinion” for the staff medical officer on a child admitted in the hospital. Knowing the bench of families was ever-growing, I quickly saw the patient, reviewed the case and wrote a pediatric consult note for the doctor in the chart. The reason for the consult? The doctor was concerned about dextrocardia in a toddler who was admitted for pneumonia and otitis media. But the chest x-ray was shot at a slightly rotated angle giving the illusion of possible dextrocardia. A quick listen to the chest and heart sounds were fortunately on the appropriate side.

After this, the patient flow was again interrupted during a period when I was waiting to discuss an x-ray I had ordered with one family, have a nurse help me cleaned and bandage a wound, and get the weight of an infant so I could prescribe the appropriate dose of antibiotics (mom lost the slip of paper she was given at triage with the weight and vitals). My previously seen patients and the nurses seemed to have vanished. The remainder the bench was becoming restless. I couldn’t figure out where everyone had gone until I found a doctor who informed me that a motor vehicle accident had just occurred in front of the hospital and the curious went out front to look at it. Eventually they all came back.

My last patient at Port Maria was a 4 year old boy that was brought in with lab results to rule out rheumatic fever. I don’t believe he has RF but a CBC did show that he had a normocytic anemia with a hemoglobin of 8 (low). He also had a loud heart murmur that I don’t think can be explained by a simple flow murmur from anemia. His older sister has sickle cell disease and polycystic kidney disease. There are no newborn screens here, so it is very likely the boy has sickle cell anemia also given his lab findings. To test for this, a hemoglobin electrophoresis test must be performed at a private lab. This is a relatively simple blood test but mom will have to pay for this test since it isn’t covered under the national health insurance. I also referred him for an echocardiogram but this has to be done at another hospital which is quite a distance away. Transportation will be an issue as gas is expensive here (almost twice as much to fill up a tank than in the U.S.). She also showed me a referral form from last year for a CT scan of her daughter’s abdomen to image the kidneys. This will cost her roughly $475. It is unlikely that she will have any of the money to pay for these studies since the family has relatively little income. Mom has not given up hope, however. “They will get done somehow,” she said. I hope so too.

Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Allen, ON, GCMG, CD, Has Been Named Patron of the Issa Trust Foundation - PR.com

Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Allen, ON, GCMG, CD, Has Been Named Patron of the Issa Trust Foundation - PR.com