We went to the "health department" (more or less a government run health clinic) at 7:00 a.m. and got in line. It's quite a process--there were already 20+ people in the line waiting for a "consultation" with the doctor. The problem was that there wasn't a doctor, so the line didn't really move. We weren't concerned about waiting--it's normal for this country. What we were concerned about was that we could wait and then find out we were in the wrong place.
Suffice it to say, we finished the process about 12:30 and the result is that Stephen got a tetanus shot. Unfortunately, they don't have the rabies vaccination on hand. Instead it has to be requested from the main office. Unfortunately, the main office doesn't always have it on hand. We are supposed to call back tomorrow to see when they will have it. Both the doctor and the nurse indicated that since he'd already had two doses, it wouldn't be dangerous for him to delay the next dose.
While we were in the middle of this process, we talked with someone from the church and they called Dr. Colato, one of the private doctors in the church. Dr. Colato then called a colleague who specializes in infectious diseases. As of now, Stephen has an appointment with this doctor at 3:30 this afternoon, and based upon what Dr. Colato told us, he has the vaccination available in his office. The difference is that we will have to pay for the shot versus it being free if we get it in the health department. We aren't concerned about the cost (although our insurance doesn't work here); we prefer that Stephen stay on the suggested protocol and receive the shots on the suggested days.
I'll post an update after we return from the appointment. We are trusting God to provide what he needs. Thanks for praying us through the process.
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