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.
Showing posts with label waiting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label waiting. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Monday, August 11, 2014
Everything takes longer here
As I have mentioned before, everything takes longer here in El Salvador. There's no such thing as a quick trip to anywhere. Today was a perfect example.
The last two times we flew into the airport here and went through the immigration line, the agents have pointed out that our 3-month temporary residency cards were about to expire (8/19/14.) Going to the immigration office to pick up our new cards was tricky this summer. They tell you that you can start checking to see if the new cards are available within a month of their expiration. Unfortunately, we were in the states from July 18-31 and then were only home one day (August 1 and the offices were closed for vacation) before leaving for Costa Rica.
So, we decided that today was the day to see if they were ready. If they weren't ready, we would still have a week for them to get them ready before our other ones expired. We left after the morning rush hour and were sure to take our passports and other documentation; we drove directly to the location and . . . . . it had moved. The building was repainted and the parking lot was empty--no sign on the door telling us where the new office was.
Where it used to be:
It took more than an hour and various phone calls to pin down the new location. Turned out that it was within walking distance of the former location, but, of course, we didn't know that at the time.
Where it was today:
By now, it was noon--thankfully, they stay open during lunch, albeit there are fewer employees available to help. Even though there was only one person ahead of us, it still took over an hour. My guess is that they printed up our cards and paperwork while we were waiting.
Good news is that we walked out of the office about 1:15 p.m. with our 9-month "permanent" cards that are good until June 26, 2015.
The last two times we flew into the airport here and went through the immigration line, the agents have pointed out that our 3-month temporary residency cards were about to expire (8/19/14.) Going to the immigration office to pick up our new cards was tricky this summer. They tell you that you can start checking to see if the new cards are available within a month of their expiration. Unfortunately, we were in the states from July 18-31 and then were only home one day (August 1 and the offices were closed for vacation) before leaving for Costa Rica.
So, we decided that today was the day to see if they were ready. If they weren't ready, we would still have a week for them to get them ready before our other ones expired. We left after the morning rush hour and were sure to take our passports and other documentation; we drove directly to the location and . . . . . it had moved. The building was repainted and the parking lot was empty--no sign on the door telling us where the new office was.
Where it used to be:
It took more than an hour and various phone calls to pin down the new location. Turned out that it was within walking distance of the former location, but, of course, we didn't know that at the time.
Where it was today:
By now, it was noon--thankfully, they stay open during lunch, albeit there are fewer employees available to help. Even though there was only one person ahead of us, it still took over an hour. My guess is that they printed up our cards and paperwork while we were waiting.
Good news is that we walked out of the office about 1:15 p.m. with our 9-month "permanent" cards that are good until June 26, 2015.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Last Day of February
Paying your rent early because you're going out of town--Good. Paying your rent on the last day of the month--Not so good. Taking a number at the bank and realizing there are more than 60 people ahead of you--Bad. Waiting for an hour at the bank to deposit the money in our landlord's account--only in El Salvador.
Tomorrow morning early we fly to San Jose, Costa Rica, for another evangelistic campaign. We haven't been there since last March! We will be spending one night with our former host family and then joining the groups from the states on Saturday.
Guess I will be baking on Friday afternoon and/or Saturday morning because the family has requested Snickerdoodles and an apple pie.
Tomorrow morning early we fly to San Jose, Costa Rica, for another evangelistic campaign. We haven't been there since last March! We will be spending one night with our former host family and then joining the groups from the states on Saturday.
Guess I will be baking on Friday afternoon and/or Saturday morning because the family has requested Snickerdoodles and an apple pie.
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