It is probably a good idea to post about something that has become a significant part of my life while in Abu Dhabi. I certainly didn't envisage that I would spend much of my first six months in this country laying down on a traction table at Oasis Hospital in Al Ain! But since just after my family arrived here in November, that's what I have done.
Those of you who know me well, are aware of the considerable use I have made over the years of the New Zealand medical system. I'm one of those people who actually benefits from paying private insurance premiums and whom insurers would love to avoid. It would seem that nothing has changed much; except the country I'm now residing in. I have to count myself very fortunate that part of my contract with ADEC includes health insurance cover. And now that I've used it for a great deal of the last four months, I have to say that it has been an invaluable part of my contract. Without it, I'm not sure how I would have managed.
Just after Jason and the kids arrived in Al Ain I picked up Lily. She was being a tad naughty and twisted fractiously in my arms. Wham - my back went. I've had that feeling in the past, but this time seemed different somehow. It didn't go away after a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days. I found myself the next three nights sitting in a waiting room in the A and E section of Oasis Hospital (one that accepts our health card) unable to sit, unable to stand and unable to cope with the intense pain of my injury. I look back to the early days of utter pain; crawling around the floor in tears unable to stand. On the third night at the hospital I burst into tears and begged for some greater strength pain relief. They took me seriously thank goodness; but it did take three goes to get my point across as to how much pain I was in. They whisked me into a room, gave me two injections of Tramadol and a plethora of medication to help me cope in the next few days. They also referred me to an orthopedic surgeon at another local hospital (NMC). I ended up off work for a couple of days (or so I thought) and the orthopedic surgeon was very, very keen to open up my back and operate.
After an emergency MRI scan the jury was in - I had a prolapsed disk with significant damage, resting on my sciatic nerve. The MRI even shocked me - that disk was completely out and not going back in in a hurry. No wonder I was in such horrific pain. More shots in the butt later, I decided to ask for a referral to the Oasis Physiotherapy before even considering back surgery. The surgeon was clearly disappointed, but agreed I could go and play with that a little...
The thing about the medical system here is that when you go into hospital (they don't have regular doctor surgeries to visit) they are keen to test you for everything and provide you with a bucketful of medication as a take-away gift. Any reference to a headache will probably land you with a CAT scan and possible prognosis of a brain tumour! Ok, so maybe that's a little hyperbolic, but you get my drift. You can even head off to the local pharmacy (around the corner from us) and purchase antibiotics over the counter. Even better, you can do it on someone else's behalf! I've managed to secure both Ben and Jason with medication to hit their ailments without a prescription or doctor in sight! Don't worry mum, we're careful...
So back surgery, I thought was a little too over-the-top. I ended up with an appointment at Oasis and met the two most wonderful physios you could ever meet. Both South African and boy was it nice to speak to another western face (there are not that many in the medical profession here...). Marietta and Corlia have been the two most important people in my life for the last 4 months. They have tried everything and done anything imaginable to get me better. With my positive attitude to healing we've become a great team. When I couldn't sleep at night, the traction room let me snooze for 20 minutes. I've been on the traction machine hundreds of times, had dozens of dry-needles in all parts of my legs, back and bum, had a wonderful heat - pack applied to all parts, ultrasound and even more interesting was the electrotherapy! You name it, we've done it. They've loved having me to try things on and to learn from. I've got a fairly significant pain threshold - they're amazed at why I'm not screaming in agony when they do certain treatments. But when I do let them know about my pain they certainly take notice!
Oasis is an interesting place. At Christmas when I was regularly going it was awesome to have Christmas trees and decorations and staff wishing you a very merry Christmas. This might seem odd in a Muslim country that does not celebrate Christmas. But the history of the place gives some insight into why this hospital lives up to its name; Oasis.
Around 50 years ago the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was concerned about the infant mortality rate and the mortality rate of women in childbirth in the region. Women were dying due to poor medical facilities and support and of course babies were also affected by the lack of resources, cleanliness and childbirth practices. So, being quite a visionary, he contacted a couple who were doing great work in other places in this area. The hitch was that they were Christian. He invited them to come to Al Ain and check out how they might make changes to the situation. They told him they would be happy to help, but that they would insist on being able to practice their faith in doing so. He was cool about it. So Oasis Hospital, a missionary hospital, was created. Subsequent to this it has served the community well. All the Sheikhs and their families have been born there and the mortality rate of mums and bubs has declined rapidly. The place is currently undergoing a face-lift and wait times, in reality, are still less than what we'd have to do at a hospital in NZ.
At times, when I've been in real agony, the two physios and their traction room have been the only thing to keep me sane. At the worst, I was getting 2 - 3 hours of pain-filled sleep each night. I would pace up and down the apartment in Al Muwaiji Village trying not to wake the others and desperately waiting for the hours to go by so that I could take the next course of medication. I can see why people become addicted to that stuff. At work I was a space-cadet. I ended up having to take another week off work, and then fortunately after another couple of weeks was off for Christmas holidays. Not being able to pick up my children was hard, and just managing in everyday life became difficult. I couldn't sit,couldn't stand, couldn't lay down and couldn't walk far. So you can imagine how hard it was to be able to just exist.
I'm much better now though. I've avoided the surgeon's knife for now. I got a second opinion from a nice Western doctor at Oasis...only to find out that indeed with the damage I've done I probably am a good candidate for an operation. But he also supported my decision to go the physio way. I'm now pleased I did go that way. Corlia has been working with me now for ages, and the progress has been great. I'm still not right nor ever will be really. I still have leg, bum and ankle pain. I'm allowed to walk in water and in a straight line on a treadmill - but that's the extent of my exercise regime right now. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get back to some semblance of normality?
Until then, I'm happy to keep turning up to my oasis at Oasis. It is my time to relax, unwind and focus on healing myself. No kids, no noise, no distractions...just peace, quiet and two very lovely women who have made my life better here. Ever the optimist, I'm just pleased that I've had great care in a time that could have been really difficult.
Those of you who know me well, are aware of the considerable use I have made over the years of the New Zealand medical system. I'm one of those people who actually benefits from paying private insurance premiums and whom insurers would love to avoid. It would seem that nothing has changed much; except the country I'm now residing in. I have to count myself very fortunate that part of my contract with ADEC includes health insurance cover. And now that I've used it for a great deal of the last four months, I have to say that it has been an invaluable part of my contract. Without it, I'm not sure how I would have managed.
Just after Jason and the kids arrived in Al Ain I picked up Lily. She was being a tad naughty and twisted fractiously in my arms. Wham - my back went. I've had that feeling in the past, but this time seemed different somehow. It didn't go away after a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days. I found myself the next three nights sitting in a waiting room in the A and E section of Oasis Hospital (one that accepts our health card) unable to sit, unable to stand and unable to cope with the intense pain of my injury. I look back to the early days of utter pain; crawling around the floor in tears unable to stand. On the third night at the hospital I burst into tears and begged for some greater strength pain relief. They took me seriously thank goodness; but it did take three goes to get my point across as to how much pain I was in. They whisked me into a room, gave me two injections of Tramadol and a plethora of medication to help me cope in the next few days. They also referred me to an orthopedic surgeon at another local hospital (NMC). I ended up off work for a couple of days (or so I thought) and the orthopedic surgeon was very, very keen to open up my back and operate. After an emergency MRI scan the jury was in - I had a prolapsed disk with significant damage, resting on my sciatic nerve. The MRI even shocked me - that disk was completely out and not going back in in a hurry. No wonder I was in such horrific pain. More shots in the butt later, I decided to ask for a referral to the Oasis Physiotherapy before even considering back surgery. The surgeon was clearly disappointed, but agreed I could go and play with that a little...
The thing about the medical system here is that when you go into hospital (they don't have regular doctor surgeries to visit) they are keen to test you for everything and provide you with a bucketful of medication as a take-away gift. Any reference to a headache will probably land you with a CAT scan and possible prognosis of a brain tumour! Ok, so maybe that's a little hyperbolic, but you get my drift. You can even head off to the local pharmacy (around the corner from us) and purchase antibiotics over the counter. Even better, you can do it on someone else's behalf! I've managed to secure both Ben and Jason with medication to hit their ailments without a prescription or doctor in sight! Don't worry mum, we're careful...
So back surgery, I thought was a little too over-the-top. I ended up with an appointment at Oasis and met the two most wonderful physios you could ever meet. Both South African and boy was it nice to speak to another western face (there are not that many in the medical profession here...). Marietta and Corlia have been the two most important people in my life for the last 4 months. They have tried everything and done anything imaginable to get me better. With my positive attitude to healing we've become a great team. When I couldn't sleep at night, the traction room let me snooze for 20 minutes. I've been on the traction machine hundreds of times, had dozens of dry-needles in all parts of my legs, back and bum, had a wonderful heat - pack applied to all parts, ultrasound and even more interesting was the electrotherapy! You name it, we've done it. They've loved having me to try things on and to learn from. I've got a fairly significant pain threshold - they're amazed at why I'm not screaming in agony when they do certain treatments. But when I do let them know about my pain they certainly take notice!
Oasis is an interesting place. At Christmas when I was regularly going it was awesome to have Christmas trees and decorations and staff wishing you a very merry Christmas. This might seem odd in a Muslim country that does not celebrate Christmas. But the history of the place gives some insight into why this hospital lives up to its name; Oasis.
Around 50 years ago the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was concerned about the infant mortality rate and the mortality rate of women in childbirth in the region. Women were dying due to poor medical facilities and support and of course babies were also affected by the lack of resources, cleanliness and childbirth practices. So, being quite a visionary, he contacted a couple who were doing great work in other places in this area. The hitch was that they were Christian. He invited them to come to Al Ain and check out how they might make changes to the situation. They told him they would be happy to help, but that they would insist on being able to practice their faith in doing so. He was cool about it. So Oasis Hospital, a missionary hospital, was created. Subsequent to this it has served the community well. All the Sheikhs and their families have been born there and the mortality rate of mums and bubs has declined rapidly. The place is currently undergoing a face-lift and wait times, in reality, are still less than what we'd have to do at a hospital in NZ.At times, when I've been in real agony, the two physios and their traction room have been the only thing to keep me sane. At the worst, I was getting 2 - 3 hours of pain-filled sleep each night. I would pace up and down the apartment in Al Muwaiji Village trying not to wake the others and desperately waiting for the hours to go by so that I could take the next course of medication. I can see why people become addicted to that stuff. At work I was a space-cadet. I ended up having to take another week off work, and then fortunately after another couple of weeks was off for Christmas holidays. Not being able to pick up my children was hard, and just managing in everyday life became difficult. I couldn't sit,couldn't stand, couldn't lay down and couldn't walk far. So you can imagine how hard it was to be able to just exist.
I'm much better now though. I've avoided the surgeon's knife for now. I got a second opinion from a nice Western doctor at Oasis...only to find out that indeed with the damage I've done I probably am a good candidate for an operation. But he also supported my decision to go the physio way. I'm now pleased I did go that way. Corlia has been working with me now for ages, and the progress has been great. I'm still not right nor ever will be really. I still have leg, bum and ankle pain. I'm allowed to walk in water and in a straight line on a treadmill - but that's the extent of my exercise regime right now. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get back to some semblance of normality?
Until then, I'm happy to keep turning up to my oasis at Oasis. It is my time to relax, unwind and focus on healing myself. No kids, no noise, no distractions...just peace, quiet and two very lovely women who have made my life better here. Ever the optimist, I'm just pleased that I've had great care in a time that could have been really difficult.
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