Muslim Outtakes Blog

A jab, a hug and a prayer: Social healthcare maybe not a bad word October 23, 2009

I am not sure if anything prepares you for a long distance journey to a hospital but I feel compelled to share an interesting experience. I learnt that my 79 year old mother was in critical condition after surgery and removal of her Gall Bladder. I looked for the earliest flights out of San Francisco to Manchester, England and was shocked to see that not only had the prices not come down from the summer peak, but it would cost around $4,000 for a round-trip ticket on all the major airlines. My return was unknown, so I instead looked for a one-way ticket. Talk about sticker shock it was $7,000. I became a travel-agent for 24 hours looking online and calling the airlines and finally found something for over a thousand on American Airlines.

SFO Airport

I left home on the first storms of winter. After an hour and a half in line at SFO Airport I learnt my American Airlines flight via Chicago, had been transferred to U.S. Airways. Due to construction I had to make my way outside in the pouring rain to terminal two. Once there I learnt that I wouldn’t make the connection through Philadelphia. Back to Terminal three and I don’t want to join the line again which now looks like a good two hour wait. I ask a customer service rep. and she tells me it is ok to go back to the agent who had helped me. The agent starts looking through other options and she can’t find a flight. I tell her it’s urgent; My Mom is in critical condition in the UK and I need to get there. Soon the adjacent agent is also helping in. A passenger waiting in line starts becoming impatient and thinks I have cut in line and starts complaining loudly. I feel hot under the collar but not sure what to do. The agent finds me a Delta flight through JFK, and I am only too happy to leave the terminal for the walk back through the pouring rain.
The flight is uneventful and after a short rest in Manchester I head to the hospital with my father.
My mother is in a post-op ward at Manchester Royal Infirmary, MRI. It is a huge complex which combines five other hospitals for children, eye, maternity and others. My mother who is frail, was hooked up to an I.V. and had an oxygen mask on.

Surgery at Manchester Royal

 She has a catheter hooked up on the side of the bed. She seems to recognize my voice but doesn’t look at me. I don’t know if she can see properly. So starts the daily routine of visiting MRI at 9am in the mornings till 9pm at night. The staff are very friendly. My father tells me about the Multi-faith center which is in a new wing of the adjacent hospital. It is a God-send as I can comfortably go and offer three of my five prayers there. I bump into other staff, doctors, visitors and patients when I go there.

Over the week I get to talk to doctors, staff, patients, and even the chairman of the hospital. Some interesting observations and fascinating insights. On the doctor rounds I am surprised to see a large presence of Indian doctors. There are also Indian nurses too. When they are on shift is sometimes helpful to cross the language barrier for my mother. I feel bad, that after living in the UK for almost 50 years, my mom doesn’t speak English. My unofficial role is that of translator and helping my mother whenever I can. I also provide daily updates to my father and family when they come. It is not a difficult task as these are short bursts of activity. The rest of the time I either go and pray, open up my laptop and try to catch up on a writing project, or just chat with patients, staff, and visitors who come.

Over the week I get to meet different doctors on the rounds. The head of the department is a stately gentlemen Professor Ajith Siriwardena. He has a warm presence and I get the feel that he listens. I also get to meet the surgeon Mr. Aali Sheen. I find it amusing that after studying and working so hard to be doctors when they become surgeons they join the common ranks of being a “Mister.”

Aali Sheen

Mr. Sheen is a youthful man from London and full of energy. I bump into him once in a while in the hall way. He asks me if I think of my self as a Mancunian (ie from Manchester) or a Californian. I try to be P.C. and be vague. He then asks me if Obama’s healthcare initiative will get passed. I have been out of touch since I left, but give my two cents. It didn’t seem likely after all the backlash from the right, health care industry and even some Democrats. On another walk, he comes out of surgery in his blue suit, and turns to me and says, “you know if I was in the US, I would be a millionaire.” I tell him it’s not too late. He frowns at me disapprovingly, “I believe in social medicine.” We separate ways and I think to myself now here is a man with a mission. Perhaps a lesson or two we can learn not only in America but the rest of the world.

The array of nurses and assistants is a whole army organized in regimented color-coded uniforms. Along with them are the pharmacists, therapists, tea-ladies, janitors, and other support roles. Although they all do a gallant job, I am very impressed by a few. There is Daphne Gordan, a Jamaican Clinical Support worker. She knows how to get a smile from my mom. She tries to build that human rapport which most of the other staff is too busy to deal with. Then there is Sherry, an English woman who is married to a Pakistani police officer. She is a bundle of energy and although doesn’t appear to be high up in the nursing ranks, takes a lot of initiative. She understands both cultures and is a big help.

The ward my mother is in has seven beds. Most of the patients are senior citizens but as patients change there a couple of young women also. For privacy I have changed the names of the patients. To the left of my mother is Mary. She is 94 years old and has come in from a nursing home. I try to help her when I can and really feel for her, as she doesn’t get many visitors. Her husband passed away a while ago and she has buried two of her grown children. Her remaining children seem to be busy with their lives. A niece and granddaughter do occasionally come. Diana, a twenty something woman does get her family and boyfriend visiting her. Each time I ask, she is waiting for a scan. Maybe she has had it now but they are still trying to diagnose the cause of her abdominal pains. Pat, is a young student who has come in and will be discharged shortly. Catherine seems to keep an eye on all the patients. She has been in and out of hospital for many years, but outwardly looks in good health. They can’t line her up for her surgery so she will come back when a slot is available. She too had lost a grown son. She talks about loss and shows me a photo album. I ask her about grief and she says sometimes you don’t need to say anything, just a hug will do. However English culture is low-touch, it is a rarity and not looked upon well. Catherine says when she taught kids, they would come and want to hug her. It is hard to deny them a hug, but for legal reasons people have concerns. Coming from a hi-touch hugging culture I feel sorry for anyone who is deprived of the feeling of touch, especially the young and elderly.

So where does this leave the healthcare debate?

Manchester Royal and Hospital Complex

A healthy debate on any major initiative is good. However, all I can say is that the national healthcare system is one of the great assets not only of the UK, but of any society. On one of my many walks to the multi-faith center, I saw an interesting moving collage outside the building. I was curious as to how these tiles rocked back and forth. Lo and behold I bump into the chairman of the hospital, Peter Mount.

Peter Mount, MRI Chairman

 Dressed in a suit he is the ultimate manager, who is keeps in touch by walking around the campus. We talk about the bay area and then healthcare. I learn that all the hospitals combined serve over a million patients a year and that this hospital complex is the largest in the country. It is literally a Billion dollar project. Regardless of size, it is the care and availability to all the population without worry about insurance that is the gem that the National Health Service is. Although we in the US are still a world leader and innovator in health care, it is high time to bring the 40 Million plus uninsured into the ranks so that we don’t become a nation of have’s and have-nots. I hope my mom gets well soon so I can go back to California. Home is as the adage goes where the heart heart is.