An Appointment
I get there at 9am thinking I am in good time for a meeting with the doctor who I am told is usually available at 10am. I am surprised by what I see; the waiting area is chocked with people – sick and not; standing and in wheel chairs or on stretchers. There is hardly any standing room so many more people are standing or crouched outside.
Some skittish nurses are strutting about, chatting and at intervals moving files about aimlessly as part of what seems to be a ritual to look busy. Nonetheless nothing is happening. There’s a big meeting happening someplace and though only the chief priests are attending, nothing is happening. I show the referral note to the nurses and I am told to "hang around" and wait for the doctor to come. So I "hang around" listlessly as I watch the old man’s puzzled examination of the goings-on about us. There's not much else to do anyway except actively try to block off the buzz (ocassional wailing of a child or elderly person, multiples of hushed conversations and the Nigerian movie showing on the TV) and stare at the floor.
About 11am; a rustle from beyond the hall, nurses hurrying through swinging doors. By some instinct I figure this must be ushering in the celebrated king of hearts. I accost him (just knew it was him) as he pushes through the waiting bodies; “Hello are you doctor…”. “Err...Maybe”, he replies still moving. I am not to be thrown off easily so I determine he is who I think he is and I skirt around the people in pursuit. He enters a consulting room bustling with at least 5 young men in white overalls and a few giggling females in white. I am left sharing the doorway with other pursuers. There’s no room to step inside but I intend to attract attention to myself so I ask, “May I come in?” I am hoping the answer will lead to someone making way for me to enter the consulting room. “No” is the answer. “Could I wait for you?” That’s a silly question as everyone is waiting but as is said often, desperate situations call for desperate measures. There is no answer this time but he is sporting a smirk which given the circumstances, I find encouraging.
The seeming good natured, sufficiently good looking but brash man leaves his desk. He seems to have developed a sudden need for air as he rushes through the door leading into the open air. I am hot on his heels. He stops suddenly after walking briskly some 3 minutes and turns around. I am almost panting when I catch up and I virtually push the note at him. He seems amused by my obvious naivety and asks me to give the note to the nurses.
Its midday now and the nurse has just asked me to go and get a card. From the cage that holds the man producing the cards I look over the waiting hall. Those with long necks have stretched them full height while those with shorter ones are standing on their toes in an attempt to hear their names mentioned by any of the roving nurses. I am not certain whether the extra height aids hearing; in any case once every 20minutes, 5 names are yelled out and a “y...e...e...s madam” is yelled back in response from somewhere in the room. As I wait for my card, I wonder when it would be my turn to yell.
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