Back on two feet... (with apologies in advance for the photos)

Having got back from my holiday trip across Flores, I can now report that I’ve had a few visits to the outpatients’ clinic in the hospital to have a rather nasty leg wound dressed. This was as a result of a (previously unreported !) fall during our holiday while staying in the traditional village of Watu. While sitting in our host’s home, I asked where the toilet was. I was told it was “di belakang” (behind) but unfortunately they omitted to tell me that it was also “di bawah” (below) by about 4 metres. As a result, I walked around the back of the house in the pitch dark and promptly descended the 4 metres rather more rapidly than is to be recommended. The next day I had two sprained ankles and more cuts and grazes than I could count (toes, feet, both legs, both hands, one shoulder, head and nose), all of which rather restricted my mobility for the rest of the trip, to put it mildly.

However, all started healing well with the exception of one large but shallow leg wound which started to show signs of infection just after I arrived back in Maumere. 

 I resorted to the traditional Indonesian remedy of a heavy dose of antibiotics (one of the advantages of working in a hospital) and it started to show signs of improvement but then deteriorated again so I went along to the outpatients’ clinic to be seen by one of the hospital surgeons. Another five day course of antibiotics was prescribed (along with two other unidentified medicines) and a rather cursory wound cleaning was followed by the application of a lump of gauze. 

 My former colleagues in Smith & Nephew would be horrified by this (as I was) and I spent the next three days dreading the removal of this dressing (along with the accompanying skin, scab etc.) as the wound was still quite wet. After a repeat of this, I managed to get hold of two film dressings and decided to self medicate at home and I’m pleased to report that all is well now and healing is well underway.

Anyway, during this treatment, one of the milestones in every volunteer’s placement took place. This was my “final placement visit”, arranged by our programme manager at VSO and attended by her, a number of members of the hospital staff and me. During a VSO placement, each volunteer is required to submit a quarterly report outlining progress towards the agreed objectives and reporting on obstacles, successes and challenges. The final placement visit is an opportunity to review what has been achieved and discuss what could have gone better (and why). I found it a very useful and interesting exercise and it was encouraging to hear some of the comments from hospital staff about achievements and changes that they can see that I had either not noticed at all or had not considered worth mentioning !

Having a “final” placement visit really brings it home that my time here is almost at an end, and this was reinforced by the subsequent arrival in my inbox of plane tickets and a list of instructions from VSO about leaving my placement, arranging an exit permit etc. (you can’t just turn up at the airport and get on to a plane, you know!). So, it’s all fixed, I leave Maumere on Tuesday 8^th June and spend three nights in Bali, with a formal exit interview on Thursday. I’ll also be helping out with some briefings for a group of new volunteers who are due to arrive that week. I leave Bali on Friday 11^th, arrive in London on Saturday 12^th, and plan to be back in Ireland on or about Tuesday 15^th June.