Dear friends -
First of all, thank you for allowing me to repeatedly intrude on your privacy with my presumably boring details of a life lived in Saudi Arabia. I admit that my meanderings have kept many of you interested, not the least because you enjoy my style of writing, but mostly because you care for my well-being, and this is what touches me all the time.
In addition to your collective concern and prayers, the One who rules the world, call Him what you will - Allah, God, Ishwar, super-power, Energy - also cares for my well-being. In my last entry, I shared my dejection with you all as I was being held back at Missan for another week ... and every week spent away from my own place in Al Muwayh is a week spent away from home, no matter that it is still in foreign country, that it is in a desert, that it is in a place that is very, very hot compared to Missan (which has a super cool climate) - is still away from home.
Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when the powers at the Muderiya in Ta'if gave in to my genuine concerns and decided to send another pediatrician to replace me at the very beginning of the new week starting last Sunday. Dr. Zahrani, who is the man in charge at the Ta'if Health directorate, listened to me when I spoke to him the previous week, and agreed to allow me to return to Al Muwayh. He sent a pediatrician from Zalm to replace me.
Hence, on Sunday, I was in better spirits. I completed my ward rounds, and did all my work with a new-found enthusiasm and energy. Also, I went around the hospital and said my good-byes to all the doctors and nurses I have come to know and like in the hospital.
The hospital's admin sent me on to Ta'if with a Saudi person Mr. Mishaal, who works in Missan but stays in Ta'if. This is the same man who had taken me to Ta'if on my last visit to Missan. He simply left me outside the Health Ministry's garage instead of facilitating the reservation of the next vehicle to take me to Al Muwayh. It was then up to me to go and meet the guy in charge Mr. Gazi and ask him to assign a vehicle and a driver to take me back to my village.
Mr. Gazi is a middle-aged person who is emphatic and strong, but it was a problem even for him to arrange for a car and driver as this is, after all, Ramadan, and the drivers had disappeared instead of staying on duty. I had to wait for the driver for two hours. Ultimately, a young man did come and he was assigned to me, but, as he later told me, he was not actually a driver but an office worker, and he agreed only on the condition that he would get two days' leave in lieu of performing this duty ... and because, as he told me, he wanted to do somthing "good" in the holy month.
Ugghhh ... I thought, but on the whole, Mr. Abdul Rehman Otaibi, as he is called, turned out to be a nice man and he continued to chat with me all the way while driving at the usual Saudi speed of over 160 kmph.
I reached my house at about 5 p.m., and decided to skip the night shift at the hospital as I had to do a lot of things to tidy up my home, wash my clothes, iron them, cook some fresh food, purchase some stuff from the super-market, etc. I did visit the hospital after midnight, and met the ER staff there, including Dr. Measser and a new Sudani female resident Dr. Aasiya. After an hour or so of being with the staff etc. I returned home to end the day with blessed sleep.
That's it for now ... continue visiting, reading, advising, commenting and praying ... for me.
First of all, thank you for allowing me to repeatedly intrude on your privacy with my presumably boring details of a life lived in Saudi Arabia. I admit that my meanderings have kept many of you interested, not the least because you enjoy my style of writing, but mostly because you care for my well-being, and this is what touches me all the time.
In addition to your collective concern and prayers, the One who rules the world, call Him what you will - Allah, God, Ishwar, super-power, Energy - also cares for my well-being. In my last entry, I shared my dejection with you all as I was being held back at Missan for another week ... and every week spent away from my own place in Al Muwayh is a week spent away from home, no matter that it is still in foreign country, that it is in a desert, that it is in a place that is very, very hot compared to Missan (which has a super cool climate) - is still away from home.
Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when the powers at the Muderiya in Ta'if gave in to my genuine concerns and decided to send another pediatrician to replace me at the very beginning of the new week starting last Sunday. Dr. Zahrani, who is the man in charge at the Ta'if Health directorate, listened to me when I spoke to him the previous week, and agreed to allow me to return to Al Muwayh. He sent a pediatrician from Zalm to replace me.
Hence, on Sunday, I was in better spirits. I completed my ward rounds, and did all my work with a new-found enthusiasm and energy. Also, I went around the hospital and said my good-byes to all the doctors and nurses I have come to know and like in the hospital.
The hospital's admin sent me on to Ta'if with a Saudi person Mr. Mishaal, who works in Missan but stays in Ta'if. This is the same man who had taken me to Ta'if on my last visit to Missan. He simply left me outside the Health Ministry's garage instead of facilitating the reservation of the next vehicle to take me to Al Muwayh. It was then up to me to go and meet the guy in charge Mr. Gazi and ask him to assign a vehicle and a driver to take me back to my village.
Mr. Gazi is a middle-aged person who is emphatic and strong, but it was a problem even for him to arrange for a car and driver as this is, after all, Ramadan, and the drivers had disappeared instead of staying on duty. I had to wait for the driver for two hours. Ultimately, a young man did come and he was assigned to me, but, as he later told me, he was not actually a driver but an office worker, and he agreed only on the condition that he would get two days' leave in lieu of performing this duty ... and because, as he told me, he wanted to do somthing "good" in the holy month.
Ugghhh ... I thought, but on the whole, Mr. Abdul Rehman Otaibi, as he is called, turned out to be a nice man and he continued to chat with me all the way while driving at the usual Saudi speed of over 160 kmph.
I reached my house at about 5 p.m., and decided to skip the night shift at the hospital as I had to do a lot of things to tidy up my home, wash my clothes, iron them, cook some fresh food, purchase some stuff from the super-market, etc. I did visit the hospital after midnight, and met the ER staff there, including Dr. Measser and a new Sudani female resident Dr. Aasiya. After an hour or so of being with the staff etc. I returned home to end the day with blessed sleep.
That's it for now ... continue visiting, reading, advising, commenting and praying ... for me.
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