Reflection

As you've seen, I've kept my blog postings mainly about my fun travel adventures in and around this amazing country.  I keep work stuff out of this blog, one, for privacy reasons out of respect for my patients, and two, I try to keep this blog pretty positive, and wouldn't want this to turn into a rant on my bad or stressful work days.

But I was walking home from the grocery store yesterday (Yes, I live within a 6 minute walking distance to a cafe, a grocery store, AND my work, how great), and I thought it was really time I blogged about my experiences here regarding the earthquake last month in Christchurch.

Of course, all of this may seem subdued after the mass destruction going on in Japan at the moment, but being a part (albeit small) of the relief efforts has really impacted me.

I was at an orientation meeting when the quake hit.   I didn't hear the news until later that afternoon at my pharmacy orientation, where all the pharmacy staff members were glued to the TV.  The next day at work, a primary care management system was already in place.  Per government orders, we would be accepting any patient that came to our door that was a Christchurch refugee (Blenheim is 3.5 hrs from CC). The government provided no cost visits and no cost meds for CC patients for the 2 weeks following the quake.

I wasn't anywhere near the front line, mind you.  I wasn't amputating legs or rescuing people from the rubble or even suturing cuts..... but what I was doing was what I do best--- providing primary care to those folks who left Christchurch, for whatever reason- whether it be because their house was demolished or they had no power/water, or they were just too frightened to stay in such an unstable place.

These past two weeks, I've had at least 2 or 3 CC refugee patients on my schedule everyday.  Most of the time it's just been to refill their blood pressure medicines or get them another asthma inhaler.  Easy stuff.   But, being a primary care doctor, I have an interest in their whole body wellbeing, so I always made sure to ask how they're doing.   Some said "fine" and were out the door with their prescription in 5 minutes, others shared their stories with me.  

Like the family who lost their third home in 14 months- first due to violence, second demolished in the September quake, third demolished with the February quake.  The kids had to evacuate from school, and didn't get back to their house, so obviously they were without their asthma inhalers and eczema creams.  The kids literally had the clothes on their back, and that was it.  Many NZ children don't wear shoes to school, so they didn't even have shoes when they came to see me.  A Maori organization funded their ferry ride to the North Island-- they were headed to Napier to get a fresh start on life.

Or the elderly woman who was evacuated from her nursing home and relocated to one here in Blenheim--- the NZ Air Force came in and took the residents away on Hercules planes!  This lady is normally wheelchair bound due to significant arthritis, but she boasted to me how she boarded and exited that big military plane on her own two feet, without assistance!

Or the woman who needed refills----her home had minor damage, but she couldn't get in touch with her doctor, as her doctor's office was in the CTV building, and she was pretty certain her doctor didn't come out of the building alive.  I checked the list of victims last week- she was right.

Some people are having trouble sleeping, others can't escape thinking every small bump or thump may be another aftershock or earthquake, even now that they are 300 km's away from Christchurch.

I have more stories, but I think you get the point.  At first I felt so helpless being so far away from the "action."   I wanted to help and provide my medical expertise where it was needed.  But what I'm finding out is that I'm probably needed most right here where I am.... helping many of these healthy people stay healthy, and helping those emotionally suffering get the care/meds/counseling they may need, and helping them get as much back to normal as possible- by encouraging regular sleep, eating, exercise, and NOT watching the TV news 24/7.

New Zealand is a tightly knit country, so even with the massive damage, I have faith the city of Christchurch (and its people) will heal.

I came to New Zealand for an advenutre, but never in a million years did I think I'd be helping the people of a disaster stricken city recover physically and emotionally.  Even though I'm hours away from ground zero, I do feel I'm making a difference, one patient at a time.