May 11th, 2019
Just a quick story about an injury. Not really a big deal but none the
less a different kind of method and outcome.
Leaving camp this morning the road was a 4 lane divided national
highway. I had a choice, ride against traffic for 50 meters or ride
away from my direction for the day and then turn around at a crossover.
I started to ride against traffic and decided it was a bad idea and
turned around. As I did so a car came out of a driveway and forced me
to turn onto the sidewalk. I missed the turn a little and had to grab a
metal post. The top of the post was jagged and rusty. It tore my had
deeply for about an inch and a half. Not fun.
What do I do. I put a band aide on it and rode to find a pharmacy. In a
couple of blocks there on the right was what I wanted. I entered and
asked if they spoke English. I explained what had occurred and the lady
asked to see the damage. It was not pretty, but she persevered. A new
style of bandage, antibiotics and a tetanus shot were prescribed. Soon
she had all that was needed. Asking her male assistant to administer the
shot, she put the bandage on the hand telling be to change it in 2
hours and apply the antibiotic cream. He took me into a private room
and administered the shot. All this in about 15 mins and at a cost of
less than $20.
In many countries pharmacies do much more than in the US. Often more
like a mini urgent care facility.