My aunt fell while she was home on vacation.
She asked me to share what happened to her at Arima General Hospital.
This is her account.
There are moments when you find out what home is actually made of.
Not the version we carry around abroad. Not the doubles we describe to friends who’ve never tasted them, or the Carnival videos we send to people who will never quite get it. The real thing. The version that shows up when something goes wrong.
Most of us who left Trinidad & Tobago have a quiet fear we don’t say out loud. We plan our trips home around it. We pack extra medication. We tell ourselves we’ll deal with anything serious once we’re back in the States. We’ve all heard the stories about the wait times, the shortages, the horror somebody’s cousin swears happened.
So we go home. We eat, we lime, we hug everybody. And we hold our breath a little.
My aunt didn’t get to hold her breath.
She was born in Arima. She’s lived in San Francisco for years. She was months into a visit home when she fell.
She’s been talking about what happened there ever since.
So I’m getting out of the way. The rest of this is hers.
I fell while I was home
My name is Jennifer. I was born in Trinidad. Arima, actually. I live in San Francisco now, and I was three months into a visit home -Trinidad – when I fell.
My nephew was with me. That was the blessing right there, because he got me to the Arima General Hospital.
What this is about is the service.
The incredible service. The extraordinary service that I received at that hospital.
They took me in
I was taken into the emergency room immediately upon arrival, and attended to.
And from that moment all the way through to my follow-up visits, the service I received has been exemplary.
Every step of the way. Every attendant who was taking care of me, from the nurses and doctors in the emergency room to the ones taking me from one part of the hospital to the next.
I can’t say enough. There are no words to describe the care that was given to me while I was there.
The doctor who didn’t go home
There’s one thing I have to tell you about.
The doctor who was seeing me was off duty. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say her name, so I won’t.
She said, “I am not leaving until you are settled.”
And she didn’t leave. She stayed with me until they sent me upstairs and put me in a room that evening.
The nurses up there. I don’t have the words to explain the care and how I was taken care of when I went upstairs.
It wasn’t only the doctors
I got an opportunity to talk to the people cleaning my room. Even the window cleaners. And I’m telling you, everybody was so courteous and kind.
My nephew put it this way. Just walking into the place, you can tell the pride that the people working there take in maintaining that hospital.
Then on my follow-up visit, the receptionist walked me from the front of the hospital all the way to my appointment area.
They’re still calling me
I’m at home now, and I’ve had my follow-up visits.
And they’re still calling to check on me.
Where in the world do you get that?
I’ll be honest about the comparison, and I hate to say it. In the United States, physicians typically spend fifteen minutes with you, and they’re out of there. The care and the knowledge I got at the Arima General does not even compare, personally, for me.
I’m feeling so blessed that I want to find a doctor in Trinidad who can take care of my needs.
What I want Trinidad to know
I know that I’m rambling. But I don’t have the words to express my gratitude for all the nurses, the doctors, and the LPNs who cared for me at the Arima General Hospital. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.
Here’s what I want people to hear.
We have doctors and nurses who are very qualified. We should not be fearful of going to our doctors. We should not be fearful of going to the hospital.
My only experience is the Arima General. That’s the one I can speak about, and I want this to be known.
But this is what I wanted said. Trust Arima General Hospital and the doctors there. Treat them with kindness. Don’t be talking ill about them. You’ve got to be kind, and you will receive kindness back.
I believe God puts people where they need to be. I believe He was working through every one of them, whether they realized it or not.
Thank you.
From the nephew
If you’ve been cared for at Arima General, Port of Spain, San Fernando, Sangre Grande, or any hospital or health center on the island, please tell us in the comments. Name the ward. Name the shift if you remember it.
And if somebody you love is putting off a trip home because they’re afraid of getting sick there, send them this.
Photo by Renaldo Matamoro on Unsplash