A wealth of experience.

So, I'm delighted at how many geeks there are out there bothering to read this (I can see how many times my site has been viewed, now who's the geek?!) and really touched by the comments you're leaving.
It's weird though because in some ways I don't feel like I'm touching on what's really happening or what I'm thinking or feeling about things. But that's because I'm not really sure yet what I think or feel about things. So it's hard to write it down.
Last week we went for a quick drive outside of the hospital. One of the girls was explaining that 50 metres down the road from the hospital, running water stops and at 100 metres electricity stops. So for many of my patients, the house I described as basic, is in fact luxurious.
And today I had a trip to Welfare, which is the local social services. Once a week, one of the doctors goes there to decide which patients get disability grants. There are really no hard and fast rules about who should get them and it seems very much up to the individual to decide what makes a patient deserving of the money. I found it hard watching patients ill with HIV and TB being turned away as they had already had 6 months DG. Especially in the knowledge that for many families, one person's DG is the only income they have. I fear that I am going to be the weakest link in Welfare.
I joked a lot before coming out about this year making me a 'better person', but I think it would be very difficult to come back unchanged from this experience. And I certainly don't think that's a bad thing.