Ah chance to see again

Bright and early Sat-dey morning, ah heard someone at my gate calling: “Ellick! Ellick!” Is only one villager who does call me “Ellick” instead ah Ah-lick, and dat is Vibert.

Ah didn’t expect to see or hear ah voice like his so soon because, he was suppose to be in hospital having surgery done to his eyes. Vibert literally went blind nine months ago, he had developed cataract in both eyes and had to be led from place to place.{{more}}

So he bin waiting months foh dem I-Doctors from de USA, who does come hey every year, as part of the Lion’s Club “Eye Care Project.” Ah overs dat dey deal wid only I and I matters Opticians, Optometrists, Opthalmologists, and dey bin coming hey foh de last thirty years, providing free I-care service, fitting glasses, performing I- surgery, removing cataracts etc.

Dey all tek vacation and come hey to wuk widout salary. Dey pay dey own passages, dey hotel accommodation, dey bring glasses and medication; and hundreds ah Vincentians flock de clinics daily foh free examination, free glasses, free surgery and free medication. I-medication is big bucks, ah vial ah I-drops foh Glaucoma in SVG is $98.00.

Dis year ah 26 member team came and spent ah week, among dem was ah nutritionist and ah dermatologist, dis is ah tremendous initiative by de Lion’s Club.

Somehow when Vibert called, ah cents urgency in his vice, immediately ah thought dat maybe his surgery wasn’t done, and he came to come-plain. On de contrary, he was dey gleefully to share de good news wid me. He had de surgery done to one eye on Thus-dey, and by Sat-dey morning he was able to see again. He will nurse de one eye until next year when de team returns to have surgery done to de next eye.

Like it was good news all round, in particular foh three brothers in de village wid eye problems. Andre “Sweet-man” Mc Kie had his second cataract removed, he now has vision in both eyes; my name-sake, Jimmy had work done on one eye and will receive laser treatment later on; and of course Vibert, he get “ah chance to see again.”

Pinchum, de best ‘dress’ sanitation worker, was on Nice Radio giving his testimony dat he too, had gone blind, he had surgery done by de same medical team, he too, get “ah chance to see again.”

Lie-Za was dey every day, she does not have ah sight problem, except her vision is ah bit twisted, but knowing her, she went to P-eye way going on. She informed me dat over seven hundred patients were examined and received treatment, 150 candidates were lined up for surgery, but only 58 were done, de doctors did not risk doing de more delicate operations using de out-dated machine we have at de Milton Cato General Hospital.

Lie-Za wants to bet dat we are de only country in de OECS wid ah piece ah obsolete equipment like dat.

But alas! Dey’s good news, great hope! De team has promised to secure and bring ah more up-dated piece ah (laser) equipment foh SVG when dey return next year. And ah local doctor has been I-dentified to be trained to use de equipment. Wow, Thank yuh Doctors! Yes ah thanking de Doctors because ah not certain dat at de official level, much recognition or appreciation is given to de volunteers. Lie-Za say ah must remember dat we have de Common-nest Guv-ah-mint in power and dey does get excited and vocal only when de eggs come from de common-nest.

But behind all ah dis volunteer wuk, conditions at de Hospital stinks! Hospital Officials upset because de Kaisonian who wuking dey sing say dat, once yuh go dey wid an emergency dey telling yuh “Sit down and wait!” Dey’s much truth in dat statement, ah will not call names to get people in trouble, but when is not ah case ah “no medication,” is “no Oxygen” or “no sterilizing equipment.” De hospital roof leaking; de new cat-scan machine is more down dan up.

Ah patient told Lie-Za she took ah MRI report dat was done hey over-seas, and de specialist over-seas folded it up and threw it in de waste paper basket. We have no die-all-assist machine; what is happening wid de diagnostic centre being built by de Cubans at Georgetown?

Wasn’t dat suppose to be finished two years ago? What is disturbing is dat yuh have two doctors sitting in Cabinet. Is it ah sign ah disrespect to de citizens foh de Pry-minister to have Tom-son, ah medical doctor as Financial Add-vice-sir and Dug-he, ah nuddah medical doctor as de Min ah Far-rain Ah-phase, two square pegs in ah ….-hole! May de Lord have mercy pon we.

NICE KAISOS DIS YEAR

De Kaisoes dis year are among de best in years. De only thing bad is dat de authorities still cant come to grips wid hard Pee-Kong, de spirit ah Carnival. Why on earth do dey bother to ban Kaisoes? When de season is over nobody really wants to hear dem.

Lie-Za say she likes Joy-C and dis year, Brother Ebony sing like how I does write; time he get rid ah “He-bunny” and sing bout de men in Par-liar-mint dat: “Fri has ah Day; Lee has ah Cock-I; Linton got Low-waist; de Speaker Hen need ah Drake; both Stevens got sons; Olive get hair; Ralph Gun soft but de A.G. got More Gun; is time foh Dan stop yell because dey’s ah bug-in Clayton dick-shun; Saboto balancing on ah Sea-saw; Yuh se de satanic demon at de Arnos Vale Round About? is Cess Mek-he; Vinny fraid-tricks and Arm-in use tusk to de-solve An-easier problem; guess who “big? ah-me,” de Senator wid four woe-men to his name Julie, Ann, Fran, Cess!

And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.