Upon arrival we were asked by Penghulu to look for 2 people, Abe Halim for assistance. Imagine arriving at the kampung knowing nobody and looking for help. It was back to basics courtesy and social skills. We had to do it anyway, though it was never a favourite part of anybody to sort out things yourself. We took shelter in Penghulu JKKK verandah, as the house was locked. He was away because his wife was ill having delivered an IUD few days before the flood. I went to Abe Halim's place and spoke to him about our intentions. Mind you, we have not packed out our stuff and the villagers were already waiting to be seen!
As i mentioned before half of the kampung went under water. Houses move and some totally lost everything. There was still no electricity but they were not too bad with water as they had wells within their house compound. Only 3-4 houses were not affected and during the darkest hour, became the shelter for those who stayed put during the catastrophe. They managed to get aid through helicopter drop and it was not without luck! The kampung was not charted in the TUDM map as the previous kampung was 4 km away before it was moved here. The current kampung was supposed to be the area where water should not in theory rise up as what happened to the old site kampung. Totally under water during this flood. One of the kampung folk son was in TUDM and he showed the rescuers where the exact point of the kampung. He himself came down from the helicopter with goods for the kampung folks. Otherwise, the aid would have been much later through land.
We had to kickstart our clinic operations earlier than scheduled as the crowd became bigger. They were all keen to be seen. None really serious but i reckon our presence must have given them a secure psychological impact. Even patients who we saw, it was about reassurance and mostly sharing their stories during the peak flood period. The medicine we had were basic but it was not enough to cater what was needed post flood. It was an eye opener as well to note what is important and common for post flood victims.
I must salute "tabik spring"to the KKM rural health setting in Kelantan as most old folks do get their follow up in the government clinic for their chronic illnesses like Diabetes and Hypertension. Most of them are on medication and well aware of their health status. A simple BP check for them was happiness and I believe that is why we have to participate in such mobile clinics during disaster. It is more holistic.
Muiz and I even did home visits as there was this one old lady which was scheduled for STO on the day the flood came in a rush. She was stuck and was starting to get feverish. The suture site is red and Muiz did the STO and dressing. It was helpful as well to have a small motorbike for our use. The kampung was small so we could not go anywhere further anyway.
.jpg)
And that was 2015 celebrated in a small ulu Kampung with no electricity and running water! Subhanallah.. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment