This morning when I walked into the surgical ward to see Victoria who was assigned there today, “Dr. Cornelia” was making rounds and checking on a patient. She turned and said to the group of nurses and doctors that the patient would need blood transfusions and that a donor (or two) was needed. The patient’s only family member was his young daughterand could not donate..I did not realize at first that she was asking someone in the group to volunteer…and it did seem that she was looking right at me! So of course I volunteered and so did Victoria.
There was no backing out as the patient’s blood type was AB (universal recipient). So the process of Cambodian blood donation ensued. First we made a trip to the hospital lab and got the okay to proceed. Then a hospital employee drove us to the Cambodian Blood Donation Center (the Cambodian version of the Red Cross, I suppose). The whole process took a bit longer than expected but the units of blood were successfully donated (Victoria’s first time to give blood!) and we received t-shirts proclaiming blood donation plus a package of red pills referred to as vitamins that were instructed to take…two a day for a week). We were then taken to the “snack room” which was quite different from the coke and peanut butter crackers from the Red Cross…It was a full meal…hard boiled egg, two small bananas, some type of pastry, coca-cola (in a can, always served with a straw), and a bottle of water! Needless to say, we did not eat it all…we did not want to offend our hostess and we were able to discreetly (that is, tucked inside the new t-shirt) take some of the food with us..our driver said he would give it to some of the patients waiting to be seen at the hospital.
Author Archives: cartwrighta
Sunday in Cambodia
We began our day with worship at the church where Susan’s family attended and were very involved in while they lived in Phnom Penh. We were all warmly greeted and welcomed! It was especially heartwarming to see Susan greeted and embraced by so many of her dear friends. The church is alive and growing…worshipers of all ages. In a country where there is much sadness and hopelessness, it is so encouraging to be in a place of worship and see the hearts of the members of the congregation! Later in the afternoon, when we were at the market shopping (more on that later!), a member of the church spotted us and we had a conversation with him about the growth of the church in Cambodia. There is no interference at all by the government towards Christianity and it is growing by leaps and bounds. That was good news!
We went different directions for lunch…some eating Indian and some eating French. Then it was time to re-group and head out for an afternoon of shopping at the Russian market. There were literally hundreds of vendors all very close together…it was like being in a maze with something new at every turn. It was hot and the vendors are very persistent in pursuing their customers. Bargains were made and bags were filled with all sorts of purchases. I have not quite conquered the art of negotiation…so I will probably need to return to see if I can do better next time! It would be easy to fill a suitcase because there really are so many wonderful things to see and buy. The treat after shopping was iced Cambodian coffee…it was rich, sweet and delicious.