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- Starting our 2 hour journey at 8 am meant a relative sleep in. We headed ~70 km north of Phnom Pehn to Saron's villages - Trayong Pong and Praysot Kor. A farming community where generation after generation has toiled for long long hours producing crops for sale. The ride was smooth and highlighted many large apartment complexes being constructed on the outskirts of the city, which are in demand due to the influx of rural people coming to the city for education and work.
Trayong Pong's clinic was held at the local school in the morning and in the afternoon Praysot Kor clinic was at the community building. 100's of people waited "patiently" for a few minutes of our time. I say "patiently" but there was a number of cheeky women that pushed in line, I was onto them lol, however was chuckling on the inside at their tenacity and the acceptance of others when they did this - can you imagine that happening in Australia? No, not me either.
- In contrast to the previous days I was overwhelmed by the number of elderly people that we saw today. In a country where the average lifespan is in the fifties, so many of these women and men surpassed this, with the eldest of the day being a beautiful 92 year old who said she was healthy but wanted to get some medicine so she could live longer - (as Caz would say "oh bless"). Despite their longevity the people were relative healthy. Most complained of blurred vision, aches and pains, headaches, dry eyes, and a few had indigestion. These ailments were managed by a small supply of paracetamol, antacids, eye drops, multivits and the obligatory worming tablet, tiger balm and scabies soap. The small stashes again seemed like a precious treasure for them.
- Sadly there was a surprisingly large number of people with extremely high blood pressure and diabetes (high sugar). Many had been on medication for their blood pressure at some point in time, but the small supply they can afford soon runs out. There is nothing we can do for these problems - it's kind of sad, as so many westerners are non-compliant with their medication or diabetes management yet I believe these people would gladly take their medication if they had the opportunity.
- Most of the adults had pterygium, sign of sun damage to their eyes from the long hours they have spent in the fields. Alas there is never enough prescription glasses or sunglasses to go around. I am always overwhelmed by the people surrounding me, but this is nothing in comparison to the relative stampede that the team face at the glasses table, despite the thousand or so of glasses we have brought over to share between the clinics.
Between clinics we were treated to a feast at Saron's home. Organic rice, salty fish, spicy organic duck, organic chicken and vegetables and "the best" chicken soup ever. Yummo. The break, and a bit of time in front of a fan was much needed.
- Before we started the afternoon clinic we had the pleasure of making a very special home visit. Akoo is 13 years old and has severe cerebral palsy. His parents have died and he is beautifully cared for by his grandmother and older sister (who has just finished her teaching degree). Despite his severe contractions and limited movement he was in amazing conditions, his skin immaculate and his teeth great. To add to grandmothers burden she is caring for her frail husband. Despite her own frail stature with severely hunched back due to osteoporosis, she carries Akoo down the steep ladder-like stairs (they live in a pole house due to the area being prone to flooding). Even in this country where it's a given that people just do what they need to do, I am filled with amazement and respect by this family.
- Today was particularly draining for most of us and many hit the wall and crashed back at the hotel. To quote our Rach it was "sweaty mayhem". But our hard work is trivial to the physical nature of these villagers working life. But is this the key to their longevity and their relative health? Have I found the fountain of youth?