Day 293: Finally

Part of being a medical mentor to the Afghan Army involves helping them obtain the equipment and supplies they need to fulfill their medical mission. Since arriving here I've shared my trials and triumphs that have come from working with this unique culture. One of the bullets on my "Things-To-Do" list for the Afghan National Army was to get their state-of-the-art X-ray machine up and running again. Apparently, this was a gift from the US military...unfortunately a gift that would prove to be extremely high maintenance. It has been close to over a year since this thing has been working. Here are some of the problems I have had to deal with:

1. This piece of machinery is well ahead of their time as I am still working on getting them to use simple technology like thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, and stethescopes...what in the world are they going to do with an X-ray suite.

2. No one thought of the difficulty in maintaining this machine as there are only a handful of contractors who can service it in the whole country.

3. No contractor wants to come down here because Khowst Province is way too dangerous. I have heard every excuse in the book..."we can't get a flight", "we didn't know there was a machine there", "my travel visa is expired", "oh my ID is expired", "the weather is bad", "the clinic is not on our map", "our schedule is full", "let me check my schedule", eventually all I heard was "blah blah blah blah blah". Kinda like that teacher on Charlie Brown..."wuah wuah wuah wuah wuah!"

Finally Fixed!

Well after over 6 months of e-mails, phone calls, and literally begging for someone to come down here...the contractor FINALLY made it! I think the contractors drew straws to see who would make the trip here. What a lesson in patience!

"The end of a matter is better than its beginning
and patience is better than pride."
Ecclesiastes 7:8 NIV