A bitter pill

Yesterday in the chemist I overheard a young man ask the counter assistant “How much is the cheapest paracetamol for children?”. “I think it’s $180 000.00 but I will check”, the assistant replied. As the assistant went over to the other side of the chemist, I stood and watched the man beside me count his cash. $160 000.00. He re-counted and again came to a total of $160 000.00. The oblivious assistant was still off on his mission to retrieve the medicine for his customer. Realising what was going on, I decided immediately that I would help the man and pay for the shortfall due. I did not want to belittle or embarrass the man so I hesitated in giving my offer of assistance. I looked towards the assistant, waiting for verification of the cost of goods so I could pass the difference to him. I turned back to the man next to me but in that split second, he was gone. I rushed to the door to see if I could catch him but he was nowhere in sight.

I am left ashamed after I counted out $1.2 million for my prescription. I am also angry with myself for I should not have hesitated. I pray that the man manages to find an affordable drug for his sick child.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, healthcare, medication, poverty

This entry was posted by Noktula on Sunday, February 19th, 2006 at 1:14 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.