Impacting lives through medical outreach was my highlight for the month of March

One of the attributes of good living is being able to affect the lives of people around us positively. The month of March started for me as a busy month. I had two major tasks in the first week, and I seemed very helpless as to how to go about them. My sister-in-law, who is a pharmacist, had requested my presence as a medical doctor for a medical outreach that was scheduled to take place in her late father's hometown, Olla, some twenty minutes drive after Omu Aran, which is about ninety minutes drive from Ilorin, the capital city.

My boss at work had given me an assignment to make a presentation to a group of people on the 7th of March, which coincided with the day of the medical outreach. I had promised my sister-in-law to avail myself; however, the work assignment came as an impromptu and from a superior I should not refuse. I made preparations for both events, determined to stay positive for a miracle way out. Deep within me, I preferred the medical outreach as it was an avenue to reach out to many sick people at a free cost. I had hinted to my head of unit (HOU) about the situation I was in, and lucky for me, he was very understanding and willing to bail me out. I summoned the courage and informed my boss about the medical outreach and the provision I made through my HOU. Thankfully, she obliged without any fuss.

Thus, we headed to Olla for the medical outreach on the 7th of March. We arrived some minutes before 10 a.m. and began the outreach right away. In the company were other allied medical professionals such as pharmacists, laboratory scientists, medical records, e.t.c.

BRIEF ABOUT THE MEDICAL OUTREACH

My sister-in-law lost her dad last year to the cold hands of death due to some terminal illnesses at the age of fifty. It was unfortunate and painful, yet the family has moved on, and the daughter, who happens to be a pharmacist, and also my sister-in-law thought it wise to hold an annual medical outreach in memory and honor of her late father. Some special laboratories carried out were in line with the diagnosis of the late father, and my sister-in-law's intention was to improve the prognosis of such disease conditions in her community through early diagnosis and prompt intervention.

A section of the outreach was the records, where the biodata of the participants was captured and afterwards directed to take vitals such as blood pressure. Some laboratory investigations were carried out, which aided our diagnosis. I was in charge of the consultation alongside a pharmacist. A few observations were made, as follows:

• High prevalence of elevated blood pressure cases
• High prevalence of diabetes mellitus cases
• Significant number of ophthalmology disease conditions for which provisions were not made.
• Inadequate access to quality drugs at an affordable cost.
• Irregular use of medications by surrounding health centers is probably a result of financial constraints or poor knowledge about their use.
• major population of the community is elderly (at least those who came out to access care).

Lucky for us, we had a variety of drugs available, which ranged from antibiotics, analgesics, antihypertensives, antimalarials, anti-diabetics, and multivitamins. My sister-in-law made available for some lucky participants small quantities of rice and granulated cassava, which is popularly called garri.

We noticed a huge turnout of participants by the afternoon, when most of them had returned from the farms, making us work late into the afternoon. The outreach was a huge success, being able to attend to the medical needs of the community members for at least a month's drug refill. We took pictures there after and quickly returned to Ilorin township. I was exhausted yet, fulfilled by the date. The outreach was my most spectacular event in the month of March. I had another outreach in Igbeti about two weeks ago, too. It seems I am beginning to love the sound of medical outreach as a means of giving back to society.

ALL IMAGES ARE MINE

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