Thursday 4th June and Friday 12th June 2020

For the first time, we had the opportunity to experience the hospital environment in Colombo and the care of doctors and nurses. Emilka was born with a birthmark in the small of her back and we noticed that it grew over time – and latterly, rapidly to become three-dimensional, over 1cm across, and textured, dark and angry to look at; time for a professional to look at it. I booked and paid online for a consultation with a doctor who was recommended to me for Thursday 4^th June. Steve took time off from work and a friend drove us there. We were seventh in the queue for a midday appointment. 

When the lady doctor saw it she wanted to see it with a special device the following week, however, when we told her that Steve\’s father had a melanoma, Steve himself is at risk, and that we reside in Sri Lanka with year-round strong UV radiation very strong, we mutually agreed that it should be removed right away.

We don\’t know if she actually agreed on the basis of the clinical picture or easy income as of course everything is paid for in the private sector; the consultation with the doctor; the procedure; the material used during the procedure; the laboratory analysis; the antibiotics.  The bill was pretty high, but thankfully Steve has healthcare insurance  for all of us through his work that will refund the cost.

Emilka and I talked before the consultation that it would be better to remove it if the doctor suggested it, and when the doctor said she would do it straight after the clinic, we agreed.  Emilka had 30 minutes to mentally prepare for it.  Initially she wanted to wait until the next week, but we explained to her, that having it done right away would have benefits; there were fewer people in the hospital thanks to curfew that day (hospital and visits to doctor are allowed), she wouldn’t have the stress of waiting the whole week, it would be over quickly, we were both with her, and we would not need to go back and arrange transport for next week.  She agreed.

She was very brave, the first ever procedure in her life. They did it in the emergency department, with no patients that day. I counted 7 doctors and nurses sitting and doing nothing. As she was on the operating table, she had another smaller mole removed under her arm as it had recently started to bleed a few times without any obvious reason.  The whole procedure lasted about 45 minutes, she cried only once when she was given local anesthesia for the big mole, otherwise she talked to the lovely doctor about dogs. She was in mild pain for about two days after the procedure, but now she can\’t feel it.

She was given a course of antibiotics for 5 days because the hot and humid weather here is perfect for bacterial growth. She could not go swimming and was advised not to raise her arms so that the stitches for the second mole did not pop.  In a week we went to remove the stitches, and again A&E was very quiet and staff were chatting by the desks. Emi was brave even though one stitch was very tight and slightly painful to take out. 

Overall, a good experience with private health care so far. Hopefully, the one and only during our stay.

Rennie