Chile Forum

Absolutely.....in fact we need to be prepared for any situation...I appreciate the links. If we could only put the 2 threads together.
And for those that lack language skills in spanish, do yourself a favor and learn at least how to communicate by writing emergency sentences in spanish with your own pronunciation. I would like to emphasize to the anglo foreigners to practice mostly with the spanish vowels so chileans can understand you.My hubby has a terrible problem with them, doesn't pronounce correctly. Practice in front of a mirror but practice, practice.

zer0nz wrote:

patagoniax wrote:

zer0nz wrote:

Gloria wrote:This situation is pretty scary if you think about it. Does anyone knows CPR?

i was thinking that point the other day also, each business back home should have someone with up to date First aid including CPR training... i know we dont have anyone....

This reminds me that we have another thread on being a good Scout and being ....prepared.
And so with both threads in mind I might suggest discussion of the following book, which was recommended to me for my situation here, lacking in decent medical care:
Where There Is No Doctor
# Paperback: 446 pages
# Publisher: Hesperian Foundation; Revised edition (May 25, 1992)
# ISBN-10: 0942364155
# ISBN-13: 978-0942364156
# Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 1 inches

available for free online too....
http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download_wtnd.php
and in spanish...
http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download_dnhd.php

Add Merck's manual to this, and you've got as much knowledge (in English intelligible to the layman) to you as many a physician has in much of the world.

Gloria wrote:. . . . I would like to emphasize to the anglo foreigners to practice mostly with the spanish vowels so chileans can understand you. . . .

Excellent point. Deformation of vowels is important in English (not only does a particular letter change in pronunciation depending upon its position among particular other letters, the pronunciation given it shows the speaker's social, educational, and geographical origins) -- think of how we immediately recognize the foreigner by his failure to modify the sounds in context -- but in Spanish, as in (I think) most languages, a consistent and clear pronunciation of each is expected as the ideal. Of course, in rural Chile . . . .

First, I want to say an hour wait in a major metropolitan area anywhere vs. the U.S. is an improvement. My father passed out on the otherside of a parking lot from a major regional trauma center for the Southwest United States ( around 200 meters from his apartment to the emergency room door) with a frigen helicopter pad in the parking lot, and it was two hours before an ambulance arrived and he made it through the door and seen a doctor. So, 911 in the States can be complete crap too. The only difference is they will keep you on the phone sufficiently long as to not get sued should you die.

You are not likly going to find anyone that speaks English in public health system, including many of the doctors. You want to cut out all the middlemen, and get in touch with the private clinics directly where they will have at least doctors that speak English. Foreigners still don't understand that the public health system is an absolute last resort in Chile, that even poor people will often bypass it in a life threating emergency.

Also, learning sufficient Spanish in Spanish speaking country to handle at least emergencies should be a top priority for anyone living in Chile. You should also have on hand at least some number to translator or friend that speaks both Spanish and English. Preferably one that speaks really good English.