By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 4, 2023 –I ran across this family photo in my saved photos file that was taken in January of this year when my son Dwight and his family visited me one Sunday afternoon. I decided to share it with readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which has a huge following among the Bahamian diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean.
In doing so, I would like to again thank Dwight for his extraordinary efforts in assuring that I got to my 9am doctor’s appointment at George Washington University on time on Tuesday, July 25.
As I noted in an earlier post, I currently have a serious mobility problem as a result of repercussions from two hip-replacement operations (2012 and 2013) that have gotten progressively worse over the past year, and getting to my early-morning appointment on time clearly represented a challenging problem, given past experiences with catching a taxi from my Southwest Washington apartment complex.
My son Dwight and his family live in Cheverly, Maryland, approximately 11 miles from D.C., but he made sure that I got to my appointment by 8:30, as I was instructed to do by hospital authorities. When we arrived at the hospital, I thanked him profusely and told him that I would catch a taxi back home, but he insisted that I call him when I had completed my medical examination, and he came to pick me up shortly after 12 noon.
Dr. Christina M. Puchalski has been my doctor from my first tenure at the Bahamas Embassy for four-plus years (2013 to 2017) before my diplomatic status was rescinded after the Free National Movement won the May 10, 2017 general election, and she has referred me to an orthopedic specialist and physical therapist. I now have an appointment with the physical therapist for August 21 and the orthopedic specialist for September 12.
During my previous tenure with the Embassy, my medical expenses were covered by insurance provided by the Embassy, but insurance in not included in my current contractual agreement with the Embassy. Fortunately, as a result of a very sensible decision I made in 1982 to become a naturalized American citizen, and Medicare covers 80 percent of my medical expenses, which means that my co-payment for doctors’ visits is 20 percent.
God is indeed good, and once again, thanks Dwight.
