#oxygene

🏥I went to the emergency room in Morocco and I’m going to give you an overview of the state of medical care in this country (at least in some regions).

🗓Sunday, July 20, 2025: That morning, I was suddenly struck by a violent migraine. As many of you know, I’ve been suffering from severe head pain crises for years, and the only treatment that has ever worked for me is high-flow oxygen therapy at home. Since I started using it, my quality of life has significantly improved regarding this symptom.

But as I’m currently abroad, I already explained to you that I’m not allowed to travel with my oxygen bottles. In such situations, I need to rent some locally. Except this time, I’m in a very remote city where I couldn’t find any. I told myself it would be fine, that even if the migraines came back, they wouldn’t be as violent as before and I would manage with what I had (herbal tea, lemon on the head, strong painkillers…) But I clearly underestimated the situation… It was a huge mistake, because without oxygen for a while, the attacks became just as violent as they used to be.

To give you an idea: for years, I used to have monthly crises where the pain could last an entire week NON-STOP. I couldn’t sleep or even lie down without suffering. In those moments, you just want to crack your skull open and die…

Back to July 20: That day, I was already feeling extremely tired, completely drained… Why? Because the day before I had made a big physical effort by going to a water park. And for me, one day of exertion leads to several days of recovery and pain.

The headache was extreme and, as almost always, located in the same spot at the back of my head. The pain fluctuates a lot from manageable to a point where I couldn’t do anything, not even sleep. It was so intense that it made me nauseous and cry from the pain (which says a lot because it takes a lot for me to reach that point).

I told myself it would pass, that I’d get used to it like I always do. But nothing helped, this was pure agony.

My neurologist explained that this type of migraine is vascular/nerve-related, and in my case, nothing works except oxygen therapy.

But it was Sunday, and here almost everything is closed. No way to find oxygen, and I already knew that the medical care in this city was known for being really poor (note: I’m not generalizing this to the whole of Morocco because I don’t know how it is elsewhere).

I didn’t want to go to the hospital or a clinic. But I have a cousin here who has contacts in the medical field and took the time to check with several pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals. Result: some said they had never heard of this type of treatment, others said they didn’t have the right mask or tank.

Then a private clinic claimed they had everything needed and told us to come in so I could have a session to calm the crisis.

Upon arrival, they placed me on a stretcher in the ER with no protection whatsoever. We all agree that an exam mattress should be disinfected and protected between patients, right? Well, not here, no cleaning at all between patients. I saw people lie down one after the other on the same bed.

Then a nurse took my vitals and blood pressure. She placed the cuff around my elbow! We all know it’s supposed to go on the upper arm, right? It squeezed my bone and was painful. The reading came up, and when my mother asked if it was normal, the nurse replied: “I don’t know how to read blood pressure.”

Excuse me??? Isn’t that the basic of her job?

Then four people came in. The doctor looked high (and later, an aunt told me she had once brought her mother to this same clinic and saw this very doctor smelling like alcohol and completely messing up the treatment). Another nurse was severely limping. I have nothing against that of course, but when you see caregivers looking just as unwell as the patients, it’s not exactly reassuring…

Small detail: as I was about to enter the clinic, I saw a huge cockroach coming out. At that moment, I knew nothing good would come out of this. 🤣

I explained clearly that I just needed oxygen and detailed my situation. But the doctor didn’t want to hear it and told me: “Well, your oxygen saturation is normal, so why should we give you any?”

I explained that it’s not about low oxygen levels but about treating migraines. And I was speaking in Arabic, so it wasn’t a matter of misunderstanding. (For those who don’t know, yes I speak and understand Arabic fluently, though I can’t read or write it.)

They told me they didn’t have oxygen bottles like mine, but the ones connected to the wall worked the same. They wanted to hook me up using a nasal cannula. I explained I had a prescription for a high-concentration mask, otherwise, it simply doesn’t work for migraines. And the worst part? They were about to use a mask that had already been used, not a new one! Then they tried to give me a mask that wasn’t even made for oxygen therapy!

I eventually spotted a high-concentration mask in the room and pointed it out, telling them that was the kind I use. They were about to give me that one, even though, once again, it wasn’t new.

The nurse seemed very annoyed that I asked for a new mask. He snapped and said he was going to get one (which was clearly false 🙄…).

By the way, when my cousin was on the phone checking things beforehand, some thought the masks I use were the ones used to resuscitate people… 🤦🏻‍♀️

We kept waiting. We asked the doctor what was happening. He replied harshly: “Just keep waiting.”

Another nurse came in and didn’t understand anything. So I took the time to explain everything to him and tell him what my neurologist had prescribed. He didn’t like that I corrected his mistakes and told me in a tone I did not appreciate: “Well, you should’ve brought your doctor here! Since he knows everything…”

Uh… Am I not supposed to explain my case and correct them to avoid a medical error? If I could be with my neurologist, I wouldn’t be here at all…

Eventually, one nurse quietly told my mom that we should just rent oxygen for home use because they clearly didn’t know how to handle this type of treatment here.

After a while, one of them finally said:

“We don’t have any new masks. You can leave.”

And that was it.

❗️Let me remind you: we contacted them beforehand, we sent them everything (prescription, photos of what I need), and they’re the ones who told us to come because they said they could help me!!!

So here you have a glimpse of medical care in a small Moroccan town. And this was a private clinic. The public hospital is apparently a living nightmare.

I have a lot of family here, and they’ve shared horrific stories with me: in the ER, there’s sometimes only one doctor or none at all. There have been cases where people with serious wounds were told to come back another day to get stitched up because no doctor was available. Some people have even died in the waiting room because they were ignored…

In short… And for those who’ve seen what I’ve shared about suffering animals here: as you can see, even for humans the system is inadequate. So for animals, it’s mission impossible…

Maybe it’s not like this everywhere in Morocco, but every time I’ve come here, it’s always been in this same town filled with misery… (It’s where my mother grew up.)

And for those who saw my 2021 YouTube videos filmed in Morocco, I had already shared a glimpse of the healthcare system here…

Oxygene 2 - Jean-Michel Jarre

Interpretado con Roland Fantom 06.