Week of July 17, 2005
Hello from Indiana!
It is hot outside and I could not even contemplate bringing my sweatshirt into the lib, and it's freezing in here - all the benefits of airconditioning! I believe I am more dependent on my sweatshirt in the summer, when all the buildings are freezing.
Trust all are well. My work is fine. One of my favorite patients, Mr. H, missed his appointment the other day and I wondered what was up. He has just been released from prison for forging a check and is in a work-release program. He had been in a car accident some years ago and has back pain for which I prescribed a pain killer (Ultram, NOT Vicodin) and it appeared to work very well, earning me quite a bit of (really unwarranted) gratitude. His wife divorced him when he was in prison and they have since attempted counselling, etc., to reconcile. I discovered when his wife came in for her appointment that Mr. H had been hit by a car the day before his appt w/ me as he was walking and had broken his pelvis. As I told her that she needed to verify the care instructions for his condition - esp as he was back at work the following week, and when I broke my tailbone last year, it was 6 weeks of bed rest - she said that her phone had not been charged and so she might have missed the orthopedist's return phone call. Later in the week, she told me Mr. H had been reported as being "out of place" (somewhere other than work or his work-release residence) and had been sent back to prison. I was sorry, but amazingly, she did not appear to be. Hmmm.
Some of my other favorite patients came in too: a grandmother harboring her daughter and raising her grandkids very strictly; an 80+ yo survivor of breast cancer who says to me every time she comes in that she thought Dr. Weiss would be a man and I apologise every time for disappointing her to which she always laughs; the nurse who has disabling right arm pain and who states that as soon as her younger son finishes high school, she is coming to India to work w/ me. It is always a treat to gab w/ these folks and I value my time w/ them; I sometimes take longer than 15 minutes for the appointment, but I love the interaction.
The housing project clinic, Barton, goes well. The other day, I had a patient who had not showered in days (or weeks) and I could not close the exam room door due to the smell. Privacy had to take a back seat to my nose and I finished the visit, telling the patient directly that he had to shower every day (and change clothes, added the nurse). We had another patient come in w/ his partner - both are hooked on Vicodin and this patient tested + for cocaine. As I asked him about it, he said that could not be his drug test at all, then later said his partner had probably slipped him the cocaine. He even squeezed out a few tears. As I went through a big song-and-dance w/ the Medicaid folks to pre-approve one of his cholesterol meds (it was easier than I'd feared), I ended up talking w/ the pt's pharmacist who was from Ghana. We spoke for a while about the pt, that he had not been picking up his required meds but apparently had the $ for 2 packs of cigarettes PER DAY (not to mention all that cocaine) and we shared our views on the poor here vs. our home countries. Manu Ginobili (who is from Argentina) of our beloved San Antonio Spurs was interviewed on TV and said that foreigners who come here (to play professional basketball) tend not to take their jobs and privileges for granted; I think that is true of other professions as well.
The week was filled w/ rejuvenating contact. On Sunday, my friend and St. V pharmacist, Kurt Broderick, took me out for dinner. It was fabulous gabbing and laughing, and our food got cold in the interim! Kurt has given us crayons and markers for our tutoring kids and this time handed over a hefty personal donation for the work in India. We have a similar mindset, and so it was particularly fun to get together. Kurt is married to a wonderful young pharmacist named Kati, who regretfully could not join us. On Monday, I got together w/ the Hillmans for a stupendous dinner (featuring their home-grown veges), a gabfest and a walk around their beautiful, flower- and fruit-laden property. I even got leftovers for the next day and that was doubly great. On Tuesday, I got together w/ the children of our neighbors in India and got to talk of life here vs. there, our jobs, kids, etc. Ganesh and Christine are phenomenally intelligent and personable folks as are their kids, Lukas and Anaka. I got to walk some w/ Colleen who is getting ready to start a job teaching German in college. I was privileged to have lunch w/ Dr. Rob Manges, who is an oncologist at St. V and a person w/ a great sense of humor; it was nice to speak of our jobs and share a laugh or 2. I spent the weekend w/ my in-laws and it was the usual fun-fest. We also got together w/ Scott's Dad's side of the fam and laughter reigned. My mother-in-law was gracious enough to take me shopping to satisfy the boys' last-min lists, and I got plied w/ books, chocolate, candles and other goodies from all my in-laws. You know, even if they weren't my in-laws, I'd want to stay in touch. I was honored to speak (of my work in India) at my current workplace's quarterly staff meeting and it was so much fun, b'cos the audience was very interactive: "This patient did what?! Shuuuut uuup" and "Does your husband have a brother?"
I have 2 more weeks here. It's been fun.
Until next week -
It is hot outside and I could not even contemplate bringing my sweatshirt into the lib, and it's freezing in here - all the benefits of airconditioning! I believe I am more dependent on my sweatshirt in the summer, when all the buildings are freezing.
Trust all are well. My work is fine. One of my favorite patients, Mr. H, missed his appointment the other day and I wondered what was up. He has just been released from prison for forging a check and is in a work-release program. He had been in a car accident some years ago and has back pain for which I prescribed a pain killer (Ultram, NOT Vicodin) and it appeared to work very well, earning me quite a bit of (really unwarranted) gratitude. His wife divorced him when he was in prison and they have since attempted counselling, etc., to reconcile. I discovered when his wife came in for her appointment that Mr. H had been hit by a car the day before his appt w/ me as he was walking and had broken his pelvis. As I told her that she needed to verify the care instructions for his condition - esp as he was back at work the following week, and when I broke my tailbone last year, it was 6 weeks of bed rest - she said that her phone had not been charged and so she might have missed the orthopedist's return phone call. Later in the week, she told me Mr. H had been reported as being "out of place" (somewhere other than work or his work-release residence) and had been sent back to prison. I was sorry, but amazingly, she did not appear to be. Hmmm.
Some of my other favorite patients came in too: a grandmother harboring her daughter and raising her grandkids very strictly; an 80+ yo survivor of breast cancer who says to me every time she comes in that she thought Dr. Weiss would be a man and I apologise every time for disappointing her to which she always laughs; the nurse who has disabling right arm pain and who states that as soon as her younger son finishes high school, she is coming to India to work w/ me. It is always a treat to gab w/ these folks and I value my time w/ them; I sometimes take longer than 15 minutes for the appointment, but I love the interaction.
The housing project clinic, Barton, goes well. The other day, I had a patient who had not showered in days (or weeks) and I could not close the exam room door due to the smell. Privacy had to take a back seat to my nose and I finished the visit, telling the patient directly that he had to shower every day (and change clothes, added the nurse). We had another patient come in w/ his partner - both are hooked on Vicodin and this patient tested + for cocaine. As I asked him about it, he said that could not be his drug test at all, then later said his partner had probably slipped him the cocaine. He even squeezed out a few tears. As I went through a big song-and-dance w/ the Medicaid folks to pre-approve one of his cholesterol meds (it was easier than I'd feared), I ended up talking w/ the pt's pharmacist who was from Ghana. We spoke for a while about the pt, that he had not been picking up his required meds but apparently had the $ for 2 packs of cigarettes PER DAY (not to mention all that cocaine) and we shared our views on the poor here vs. our home countries. Manu Ginobili (who is from Argentina) of our beloved San Antonio Spurs was interviewed on TV and said that foreigners who come here (to play professional basketball) tend not to take their jobs and privileges for granted; I think that is true of other professions as well.
The week was filled w/ rejuvenating contact. On Sunday, my friend and St. V pharmacist, Kurt Broderick, took me out for dinner. It was fabulous gabbing and laughing, and our food got cold in the interim! Kurt has given us crayons and markers for our tutoring kids and this time handed over a hefty personal donation for the work in India. We have a similar mindset, and so it was particularly fun to get together. Kurt is married to a wonderful young pharmacist named Kati, who regretfully could not join us. On Monday, I got together w/ the Hillmans for a stupendous dinner (featuring their home-grown veges), a gabfest and a walk around their beautiful, flower- and fruit-laden property. I even got leftovers for the next day and that was doubly great. On Tuesday, I got together w/ the children of our neighbors in India and got to talk of life here vs. there, our jobs, kids, etc. Ganesh and Christine are phenomenally intelligent and personable folks as are their kids, Lukas and Anaka. I got to walk some w/ Colleen who is getting ready to start a job teaching German in college. I was privileged to have lunch w/ Dr. Rob Manges, who is an oncologist at St. V and a person w/ a great sense of humor; it was nice to speak of our jobs and share a laugh or 2. I spent the weekend w/ my in-laws and it was the usual fun-fest. We also got together w/ Scott's Dad's side of the fam and laughter reigned. My mother-in-law was gracious enough to take me shopping to satisfy the boys' last-min lists, and I got plied w/ books, chocolate, candles and other goodies from all my in-laws. You know, even if they weren't my in-laws, I'd want to stay in touch. I was honored to speak (of my work in India) at my current workplace's quarterly staff meeting and it was so much fun, b'cos the audience was very interactive: "This patient did what?! Shuuuut uuup" and "Does your husband have a brother?"
I have 2 more weeks here. It's been fun.
Until next week -
posted by Renu Weiss at
2:30 PM
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