Report of 29 Oct '06
Ahhh, sunshine -
Esp coming after 3 days of relentless and massive rain, some of which came through our windows (this is a poorly-constructed flat, says Scott), our damp laundry is loving the sun on our balcony. We have just finished lunch - idlis (steamed rice cakes), egg curry and veges, and homemade chocolate ice cream. I think I have some gall calling it chocolate ice cream - it's milk w/ sugar and drinking chocolate, stuck in the freezer until it hardens; all loved it, tho'.
I've battled some lingering depression this week, it even felt physically heavy on my chest. I tried to put my finger on it and couldn't. Some of my orders at the B have been ignored, somewhat persistently and spectacularly, and I must figure out how the situation should change, esp as it hurts our patients. Scott and I hung out yesterday at a bookstore (such wonderful places) and I could feel the cloud lift. I so miss public libraries. We also went out to dinner, and I realised what a long time it had been since the ol' spouse and I were on a date. Teenage affairs tend to consume us.
Our patient w/ the huge gash on her bottom speaks!!! As it turns out, she speaks Bengali, and we have a social worker who speaks it a bit, so we are communicating. It is awesome. We have an idea what she wants now, and though the health care worker (hcw) states that Ms. M cries to herself w/ some deep, personal grief, establishing a communication connection is simply tremendous. I showed her wound to my plastic surgeon father, and he explained that taping it up w/ surgical tape was sufficient for now, that the tissue would adhere and heal. Very lovely. Ms. M also speaks a bit of Hindi, and w/ my smattering of it, we chat. She is to go to the Goverment's mental health facility, but I don't want to send her until her wound heals, as I am unsure of the type of medical treatment she'd get there. It is absolutely wonderful to bring a patient, destitute or otherwise, to a semblance of good health.
My father, Sam, and I had a bit of an argument about the state of affairs at the B, w/ him saying that there really ought to be sterile surgical instruments and the works. I laughed outright and explained our budget, and the man started shouting. As Scott and I discussed, perhaps Sam's discomfiture at the B's populace was manifested in his yelling, and Scott said he still meant well, that good care ought to be provided to our folks. I found it odd that someone should start yelling in his discomfort, but it takes all kinds of people to make up the world, doesn't it. The B ain't for everyone, and it sure ain't for folks who yell when they start coming there, esp if they are not mentally ill patients of the B.
Tutoring was non-existent this week as our students couldn't cross flooded streets to get to us. The poor things also live in leaky homes, so tend to start coming down w/ respiratory infections, etc., in this weather. Our friend, Doug Watts, gave us a bunch of sturdy umbrellas for the students, and we handed 'em over, but they are not being used. Methinks the moms are terrified the kids will break 'em and have sequestered them somewhere for safekeeping.
The boys have exams next week and are cramming. I do like the Indian system of rigor in education. Naren learned the coagulation cascade (blood clotting mechanism) in 8th grade, and I learned it in 1st year of med school. Navin was in a debate at school on corruption in sports, and I like the boys' participating in such activities also. Earlier, both boys were on either side of the issue, "The U.N. is irrelevant today." We were reading the Matrimonials yesterday for grins, and Naren was irate about the emphasis on "fair" brides (this is a very color-conscious society); Scott said that when it was time to advertise Naren's candidature as a groom, we'd state, "Young man seeking unfair bride."
"Parents learn a lot from their children about coping with life." - Muriel Spark
Unw -
Renu
Esp coming after 3 days of relentless and massive rain, some of which came through our windows (this is a poorly-constructed flat, says Scott), our damp laundry is loving the sun on our balcony. We have just finished lunch - idlis (steamed rice cakes), egg curry and veges, and homemade chocolate ice cream. I think I have some gall calling it chocolate ice cream - it's milk w/ sugar and drinking chocolate, stuck in the freezer until it hardens; all loved it, tho'.
I've battled some lingering depression this week, it even felt physically heavy on my chest. I tried to put my finger on it and couldn't. Some of my orders at the B have been ignored, somewhat persistently and spectacularly, and I must figure out how the situation should change, esp as it hurts our patients. Scott and I hung out yesterday at a bookstore (such wonderful places) and I could feel the cloud lift. I so miss public libraries. We also went out to dinner, and I realised what a long time it had been since the ol' spouse and I were on a date. Teenage affairs tend to consume us.
Our patient w/ the huge gash on her bottom speaks!!! As it turns out, she speaks Bengali, and we have a social worker who speaks it a bit, so we are communicating. It is awesome. We have an idea what she wants now, and though the health care worker (hcw) states that Ms. M cries to herself w/ some deep, personal grief, establishing a communication connection is simply tremendous. I showed her wound to my plastic surgeon father, and he explained that taping it up w/ surgical tape was sufficient for now, that the tissue would adhere and heal. Very lovely. Ms. M also speaks a bit of Hindi, and w/ my smattering of it, we chat. She is to go to the Goverment's mental health facility, but I don't want to send her until her wound heals, as I am unsure of the type of medical treatment she'd get there. It is absolutely wonderful to bring a patient, destitute or otherwise, to a semblance of good health.
My father, Sam, and I had a bit of an argument about the state of affairs at the B, w/ him saying that there really ought to be sterile surgical instruments and the works. I laughed outright and explained our budget, and the man started shouting. As Scott and I discussed, perhaps Sam's discomfiture at the B's populace was manifested in his yelling, and Scott said he still meant well, that good care ought to be provided to our folks. I found it odd that someone should start yelling in his discomfort, but it takes all kinds of people to make up the world, doesn't it. The B ain't for everyone, and it sure ain't for folks who yell when they start coming there, esp if they are not mentally ill patients of the B.
Tutoring was non-existent this week as our students couldn't cross flooded streets to get to us. The poor things also live in leaky homes, so tend to start coming down w/ respiratory infections, etc., in this weather. Our friend, Doug Watts, gave us a bunch of sturdy umbrellas for the students, and we handed 'em over, but they are not being used. Methinks the moms are terrified the kids will break 'em and have sequestered them somewhere for safekeeping.
The boys have exams next week and are cramming. I do like the Indian system of rigor in education. Naren learned the coagulation cascade (blood clotting mechanism) in 8th grade, and I learned it in 1st year of med school. Navin was in a debate at school on corruption in sports, and I like the boys' participating in such activities also. Earlier, both boys were on either side of the issue, "The U.N. is irrelevant today." We were reading the Matrimonials yesterday for grins, and Naren was irate about the emphasis on "fair" brides (this is a very color-conscious society); Scott said that when it was time to advertise Naren's candidature as a groom, we'd state, "Young man seeking unfair bride."
"Parents learn a lot from their children about coping with life." - Muriel Spark
Unw -
Renu
posted by Renu Weiss at
1:17 AM
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