Report of 24 Nov '08
Hello from the B -
In my hand, I hold an invite to a workshop on "Drug promotional practices and cost to consumers," and I look forward to attending. The ethics of pharmaceutical practices have long bothered me; when I was a med student, the senior resident on one of my teams (a new father) was exulting to his colleagues about how he could just tell the drug rep to bring infant formula for free. I liked the perks then - the "free" movies I could take my kids to, the occasional dinner - and came to realise later what was involved in all these freebies. One of the cholesterol agents we willingly prescribed during residency was not the one that had the best safety studies, yet prescribe it we did because the Lipitor person came by much more frequently than the Zocor.
Last week, I visited Kovalam, one of our other projects. Kovalam houses our higher-functioning residents and also has a clinic open to the public. I love it, as I get to interact with patients, and don't have to depend on caregivers for history. One of the patients complained of hip pain and as I probed, she stated that her husband beat her daily. He does not beat her now, for 40 days, because he is headed on a pilgrimage to Sabarimalai and must only do godly things. So she has a bit of a reprieve, but I wanted the social worker to get involved as the 40 days will pass. Quel relief for those of us who don't have such spouses.
The little girls rescued last week are getting their case processed. The brother of one of them has also been "rescued" and is irate at the girls for putting them in this position. He apparently told his sister, "What have you done?" I imagine his easing of his parents' financial woes mattered more to him, but he might have been with a non-abusive employer, too. I have mentioned this case often to our sons, that there are kids begging to go to school, who instead have to get up at 5 AM, wash mountains of clothes by hand and sweep and mop and clean and get beaten.
There is a volunteer at the B from the U.K. and he spent last weekend with us. I remember being exceedingly lonely and homesick when I first got to the U.S., and being very grateful for folks who'd invite me home for the weekend. Two such families - the Premanandans and the Islams - are still on my mailing list, so good and affectionate and fun was our relationship. We simply passed on the favor. It was a fun weekend, showing Joss around, and we got treated to lunch, which was great.
The boys are heading into exam prep mode and have tutoring sessions galore. Soon, I will take time off from the B to sit with them through the prep and exam periods. The best thing that I can do is raise 2 sons and put 2 beings of integrity and dignity on the planet.
Unw -
R
In my hand, I hold an invite to a workshop on "Drug promotional practices and cost to consumers," and I look forward to attending. The ethics of pharmaceutical practices have long bothered me; when I was a med student, the senior resident on one of my teams (a new father) was exulting to his colleagues about how he could just tell the drug rep to bring infant formula for free. I liked the perks then - the "free" movies I could take my kids to, the occasional dinner - and came to realise later what was involved in all these freebies. One of the cholesterol agents we willingly prescribed during residency was not the one that had the best safety studies, yet prescribe it we did because the Lipitor person came by much more frequently than the Zocor.
Last week, I visited Kovalam, one of our other projects. Kovalam houses our higher-functioning residents and also has a clinic open to the public. I love it, as I get to interact with patients, and don't have to depend on caregivers for history. One of the patients complained of hip pain and as I probed, she stated that her husband beat her daily. He does not beat her now, for 40 days, because he is headed on a pilgrimage to Sabarimalai and must only do godly things. So she has a bit of a reprieve, but I wanted the social worker to get involved as the 40 days will pass. Quel relief for those of us who don't have such spouses.
The little girls rescued last week are getting their case processed. The brother of one of them has also been "rescued" and is irate at the girls for putting them in this position. He apparently told his sister, "What have you done?" I imagine his easing of his parents' financial woes mattered more to him, but he might have been with a non-abusive employer, too. I have mentioned this case often to our sons, that there are kids begging to go to school, who instead have to get up at 5 AM, wash mountains of clothes by hand and sweep and mop and clean and get beaten.
There is a volunteer at the B from the U.K. and he spent last weekend with us. I remember being exceedingly lonely and homesick when I first got to the U.S., and being very grateful for folks who'd invite me home for the weekend. Two such families - the Premanandans and the Islams - are still on my mailing list, so good and affectionate and fun was our relationship. We simply passed on the favor. It was a fun weekend, showing Joss around, and we got treated to lunch, which was great.
The boys are heading into exam prep mode and have tutoring sessions galore. Soon, I will take time off from the B to sit with them through the prep and exam periods. The best thing that I can do is raise 2 sons and put 2 beings of integrity and dignity on the planet.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
9:34 PM
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