Report of 12 March '09
Hello from exam world -
4 down, many to go. Navin and Scott are sitting at physics. Scott's ability to teach sciences and math very patiently is legendary. He used to tutor for a part-living in the U.S., and is patient with all, even wife and sons. Naren is done with physics and is at his tutor's house going over the paper.
Yesterday, as the boys were cramming, our neighbor Usha's maid rang the doorbell. Usha came in with Ms. M, the maid, and said that she had been hanging up clothes and looking up, and got dizzy, nauseated and profusely sweaty ("diaphoretic"). This was concerning; the looking up part indicates one thing, but the sweatiness indicates something much more serious - like the heart. So I asked for her to be checked out right away with her family doctor, and I await the evaluation. Not many impoverished people here have a family doctor, or indeed any doctor: medical care is considered a dispensable expense, except of course when something serious crops up.
Our neighbor, Gunit, has a catering company and for Women's Day, she invited all her female employees home for lunch, games and a talk by me. It was fabulous; this is my target audience - the lower socioeconomic class female. We talked about health and the need for regular breast checks and Pap smears; many said much of the information was novel. Indeed, Pap smears are not part of the vocabulary here at all. If I can get one Indian woman, who'd otherwise spend all her time caring for others, to take care of herself in some small way, my job is really done.
We reeled under news of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. The paper yesterday had the story of a young 1st year medical student who died after being beaten in "ragging" (hazing); the picture is of a handsome young man, 19 years old. The boy had complained to all and sundry about the ragging - college authorities and parents - but little was done. It is a tragic tale.
Hug your loved ones when you can.
Unw -
R
4 down, many to go. Navin and Scott are sitting at physics. Scott's ability to teach sciences and math very patiently is legendary. He used to tutor for a part-living in the U.S., and is patient with all, even wife and sons. Naren is done with physics and is at his tutor's house going over the paper.
Yesterday, as the boys were cramming, our neighbor Usha's maid rang the doorbell. Usha came in with Ms. M, the maid, and said that she had been hanging up clothes and looking up, and got dizzy, nauseated and profusely sweaty ("diaphoretic"). This was concerning; the looking up part indicates one thing, but the sweatiness indicates something much more serious - like the heart. So I asked for her to be checked out right away with her family doctor, and I await the evaluation. Not many impoverished people here have a family doctor, or indeed any doctor: medical care is considered a dispensable expense, except of course when something serious crops up.
Our neighbor, Gunit, has a catering company and for Women's Day, she invited all her female employees home for lunch, games and a talk by me. It was fabulous; this is my target audience - the lower socioeconomic class female. We talked about health and the need for regular breast checks and Pap smears; many said much of the information was novel. Indeed, Pap smears are not part of the vocabulary here at all. If I can get one Indian woman, who'd otherwise spend all her time caring for others, to take care of herself in some small way, my job is really done.
We reeled under news of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. The paper yesterday had the story of a young 1st year medical student who died after being beaten in "ragging" (hazing); the picture is of a handsome young man, 19 years old. The boy had complained to all and sundry about the ragging - college authorities and parents - but little was done. It is a tragic tale.
Hug your loved ones when you can.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
8:25 AM
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