Report of 12 July '11
Hello from my living room -
There is a new kind of exhaustion: quite a bit due to sleep deprivation (for some reason, I could not get back to sleep last night after awakening at 12.30), and also a fulfilled kind, because I had a good day at the B.
Our patient with the possible seizures was evaluated, the neurologist agreed with the seizure diagnosis, and meds were started. Ms. P has fallen in the past and clonged her head, and there is a blood clot (a "hematoma") seen on the CT scan. This can cause some dizziness, etc., and I want neurosurgery to see if the hematoma needs to be removed ("evacuated"). I feel privileged to be able to take care of folks who have no others - and no money.
One of our older patients looks ill. It is patent on her face, and I asked for a heap of blood tests for Ms. V. The sodium came back very low, and I have asked for water to be restricted so that the sodium can creep back up. This is the joy of being an internist - that a blood test or two can tell you what a patient cannot. I had also thought Ms. V might have leptospirosis or malaria, but thankfully, she does not.
One of the ladies who cleans our apartment complex came to me, stating that her sister had not become pregnant six months after marriage, and people "were saying things." If a young woman does not deliver a baby nine months after nuptials, people "say things," and it is always the woman's fault. I asked for the lady to be evaluated at the local Public Health Center, but it has not been done as the mother-in-law does not approve. Right, then; our employee came quickly back to tell me and said, "I wanted to tell you because you'll shout otherwise." Correct; when this lady (our employee) had had belly pain and I was terrified that she had adhesions from her prior C-sections, she did not get evaluated as I'd suggested and I'd shouted at her, saying, "Who am I - just the doctor, right. You go ahead and do what you think is best." So she'd come back hurriedly to tell me her sister's update, and I appreciated it, telling her that we ought to wait for in-law businesses to settle. A little ire is sometimes justified, to me.
Mr. Vellodi, the senior trustee of the Banyan, turns 90 soon and the Banyan celebrated the grand occasion last Friday. It was a blast - plenty of bonhomie and camaraderie and enjoying each other' talents. Navin and I danced to a pulse-pounding Tamil song (Naaku Mukka), and it is on You Tube. We had not announced earlier that we were dancing, and the staff were surprised to see the physician jigging on stage. It was fun to dance with my son. My other son - just as good a dancer as this one - was rehearsing for a play and could not join us. There were plenty of other dances, too, and a cake was cut as well. All in all, a very fun and rejuvenating time.
Scott and I spent the weekend in Madurai with my father - talk about a fun and rejuvenating time. We ate, talked and laughed, and Scott and my Dad watched a little TV (I am not at all a fan, so did some work sitting in the same room as the men). Scott's gentle presence is very welcome to my Dad, and we spend a fair amount of time simply sitting and gabbing (and eating non-stop!). We also saw my friend, Tanya, celebrating her 50th birthday with her, and Mrs. Kurien, who did us the grand favor of examining my Dad's cook, who is pregnant and scared to go for checkups. It was nice to see both Tanya and Mrs. Kurien.
Unw -
R
There is a new kind of exhaustion: quite a bit due to sleep deprivation (for some reason, I could not get back to sleep last night after awakening at 12.30), and also a fulfilled kind, because I had a good day at the B.
Our patient with the possible seizures was evaluated, the neurologist agreed with the seizure diagnosis, and meds were started. Ms. P has fallen in the past and clonged her head, and there is a blood clot (a "hematoma") seen on the CT scan. This can cause some dizziness, etc., and I want neurosurgery to see if the hematoma needs to be removed ("evacuated"). I feel privileged to be able to take care of folks who have no others - and no money.
One of our older patients looks ill. It is patent on her face, and I asked for a heap of blood tests for Ms. V. The sodium came back very low, and I have asked for water to be restricted so that the sodium can creep back up. This is the joy of being an internist - that a blood test or two can tell you what a patient cannot. I had also thought Ms. V might have leptospirosis or malaria, but thankfully, she does not.
One of the ladies who cleans our apartment complex came to me, stating that her sister had not become pregnant six months after marriage, and people "were saying things." If a young woman does not deliver a baby nine months after nuptials, people "say things," and it is always the woman's fault. I asked for the lady to be evaluated at the local Public Health Center, but it has not been done as the mother-in-law does not approve. Right, then; our employee came quickly back to tell me and said, "I wanted to tell you because you'll shout otherwise." Correct; when this lady (our employee) had had belly pain and I was terrified that she had adhesions from her prior C-sections, she did not get evaluated as I'd suggested and I'd shouted at her, saying, "Who am I - just the doctor, right. You go ahead and do what you think is best." So she'd come back hurriedly to tell me her sister's update, and I appreciated it, telling her that we ought to wait for in-law businesses to settle. A little ire is sometimes justified, to me.
Mr. Vellodi, the senior trustee of the Banyan, turns 90 soon and the Banyan celebrated the grand occasion last Friday. It was a blast - plenty of bonhomie and camaraderie and enjoying each other' talents. Navin and I danced to a pulse-pounding Tamil song (Naaku Mukka), and it is on You Tube. We had not announced earlier that we were dancing, and the staff were surprised to see the physician jigging on stage. It was fun to dance with my son. My other son - just as good a dancer as this one - was rehearsing for a play and could not join us. There were plenty of other dances, too, and a cake was cut as well. All in all, a very fun and rejuvenating time.
Scott and I spent the weekend in Madurai with my father - talk about a fun and rejuvenating time. We ate, talked and laughed, and Scott and my Dad watched a little TV (I am not at all a fan, so did some work sitting in the same room as the men). Scott's gentle presence is very welcome to my Dad, and we spend a fair amount of time simply sitting and gabbing (and eating non-stop!). We also saw my friend, Tanya, celebrating her 50th birthday with her, and Mrs. Kurien, who did us the grand favor of examining my Dad's cook, who is pregnant and scared to go for checkups. It was nice to see both Tanya and Mrs. Kurien.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
4:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home