Report of 22 Jan 2012
Hello from sunny Chennai!
Perhaps the sun will pick up my mood. There are several people feuding around me and I detest it. There is so much more that can be accomplished through congeniality and working together. That said, we have often disagreed at the Banyan and the grand thing about Vandana and Vaishnavi is that they very avidly listen to a dissenting opinion. In fact, sometimes they urge expression of it; there is now a move afoot in Tamil Nadu (our state) to have the primary care practitioners recognise and treat mental illness, and I have said I am simply not interested in this. There is a reason each of us choose our specialities and forcing me to study psychiatry would be similar to my forcing a psychiatrist to learn the nuances of low sodium in the blood. At various meetings with Government and other authorities, Vandana has urged me to voice my opinion because, though it goes against the cause of treating mental illness, she would like the powers-that-be to learn firsthand why a provider might balk at this move.
The B has been grand. One of the folks that works at cleaning the place came and told me of her urinary symptoms. I suspect an infection and have asked for the urine to be cultured. Ms. K is an older lady, and has been with the B some years. She lost her son a few years ago, and she and I have commiserated on her loss and my mother's loss in the passing of my brother. We appear to understand each other well, and when my mother passed away 2 years ago, she said, "Oh, now your mother has joined her son." She weeps on occasion about wanting to do the same, and I have said it is not her time yet. I have told her about this infection, that we will test it and treat it, and that she must not fret. She composed herself a bit, and appeared to be mollified. Truly, it is grand to be able to treat someone, make them feel better, and to do this in the course of a day's work. Especially if they are impoverished, and appear to have little other hope in their life. Ms. K told me that she had saved money and bought herself a gold chain. I was delighted!! Gold is a very big deal in India and a sought-after possession of the average Indian woman.
Training continues magnificently, and this week, the health care workers (hcw's) and I spoke of First Aid, and "First Aid for a healthy life." There were grand suggestions, including "One partner for each person." I had to tread a little carefully here, because the highest incidence of HIV used to be (I wonder if it still is) among monogamous wives of men with more than one sexual partner. I told them I did not mean to pass judgement, but for them to be careful. All were very matter-of-fact about this: there is tacit acceptance of men's philandering. Sad, overall; I do, however, want the wives I am in contact with to be careful. The women are bright and motivated and do not need to be told anything twice. The issue of alcohol use also came up, and I told them that I was fortunate that I did not necessarily have to address this with women in India (certainly some women drink and drink to excess, but it is not the norm); some women whose husbands drink provided valuable input on its cost - financial and otherwise.
I saw some movies - alone. A Tamil one, "Mayakkam Enna," had Naren's friends in side roles and they did well. I also saw "Coriolanus" and it was spectacularly dreadful. What Ralph Fiennes thought of having Shakespearean dialogue among current day costumens is just beyond me. It is probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen, the hottie Gerard Butler notwithstanding.
Scott, Naren, Navin and I Skype'd today. It was grand fun, though Scott's and Navin's mics did not work and they had to type. We are to do it again next week.
Unw -
R
Perhaps the sun will pick up my mood. There are several people feuding around me and I detest it. There is so much more that can be accomplished through congeniality and working together. That said, we have often disagreed at the Banyan and the grand thing about Vandana and Vaishnavi is that they very avidly listen to a dissenting opinion. In fact, sometimes they urge expression of it; there is now a move afoot in Tamil Nadu (our state) to have the primary care practitioners recognise and treat mental illness, and I have said I am simply not interested in this. There is a reason each of us choose our specialities and forcing me to study psychiatry would be similar to my forcing a psychiatrist to learn the nuances of low sodium in the blood. At various meetings with Government and other authorities, Vandana has urged me to voice my opinion because, though it goes against the cause of treating mental illness, she would like the powers-that-be to learn firsthand why a provider might balk at this move.
The B has been grand. One of the folks that works at cleaning the place came and told me of her urinary symptoms. I suspect an infection and have asked for the urine to be cultured. Ms. K is an older lady, and has been with the B some years. She lost her son a few years ago, and she and I have commiserated on her loss and my mother's loss in the passing of my brother. We appear to understand each other well, and when my mother passed away 2 years ago, she said, "Oh, now your mother has joined her son." She weeps on occasion about wanting to do the same, and I have said it is not her time yet. I have told her about this infection, that we will test it and treat it, and that she must not fret. She composed herself a bit, and appeared to be mollified. Truly, it is grand to be able to treat someone, make them feel better, and to do this in the course of a day's work. Especially if they are impoverished, and appear to have little other hope in their life. Ms. K told me that she had saved money and bought herself a gold chain. I was delighted!! Gold is a very big deal in India and a sought-after possession of the average Indian woman.
Training continues magnificently, and this week, the health care workers (hcw's) and I spoke of First Aid, and "First Aid for a healthy life." There were grand suggestions, including "One partner for each person." I had to tread a little carefully here, because the highest incidence of HIV used to be (I wonder if it still is) among monogamous wives of men with more than one sexual partner. I told them I did not mean to pass judgement, but for them to be careful. All were very matter-of-fact about this: there is tacit acceptance of men's philandering. Sad, overall; I do, however, want the wives I am in contact with to be careful. The women are bright and motivated and do not need to be told anything twice. The issue of alcohol use also came up, and I told them that I was fortunate that I did not necessarily have to address this with women in India (certainly some women drink and drink to excess, but it is not the norm); some women whose husbands drink provided valuable input on its cost - financial and otherwise.
I saw some movies - alone. A Tamil one, "Mayakkam Enna," had Naren's friends in side roles and they did well. I also saw "Coriolanus" and it was spectacularly dreadful. What Ralph Fiennes thought of having Shakespearean dialogue among current day costumens is just beyond me. It is probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen, the hottie Gerard Butler notwithstanding.
Scott, Naren, Navin and I Skype'd today. It was grand fun, though Scott's and Navin's mics did not work and they had to type. We are to do it again next week.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
4:52 PM
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