Report of 08 Jan 2012
Wow -
Trying to stay awake is probably harder than trying to get to sleep. I have been prescribed a muscle relaxant and it sedates so much that I think I won't take it tomorrow; I do think I can live with a little pain. I have had some physical therapy, and that is bound to help; I am a huge fan of the allied health professions. The physical therapist is a young lady, very enthusiastic, and she administed Inferential Therapy - or an electric current and heat - to my cramped muscles, and also some ultrasound. It felt good while I was getting it done. I now know why massage is so popular; the touch is therapeutic and soothing. Not to be sexist, but to me, probably a bit more so if the therapist is female: there is just something nurturing about women, isn't there.
Being a patient often clues me in as to how I must be as a doctor.
The B has been wonderful. Our deaf-mute patient, Ms. S, suddenly swelled up all over ("anasarca"). I suspect kidney involvement and asked the nephrologist to see her; Dr. Suresh is a good friend, and a firm believer in care of the indigent, so my patients get fine treatment by him. The official word is that Ms. S has a urinary tract infection, but I do think there is a bit more to it than that. Ms. S is a young person whose uterus is prolapsing (coming out of her main body cavity) and she likely needs surgery for this. When the enthusiastic med students ("The Texas Team" or "The Banyan Bunch") took class on physical diagnosis, the issue of uterine prolapse generated a lot of questions. I remember a resident at St. V (in Indianapolis, where I trained) stating that she would opt for a C-section whenever she got pregnant and was ready to delliver, as she wanted to avoid this very issue. Ms. S is a mystery: she does not know sign language and has asked repeatedly to return to her family. We have absolutely no way of knowing where the family is, and it is fairly frustrating all of us. Perhaps we'll resort to a TV ad before too long, if we come up with some cash.
Vandana and the team of the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM) asked me to join them for a meeting about training, and I did. Vandana is a visionary individual, and grand fun, so the meeting was very enjoyable. It was punctuated with a lot of laughter and good humor, too, which epitomises all of what we do at the Banyan. I've been at other assignments where my place in the food chain was made obvious to me and work became humorless after a bit - but that is not the Banyan! We are fairly full of chaos, but also good actions, easy camaraderie, and a sharing of the vision of a 21-year-old and a 22-year-old, both of whom thought they could make a difference in the lives of mentally ill, destitute women - and indeed, did so.
We had 2 British volunteers, Sam and Martha, spend the night with us 2 days ago. They are just about Naren's age, and all enjoyed their company. Following morning, my nephews, Aditya and Vikram, joined us for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants and that was a grand time: 5 powerfully intelligent youngsters in their 20's, some wonderful sausages, eggs, fresh fruit and all manner of juices, and some scintillating conversation to boot. Martha and Sam were effusive in their appreciation, and I do not know at all what I did to deserve such thanks: we talked, we ate, we hung out - c'est tout.
Naren and I spent a fun Saturday, booking movie tix well in advance and going to see "Mission Impossible 4" and "Sherlock Holmes." MI4 was dreadful, and SH was more enjoyable. I will see a couple of movies now just to stay awake until bedtime. This is one of the things I miss most about the U.S. - walking into a movie theater, tix being available and I sitting wherever I want and watching the flick; in Chennai, we have to book days in advance (for any movie), tix are often sold out and the seats are numbered. Also, a woman going alone to see a movie is extremely unusual.
Navin is fine at Rose-Hulman and is buffing up his driving, as he is due to try for a U.S. driving licence soon. Scott and I talk regularly, and I am super glad he is with his family because running 2 farms can wear anyone out, much less 3 folks in their 70's (Scott's mother, aunt and uncle). These 3 folks are among my favorite people in the world, and I was fortunate to spend some time with them when I was there; I always leave rejuvenated. Scott told me he had had to buy new pants; I watch our budget like a hawk and when I heard that he had helped his uncle with a cumbersome chore, I told him he could buy caviar if he wanted as he had done something for the relatives. Scott laughed out loud: it was a nice sound over a long distance telephone line.
It's a good life, and I feel privileged to be in the profession.
Unw -
R
Trying to stay awake is probably harder than trying to get to sleep. I have been prescribed a muscle relaxant and it sedates so much that I think I won't take it tomorrow; I do think I can live with a little pain. I have had some physical therapy, and that is bound to help; I am a huge fan of the allied health professions. The physical therapist is a young lady, very enthusiastic, and she administed Inferential Therapy - or an electric current and heat - to my cramped muscles, and also some ultrasound. It felt good while I was getting it done. I now know why massage is so popular; the touch is therapeutic and soothing. Not to be sexist, but to me, probably a bit more so if the therapist is female: there is just something nurturing about women, isn't there.
Being a patient often clues me in as to how I must be as a doctor.
The B has been wonderful. Our deaf-mute patient, Ms. S, suddenly swelled up all over ("anasarca"). I suspect kidney involvement and asked the nephrologist to see her; Dr. Suresh is a good friend, and a firm believer in care of the indigent, so my patients get fine treatment by him. The official word is that Ms. S has a urinary tract infection, but I do think there is a bit more to it than that. Ms. S is a young person whose uterus is prolapsing (coming out of her main body cavity) and she likely needs surgery for this. When the enthusiastic med students ("The Texas Team" or "The Banyan Bunch") took class on physical diagnosis, the issue of uterine prolapse generated a lot of questions. I remember a resident at St. V (in Indianapolis, where I trained) stating that she would opt for a C-section whenever she got pregnant and was ready to delliver, as she wanted to avoid this very issue. Ms. S is a mystery: she does not know sign language and has asked repeatedly to return to her family. We have absolutely no way of knowing where the family is, and it is fairly frustrating all of us. Perhaps we'll resort to a TV ad before too long, if we come up with some cash.
Vandana and the team of the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM) asked me to join them for a meeting about training, and I did. Vandana is a visionary individual, and grand fun, so the meeting was very enjoyable. It was punctuated with a lot of laughter and good humor, too, which epitomises all of what we do at the Banyan. I've been at other assignments where my place in the food chain was made obvious to me and work became humorless after a bit - but that is not the Banyan! We are fairly full of chaos, but also good actions, easy camaraderie, and a sharing of the vision of a 21-year-old and a 22-year-old, both of whom thought they could make a difference in the lives of mentally ill, destitute women - and indeed, did so.
We had 2 British volunteers, Sam and Martha, spend the night with us 2 days ago. They are just about Naren's age, and all enjoyed their company. Following morning, my nephews, Aditya and Vikram, joined us for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants and that was a grand time: 5 powerfully intelligent youngsters in their 20's, some wonderful sausages, eggs, fresh fruit and all manner of juices, and some scintillating conversation to boot. Martha and Sam were effusive in their appreciation, and I do not know at all what I did to deserve such thanks: we talked, we ate, we hung out - c'est tout.
Naren and I spent a fun Saturday, booking movie tix well in advance and going to see "Mission Impossible 4" and "Sherlock Holmes." MI4 was dreadful, and SH was more enjoyable. I will see a couple of movies now just to stay awake until bedtime. This is one of the things I miss most about the U.S. - walking into a movie theater, tix being available and I sitting wherever I want and watching the flick; in Chennai, we have to book days in advance (for any movie), tix are often sold out and the seats are numbered. Also, a woman going alone to see a movie is extremely unusual.
Navin is fine at Rose-Hulman and is buffing up his driving, as he is due to try for a U.S. driving licence soon. Scott and I talk regularly, and I am super glad he is with his family because running 2 farms can wear anyone out, much less 3 folks in their 70's (Scott's mother, aunt and uncle). These 3 folks are among my favorite people in the world, and I was fortunate to spend some time with them when I was there; I always leave rejuvenated. Scott told me he had had to buy new pants; I watch our budget like a hawk and when I heard that he had helped his uncle with a cumbersome chore, I told him he could buy caviar if he wanted as he had done something for the relatives. Scott laughed out loud: it was a nice sound over a long distance telephone line.
It's a good life, and I feel privileged to be in the profession.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
8:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home