Report of 2 Dec 2012
Hello from breezy Chennai -
It is late - 9.20 PM - and I must head off to bed. Soon. It is very therapeutic for me to write.
We are well and I hope the same with you. The Banyan has been frenetically busy. Kovalam has so many patients that they are starting to impose a cut-off time for patients to check in; otherwise, numbers such as 70 are common. I have punted documenting a complete exam though I do the exam (I document what I think is necessary), and dealing with umpteen complaints ("Can we focus on what's bothering you the most?"), and tolerating patients coming back and adding yet another complaint - yes, this happens. But, the folks are grateful for whatever little I can do for them.
My colleague's grandmother showed up with shrimp! It is the first time any patient here has come with a gift; many are way too poor to afford anything. I love thoughtful gifts, honestly, and remember Scott's aunt and uncle's, and my patient's wife's, boxes of chocolates with great fondness. I paid the lady for the shrimp; she undercharged me and I overpaid her. Her grandson came by while I was examining her and I hailed him and yelled out what she had brought, which was a bit crass - but I was so thrilled! I realised later that I really ought to keep my mouth shut, but as that has been a challenge since birth, I resigned myself to the inevitable. I told Scott the only time my mouth would be shut would be when I am dead, and he said my mouth would likely be open even then.
One of our patients at Adaikalam died. She had been lethargic and I had been told she was on increased doses of psychiatric medications as she had been combative; the meds had then made her drowsy, they said. I accepted this explanation and regretted it later; she became medically unstable and on being shifted to the hospital, they did an xray and found cancer in her lungs. This was a lesson to me to go with my gut; if something feels wrong, it is. I rather liked this lady; she spoke incessantly of home and all her brothers and mentioned them by name. I always felt bad for her, because none of said brothers ever came to see her. While we could feed and clothe her, there was a part of her soul that was reserved to be filled only by the sight or sound of her relatives; for various reasons, that did not happen. No use putting a pox on the relatives, I assure you.
I went to Madurai for a former classmate's son's wedding. Pavala Rani ("Queen of Coral") had traced my contact info from somewhere and sent me an invitation. I went and met up with her and 2 other friends, Joan and Sumathy, and all of us had a great time! 30 years since we graduated, lots of stories, lots of great memories. Pavalam was hospitality incarnate, and I just messaged and thanked her, getting a sweet reply in return.
I managed to see my Dad briefly as he had commitments just as I did. We attended a session on plastic surgery for the eye, and then I had to leave to return to Chennai. Madurai has 14-hour power cuts while Chennai, being the capital city, has 2-hour cuts; grotesquely unfair and I felt every bit of it while in Madurai.
On return to Chennai, Scott and I went to watch a collegiate dance contest and it was fabulous. One of the women's colleges outdid themselves in hip-hop (the prevalent form), replete with flips, handstands, etc. They got a well-deserved special mention. We stopped to speak with them outside and that was lovely: young people are so the repository of solutions to many, many problems. One of the dance companies had their students do a demo dance and a little girl totally feeling the music and dancing her heart out beautifully reminded Scott of me, he said; this was very sweet. Yesterday, Scott and I attended a Christmas bazaar for charity and then went to a Tamil movie called "Neer Paravai." It was very well done and I enjoyed it immensely.
We had a brief b'fast with Naren today and then Skyped with Navin; both events were grand fun. These boys are opinionated, candid and funny. We are truly lucky in our sons, and I am very privileged to be able to see them and the rest of my family.
Hope your life is also similarly blessed.
Unw (Until next week) -
R
It is late - 9.20 PM - and I must head off to bed. Soon. It is very therapeutic for me to write.
We are well and I hope the same with you. The Banyan has been frenetically busy. Kovalam has so many patients that they are starting to impose a cut-off time for patients to check in; otherwise, numbers such as 70 are common. I have punted documenting a complete exam though I do the exam (I document what I think is necessary), and dealing with umpteen complaints ("Can we focus on what's bothering you the most?"), and tolerating patients coming back and adding yet another complaint - yes, this happens. But, the folks are grateful for whatever little I can do for them.
My colleague's grandmother showed up with shrimp! It is the first time any patient here has come with a gift; many are way too poor to afford anything. I love thoughtful gifts, honestly, and remember Scott's aunt and uncle's, and my patient's wife's, boxes of chocolates with great fondness. I paid the lady for the shrimp; she undercharged me and I overpaid her. Her grandson came by while I was examining her and I hailed him and yelled out what she had brought, which was a bit crass - but I was so thrilled! I realised later that I really ought to keep my mouth shut, but as that has been a challenge since birth, I resigned myself to the inevitable. I told Scott the only time my mouth would be shut would be when I am dead, and he said my mouth would likely be open even then.
One of our patients at Adaikalam died. She had been lethargic and I had been told she was on increased doses of psychiatric medications as she had been combative; the meds had then made her drowsy, they said. I accepted this explanation and regretted it later; she became medically unstable and on being shifted to the hospital, they did an xray and found cancer in her lungs. This was a lesson to me to go with my gut; if something feels wrong, it is. I rather liked this lady; she spoke incessantly of home and all her brothers and mentioned them by name. I always felt bad for her, because none of said brothers ever came to see her. While we could feed and clothe her, there was a part of her soul that was reserved to be filled only by the sight or sound of her relatives; for various reasons, that did not happen. No use putting a pox on the relatives, I assure you.
I went to Madurai for a former classmate's son's wedding. Pavala Rani ("Queen of Coral") had traced my contact info from somewhere and sent me an invitation. I went and met up with her and 2 other friends, Joan and Sumathy, and all of us had a great time! 30 years since we graduated, lots of stories, lots of great memories. Pavalam was hospitality incarnate, and I just messaged and thanked her, getting a sweet reply in return.
I managed to see my Dad briefly as he had commitments just as I did. We attended a session on plastic surgery for the eye, and then I had to leave to return to Chennai. Madurai has 14-hour power cuts while Chennai, being the capital city, has 2-hour cuts; grotesquely unfair and I felt every bit of it while in Madurai.
On return to Chennai, Scott and I went to watch a collegiate dance contest and it was fabulous. One of the women's colleges outdid themselves in hip-hop (the prevalent form), replete with flips, handstands, etc. They got a well-deserved special mention. We stopped to speak with them outside and that was lovely: young people are so the repository of solutions to many, many problems. One of the dance companies had their students do a demo dance and a little girl totally feeling the music and dancing her heart out beautifully reminded Scott of me, he said; this was very sweet. Yesterday, Scott and I attended a Christmas bazaar for charity and then went to a Tamil movie called "Neer Paravai." It was very well done and I enjoyed it immensely.
We had a brief b'fast with Naren today and then Skyped with Navin; both events were grand fun. These boys are opinionated, candid and funny. We are truly lucky in our sons, and I am very privileged to be able to see them and the rest of my family.
Hope your life is also similarly blessed.
Unw (Until next week) -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
8:18 AM
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