Report of 26 May 2013

Good evening from Rio!

The 3 Weiss men are near me watching the remake of "Taking of Pelham 1-2-3," and I have turned 50 today.  I booked tickets long ago for the 4 of us to be in Brazil at this time, on this day, and it has worked out.  There is no better b'day present for me than to have all these folks and me in 1 place; I did get nice presents this morning, too, and a song twice over.  The Weiss men have tried very hard to make this day fun and memorable, and have succeeded nicely.  50, in Rio, with a fun day and lovely people.

We had a long, leisurely b'fast, and then went to see the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer.  That was awe-inspiring, and we lingered (along with several others).  We walked around a lake, ate a wonderful Brazilian meal at a restaurant where the cabbies eat, and the day was nice.  Last week had been busy at work, and I welcomed the chance to hang out in this pretty city, with my favorite folks.

We have an apartment overlooking a cobblestoned street leading to Copacabana beach.  We buy food from the local grocery store and eat that when we are not eating out.  We pick 1 or 2 sights per day, and muck around with our Spanish; we can read the Portugese but cannot speak it.  The Brazilians are a sexy people; they wear little (thong underwear visible under clothing) and wear it well.

More after we return to Indy.  I was fortunate to speak to my Dad before we left, and that was lovely - to get his blessings and talk and laugh.

Until next week -

R

Report of 18 May 2013

Hello from Carmel library!

What a place - books, magazines, computers.  And all free.

It has been a fairly busy few weeks.  I spent the week after the last blog doing some work at St. V's library, then started work the following week at Community North.  Orientation was memorable - particularly when the HR folks said, "If you make less than $X, your health insurance is provided for you for free by the hospital."  I thought it was very cool that the hospital took care of everyone, regardless of salary.  Or, in particular, took special care of those who did not make very much money.  Nice.

The week continued with one of the physician assistants teaching me about Epic, the electronic health record (EHR).  I quite like this system, having spent many a year trying to decipher colleagues' handwriting and flailing; all the records are now automated and it is easy to catch up at a glance.  I started seeing patients and got busy very quickly.  As of now, I enjoy working in a resource-rich place, where I can order the tests I want without asking people, "Can you afford a Cat Scan?"  The answer in my patient populace in India is always "No."  I then have to make an educated guess as to the cause of the patient's symptoms and treat.  The patients are pretty grateful, however, so much so that they want us to do more.  When I told one of the patients that she would have to see a specialist for possible surgery, she said, "Can you not do it here?"  I mulled it over - no operating room, no anesthesia; heck, no surgeon.  I was, however, pretty honored that she thought we could accomplish it.

At St. V, I was fortunate to catch up with Tami, Willette, Rebecca, and eminent geriatricians Pat and Diane Healey.  Olivia Fondoble came to dinner with her family - and brand new nephew! - after they ran the Mini.  This week, I tried to hook up with former colleagues from Community South, and got very lost trying to find the venue, then ran out of time as my family and I juggle 1 car and Naren had to get to work.  Naren accompanied me to an Immigration appointment in Cincinnati, and I was thankful, because I would have undoubtedly got lost driving downtown in a big city (see the note above about my non-existent navigational skills :) ).  The appointment went well enough, surprisingly; I am used to getting grilled about my whereabouts and my lifestyle and my livelihood, and perhaps I was prepared for the worst when I walked in there.

The joy of the U.S. - non-sold-out movies.  Wooo!  This is my week off, and I saw "The Great Gatsby," "Iron Man 3," "The Reluctant Fundamentalist," "Side Effects," and today, "Star Trek."  This last was the most memorable and fun.  "TRF," made by Mira Nair (I am a fan), was simply dreadful.  Ohhhhh, I nearly turned to Naren and said, "This is the worst movie this year," and he thanked me later for not doing so. 

The Banyan is doing splendidly, and I got a report of the last few months, showing that our hospitalisations had decreased.  Several folks had worked very hard to ensure that our patients got more healthy and raw vegetables, plus a serving of fruit, in their diet, and we might be seeing the benefits.  Hooray!  How much we take for granted, eh - when I slice the banana into my muesli in the morning, I don't usually think there are folks who cannot afford this.  How grateful I am for those who would donate to the B; this, in particular, has enabled the fruit.  Fruits of the donors' efforts, so to speak :).

In various movies, I have seen characters get what they want - unexpectedly and happily.  Nice.  I am unfailingly thrilled when people do for the B, and that is where much of the joy comes from.  This year, I have an opportunity that I cannot yet obtain - to be part of the Global Health course at my alma mater, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.  The organisers cannot pay for my travel from India, and I sure as heck cannot; let us see what will happen.  I have asked around, as I cannot remember wanting anything this much.  Que sera sera.  I think I will learn as much from the course as I will teach.  And if it is in the stars, it will come to pass.

Unw -

R