Report of 5 Sept '13
Happy Teachers' Day!
Today is the b'day of Dr. Radhakrishnan, one of our great leaders and the 2nd president of India; it is celebrated as Teachers' Day. I remember well the many teachers who put up with me and taught me fine things, and feel grateful.
It has been a while since I blogged. Work, then a trip with Naren to grad school in NYC, then work again and finally, time to blog. What a relief.
I was fired by a patient a few weeks ago. He had come in complaining of abdominal pain and was admitted. When someone has pancreatic or gallbladder disease, the pain is very typical and this guy had nothing: belly was soft, I could moosh on it without eliciting the slightest tenderness and I said so. I also told his sister that when she talked about how the inflection in his voice corresponded to pain. Our physician assistant called me later that day and stated that the patient did not want to see me any more. I did introspect: I was very happy to be off the case, but you sure do not want to miss anything. This patient had stopped his psych meds on his own and that does not bode well. A surgeon took out his gallbladder, and I saw later that the patient had continued to call the surgeon's office complaining of pain. I did not feel bad for being off this patient's case, though I have plenty of experience dealing with mentally ill patients and their physical complaints.
We had several colleagues over for dinner and that was great. I love getting together with people outside work - lends a nice dimension to folks and helps us understand each other better, especially in hairy, stressful situations. Several friends also joined us and the gathering was merry. We also worked "India Day" in Indianapolis and spread awareness of the Banyan; Priya, a physical therapist friend, was instrumental in this endeavor and she was invaluable.
Naren and I went to NJ and stayed with dear cousins, Prita and Guna. That brought back several warm and lovely touches of home, especially the Tamil. Naren and I took the train to NYC, went to Brooklyn College, met his professors and saw his place of residence. All of it was fabulous: I love NYC and Brooklyn was particularly alive and vibrant. I got back to Indy, Navin and I caught up on movies and then it was work, work, work. Scott came to Indy for Labor Day and the time flew. We visited his folks at their farms, which was the ceaseless fun-fest it always is. We also got together with colleagues at their houses for dinner, and it was a wonderful time.
This week, Navin and I have seen practically every movie there is to see. A rare gem: "In a world," an indie piece written and directed by Lake Bell.
Navin is working and will try to make some $ for school: this is the joy of the U.S. - hard work never hurt anyone. Different in India - children go to work as early as 5 or 6 years of age, it is not humane, and even if you do work hard, changes of progress are not guaranteed: the caste system and workplace politics rule. The system is slowly changing, halleluia.
I talked to my Dad last week and that was fun. He had been to Thailand with a large group of friends/acquaintances and their families, and had had a good time.
The Banyan's call is getting louder. I will be heading home soon, to the land of the happy people, where bright smiles abound every morning, and 1 little paracetamol/acetaminophen can break a fever and cause much joy.
Unw -
R
Today is the b'day of Dr. Radhakrishnan, one of our great leaders and the 2nd president of India; it is celebrated as Teachers' Day. I remember well the many teachers who put up with me and taught me fine things, and feel grateful.
It has been a while since I blogged. Work, then a trip with Naren to grad school in NYC, then work again and finally, time to blog. What a relief.
I was fired by a patient a few weeks ago. He had come in complaining of abdominal pain and was admitted. When someone has pancreatic or gallbladder disease, the pain is very typical and this guy had nothing: belly was soft, I could moosh on it without eliciting the slightest tenderness and I said so. I also told his sister that when she talked about how the inflection in his voice corresponded to pain. Our physician assistant called me later that day and stated that the patient did not want to see me any more. I did introspect: I was very happy to be off the case, but you sure do not want to miss anything. This patient had stopped his psych meds on his own and that does not bode well. A surgeon took out his gallbladder, and I saw later that the patient had continued to call the surgeon's office complaining of pain. I did not feel bad for being off this patient's case, though I have plenty of experience dealing with mentally ill patients and their physical complaints.
We had several colleagues over for dinner and that was great. I love getting together with people outside work - lends a nice dimension to folks and helps us understand each other better, especially in hairy, stressful situations. Several friends also joined us and the gathering was merry. We also worked "India Day" in Indianapolis and spread awareness of the Banyan; Priya, a physical therapist friend, was instrumental in this endeavor and she was invaluable.
Naren and I went to NJ and stayed with dear cousins, Prita and Guna. That brought back several warm and lovely touches of home, especially the Tamil. Naren and I took the train to NYC, went to Brooklyn College, met his professors and saw his place of residence. All of it was fabulous: I love NYC and Brooklyn was particularly alive and vibrant. I got back to Indy, Navin and I caught up on movies and then it was work, work, work. Scott came to Indy for Labor Day and the time flew. We visited his folks at their farms, which was the ceaseless fun-fest it always is. We also got together with colleagues at their houses for dinner, and it was a wonderful time.
This week, Navin and I have seen practically every movie there is to see. A rare gem: "In a world," an indie piece written and directed by Lake Bell.
Navin is working and will try to make some $ for school: this is the joy of the U.S. - hard work never hurt anyone. Different in India - children go to work as early as 5 or 6 years of age, it is not humane, and even if you do work hard, changes of progress are not guaranteed: the caste system and workplace politics rule. The system is slowly changing, halleluia.
I talked to my Dad last week and that was fun. He had been to Thailand with a large group of friends/acquaintances and their families, and had had a good time.
The Banyan's call is getting louder. I will be heading home soon, to the land of the happy people, where bright smiles abound every morning, and 1 little paracetamol/acetaminophen can break a fever and cause much joy.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
2:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home