Report of 21 Oct '13
And how the cosmos rights itself, eh -
I had not looked forward to returning home, and did not have the zeal of prior years. Our sons are in the U.S. and the apartment would seem empty. But we came, and my Dad arrived shortly after we did, distracting us quite nicely from the silence of our empty residence and filling it with his genial chatter.
Then today, I resumed work at Kovalam, our sea-side village. My father came with me. Salih, the project head (all of 29 years old, a little over 1/2 my age) and very capable colleague, had asked a young boy in the village to come and see me with his mother. The boy, X, had injured his arm, and the mother had done little about it, finally forcing Salih to send the child to the hospital, where an xray was taken and a break in the upper arm bone (the humerus) seen. X was to have been admitted and surgery done, we have no cash for such activities and neither does the mother. So, we were going to send X to the Government hospital where care is free and respect for the average patient is hard to come by. My father, sitting in my room at work for the day, stated that the surgery would be intricate, the break having some at a spot near the growth plate, and said we had to have it very carefully evaluated. As already mentioned, money for private care is non-existent, so we sent the child to the excellent hospital where our patients are seen for free or at a discount: SMF Hospital is known for its quality and rigor, and the child has been seen and told to go to physical therapy.
What a relief when those without resources can still get good care.
X's father has abandoned the family; X's mother (while still in poverty) has raised 2 children and the older one, a girl, sounds like she has ADHD. I have not met her, folks speak of her. X has a hearing disability and might be learning-impaired: he is in 7th grade and cannot read or write well. I was flabbergasted, but was reminded that teachers in the Government schools here - where education is provided for free - get rewarded for the pass percentage, and I suppose they kept passing X so that their record would look good. I feel for the mother: though plenty of colleagues faulted her for not caring closely for the child, I think she should also be psychoanalysed and her stressors delineated. It's very easy for us to sit on the outside and get holier-than-thou about the lady's maternal instincts, is it not.
A medical conference conducted by SMF over the weekend was excellent, and I enjoyed it. My father came up from Madurai to attend it. I had to be in charge of my father the whole time, and did not mind it; it is quite a privilege. Things have changed with my Dad: gait is slower, need to go to the restroom has increased, he likes his plate of food handed to him instead of trolling the buffet line, etc. What has not changed: his genial good humor, love of a new experience and tremendous fondness for his son-in-law, my husband. It was a very fun weekend.
Hope all of you have fun of your own.
Unw -
R
I had not looked forward to returning home, and did not have the zeal of prior years. Our sons are in the U.S. and the apartment would seem empty. But we came, and my Dad arrived shortly after we did, distracting us quite nicely from the silence of our empty residence and filling it with his genial chatter.
Then today, I resumed work at Kovalam, our sea-side village. My father came with me. Salih, the project head (all of 29 years old, a little over 1/2 my age) and very capable colleague, had asked a young boy in the village to come and see me with his mother. The boy, X, had injured his arm, and the mother had done little about it, finally forcing Salih to send the child to the hospital, where an xray was taken and a break in the upper arm bone (the humerus) seen. X was to have been admitted and surgery done, we have no cash for such activities and neither does the mother. So, we were going to send X to the Government hospital where care is free and respect for the average patient is hard to come by. My father, sitting in my room at work for the day, stated that the surgery would be intricate, the break having some at a spot near the growth plate, and said we had to have it very carefully evaluated. As already mentioned, money for private care is non-existent, so we sent the child to the excellent hospital where our patients are seen for free or at a discount: SMF Hospital is known for its quality and rigor, and the child has been seen and told to go to physical therapy.
What a relief when those without resources can still get good care.
X's father has abandoned the family; X's mother (while still in poverty) has raised 2 children and the older one, a girl, sounds like she has ADHD. I have not met her, folks speak of her. X has a hearing disability and might be learning-impaired: he is in 7th grade and cannot read or write well. I was flabbergasted, but was reminded that teachers in the Government schools here - where education is provided for free - get rewarded for the pass percentage, and I suppose they kept passing X so that their record would look good. I feel for the mother: though plenty of colleagues faulted her for not caring closely for the child, I think she should also be psychoanalysed and her stressors delineated. It's very easy for us to sit on the outside and get holier-than-thou about the lady's maternal instincts, is it not.
A medical conference conducted by SMF over the weekend was excellent, and I enjoyed it. My father came up from Madurai to attend it. I had to be in charge of my father the whole time, and did not mind it; it is quite a privilege. Things have changed with my Dad: gait is slower, need to go to the restroom has increased, he likes his plate of food handed to him instead of trolling the buffet line, etc. What has not changed: his genial good humor, love of a new experience and tremendous fondness for his son-in-law, my husband. It was a very fun weekend.
Hope all of you have fun of your own.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
6:44 AM
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