Report of 6 Feb 2014
Aloha!
A husband next to me, a bowl of apple slices that I have clipped through, a chance to blog - life is good.
We are well and hope the same with you. Work has been nice. Today, I taught some new health care workers about vital signs. And then the older staff and I got together for a session on malaria. All of it was good: the desire to learn, the interaction, the banter. At the end of the session, one of the hcw's asked if my husband was from out of town; I said, "He's from out of country. Have you not seen him?" And was very puzzled, because all know I am married to a white guy. Last year, said white guy even danced with me to a Tamil song, one written by our beloved Academy Award-winning Chennai native, A. R. Rahman. This was at the Banyan's "Family Day," and the crowd appreciated the effort.
The patients have been good. The other day, I asked one of the patients in Hindi what she had eaten for breakfast and one of our more non-communicative patients, Tamil-speaking, gave the reply in excellent Hindi. It was a fabulous moment: this latter patient, Ms. X, sometimes answers questions, sometimes speaks of her own issues and sometimes does not interact at all. By the sound of it, her husband abandoned her, sold all her possessions, and her family brought her to the Banyan. She is an excellent dancer, and often bops to old Tamil movie songs; honestly, the power of the arts to heal and soothe is tremendous. To get a meaningful interaction from Ms. X, at an unexpected moment and during a chat with a different patient, now that was life-affirming.
On the weekend, Scott and I ran a ton of errands and then went to a colleague's brother's wedding reception. Scott is of the belief that one must attend weddings one is invited to, and so, off we went. It is nice to attend colleagues' events: we see a different side of them, and they appear unfailingly grateful that we are there.
Let me wind up as it is dusk. Naren and Navin are well and back in their respective territories. I remain perennially grateful that the boys communicate with us, and hug and express affection.
Unw -
R
A husband next to me, a bowl of apple slices that I have clipped through, a chance to blog - life is good.
We are well and hope the same with you. Work has been nice. Today, I taught some new health care workers about vital signs. And then the older staff and I got together for a session on malaria. All of it was good: the desire to learn, the interaction, the banter. At the end of the session, one of the hcw's asked if my husband was from out of town; I said, "He's from out of country. Have you not seen him?" And was very puzzled, because all know I am married to a white guy. Last year, said white guy even danced with me to a Tamil song, one written by our beloved Academy Award-winning Chennai native, A. R. Rahman. This was at the Banyan's "Family Day," and the crowd appreciated the effort.
The patients have been good. The other day, I asked one of the patients in Hindi what she had eaten for breakfast and one of our more non-communicative patients, Tamil-speaking, gave the reply in excellent Hindi. It was a fabulous moment: this latter patient, Ms. X, sometimes answers questions, sometimes speaks of her own issues and sometimes does not interact at all. By the sound of it, her husband abandoned her, sold all her possessions, and her family brought her to the Banyan. She is an excellent dancer, and often bops to old Tamil movie songs; honestly, the power of the arts to heal and soothe is tremendous. To get a meaningful interaction from Ms. X, at an unexpected moment and during a chat with a different patient, now that was life-affirming.
On the weekend, Scott and I ran a ton of errands and then went to a colleague's brother's wedding reception. Scott is of the belief that one must attend weddings one is invited to, and so, off we went. It is nice to attend colleagues' events: we see a different side of them, and they appear unfailingly grateful that we are there.
Let me wind up as it is dusk. Naren and Navin are well and back in their respective territories. I remain perennially grateful that the boys communicate with us, and hug and express affection.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
4:56 AM
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