Report of 1 Nov 2015
Belated Happy Halloween to all!
Hope all are well. We are fine, on our balcony looking out at a very soggy Bay of Bengal: the Northeast monsoon is here. The balcony is still a grand place to be.
Work has begun. I was at our seaside clinic, Kovalam, on Monday. The folks there, as at our other facilities, are fabulous. We are taking care of mental illness, and physical. Nisha, the able coordinator there, who is in her late 20's and running the center oh-so well, asked if I'd see a patient after the regular crowd was done. What Nisha says, I do. I saw the patient, whose mental illness is under good control. She is, however, tired and gaining weight, and I ordered some tests. Her daughter had brought her, and Nisha shared that we help the daughter with her collegiate education. Hooray! What a place. There appears to have been an abusive father, since deceased: no one seems sorry, except perhaps ruing the lack of finances. The young daughter was ferrying her mother to the clinic, working part-time, going to college, doing it all. I asked, before I could stop myself, exactly what the *&%$ the sons did, and then focused. We ordered some tests, I told the daughter I was impressed by her being in college, etc., and asked that she please not quit.
It helps immensely to be in an organisation where we try to solve problems, where we are the solution. It was wonderful to stare at the pretty young college student, and know that we would help her, come what may.
I went to Adaikalam on Tuesday and Thursday, and sat in on a meeting about Government schemes. We have an academic wing called "The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health," or "BALM," and a couple of recent graduates of our Master's Program have been hired by us; these folks did the presenting. It was eye-opening; there are schemes for widows and destitute women, etc., i.e., financial payments. The task before us now is how to access these schemes. We will find a way. It was grand to be back with the nurses and health care workers (hcw's): these are young women after my own heart, and they got an extra dose of chocolate for it. They are compassionate, and committed, and clinically solid, and downright fun. My friend, Fanny, runs a trust and helps quite a few single mothers with the education of their children. I had told her about a health care worker needing help, and that young lady thanked me for even mentioning it, getting very teary. I was bemused; I had simply mentioned it - c'est tout. As it turns out, the hcw needing help has 2 sisters who are helping pay for her daughter's schooling and she appears set, but still was profusely grateful for the mention.
We remain a mite cash-strapped. I would like an occasional meat dish to help our patients and staff get buff enough to combat illness without the aid of medicines. We will see if that happens. As you can tell, the lack of finances fazes no one.
This past summer has been epiphanic. Medicine in the U.S. this year was about money. Scott feared for the safety of our young sons, who are men of color; after the James Blake incident, it was evident that innocent bystanders of color are also attacked - by police officers. I don't think the U.S. can blithely talk of human rights violations in other countries when its own citizens are suspect due to the color of their skin. I realised that people in power - whether at corporations, hospitals or Volkswagen - can do anything. I also realised that there are folks who will speak up for what is right, but it seems to me that those are becoming fewer. On the flight back, as I was lying for the entire 10 hours despondently pondering these affairs, the flight attendant told me his parents had taught him to always look down, and do for those who were below him; that helped immeasurably.
My father is here this weekend and we have attended the wonderful conference organised by SMF Hospital. That hospital is committed to seeing our patients for free, and their conferences are annually excellent learning opportunities; my father and I went, and had a spectacular time.
Through all of this, I have remained grateful for the morally upright folks in my life - those at SMF, the Banyan, my family, new friends I made in Terre Haute, old friends in the U.S. and here. They have sustained me through turbulent last days in the U.S.
Ultimately, it is nice to be with folks who ceaselessly do for others. I am fortunate. We yell, and scream, and are not very nice, but collectively, we try to get the job done.
Unw -
R
Hope all are well. We are fine, on our balcony looking out at a very soggy Bay of Bengal: the Northeast monsoon is here. The balcony is still a grand place to be.
Work has begun. I was at our seaside clinic, Kovalam, on Monday. The folks there, as at our other facilities, are fabulous. We are taking care of mental illness, and physical. Nisha, the able coordinator there, who is in her late 20's and running the center oh-so well, asked if I'd see a patient after the regular crowd was done. What Nisha says, I do. I saw the patient, whose mental illness is under good control. She is, however, tired and gaining weight, and I ordered some tests. Her daughter had brought her, and Nisha shared that we help the daughter with her collegiate education. Hooray! What a place. There appears to have been an abusive father, since deceased: no one seems sorry, except perhaps ruing the lack of finances. The young daughter was ferrying her mother to the clinic, working part-time, going to college, doing it all. I asked, before I could stop myself, exactly what the *&%$ the sons did, and then focused. We ordered some tests, I told the daughter I was impressed by her being in college, etc., and asked that she please not quit.
It helps immensely to be in an organisation where we try to solve problems, where we are the solution. It was wonderful to stare at the pretty young college student, and know that we would help her, come what may.
I went to Adaikalam on Tuesday and Thursday, and sat in on a meeting about Government schemes. We have an academic wing called "The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health," or "BALM," and a couple of recent graduates of our Master's Program have been hired by us; these folks did the presenting. It was eye-opening; there are schemes for widows and destitute women, etc., i.e., financial payments. The task before us now is how to access these schemes. We will find a way. It was grand to be back with the nurses and health care workers (hcw's): these are young women after my own heart, and they got an extra dose of chocolate for it. They are compassionate, and committed, and clinically solid, and downright fun. My friend, Fanny, runs a trust and helps quite a few single mothers with the education of their children. I had told her about a health care worker needing help, and that young lady thanked me for even mentioning it, getting very teary. I was bemused; I had simply mentioned it - c'est tout. As it turns out, the hcw needing help has 2 sisters who are helping pay for her daughter's schooling and she appears set, but still was profusely grateful for the mention.
We remain a mite cash-strapped. I would like an occasional meat dish to help our patients and staff get buff enough to combat illness without the aid of medicines. We will see if that happens. As you can tell, the lack of finances fazes no one.
This past summer has been epiphanic. Medicine in the U.S. this year was about money. Scott feared for the safety of our young sons, who are men of color; after the James Blake incident, it was evident that innocent bystanders of color are also attacked - by police officers. I don't think the U.S. can blithely talk of human rights violations in other countries when its own citizens are suspect due to the color of their skin. I realised that people in power - whether at corporations, hospitals or Volkswagen - can do anything. I also realised that there are folks who will speak up for what is right, but it seems to me that those are becoming fewer. On the flight back, as I was lying for the entire 10 hours despondently pondering these affairs, the flight attendant told me his parents had taught him to always look down, and do for those who were below him; that helped immeasurably.
My father is here this weekend and we have attended the wonderful conference organised by SMF Hospital. That hospital is committed to seeing our patients for free, and their conferences are annually excellent learning opportunities; my father and I went, and had a spectacular time.
Through all of this, I have remained grateful for the morally upright folks in my life - those at SMF, the Banyan, my family, new friends I made in Terre Haute, old friends in the U.S. and here. They have sustained me through turbulent last days in the U.S.
Ultimately, it is nice to be with folks who ceaselessly do for others. I am fortunate. We yell, and scream, and are not very nice, but collectively, we try to get the job done.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
4:19 AM
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