Report of 9 Sept 2018
Good evening from our balcony -
The day is clear and bright, the sea is visible almost at hand and it is a relaxed Sunday evening.
We are okay. The Banyan is fabulous. I resumed at Kovalam last week and had all my favorite patients there. One of them, a fairly cantankerous older lady, stated to me, "Well, sat around for 5 months getting good rest, did you?" I mentioned I had gone to see my mother-in-law, which instantly shuts down patient ire. We saw many, many patients and tried to do what we could with what we have.
While the trust from the patients is bolstering, it is a mixed blessing: when I tell them to go see a specialist, many do not. One of the patients died earlier in the summer due to delay in getting to a specialist and I was sorry. Until they realise the importance of seeing a heart doctor or an eye doctor when we suggest it, there is no way we can force them to go. An older lady actually told me to operate on her eye at our clinic. That I am not an ophthalmologist, that we do not have an operating room, that we are just a rudimentary clinic - all that was lost on her.
We have attended 3 weddings since my return. The last one featured guests from Qatar. I think the flu doing the rounds at the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, and which has since gone with travellers to other parts of the world, made it here. My sister's entire family and I came down with fever and flu-like symptoms after the event. It has been spectacularly horrible; 6 days of fever, malaise, weakness and a disinclination to do anything other than lie on the sofa. One night, Scott acually moved well away from me in bed as my body temperature was so high :) - and then I moved to spend the night also on the sofa. I already spend the days there. Tomorrow, I am going to ask for IV fluids when I go to Kovalam; let us see if that would help.
So, that has been my life. The Banyan and a most annoying sickness. We did manage to hang out with Naren and talked to my Dad; both conversations were nice. We hope to catch Navin in a day or 2.
Unw -
R
The day is clear and bright, the sea is visible almost at hand and it is a relaxed Sunday evening.
We are okay. The Banyan is fabulous. I resumed at Kovalam last week and had all my favorite patients there. One of them, a fairly cantankerous older lady, stated to me, "Well, sat around for 5 months getting good rest, did you?" I mentioned I had gone to see my mother-in-law, which instantly shuts down patient ire. We saw many, many patients and tried to do what we could with what we have.
While the trust from the patients is bolstering, it is a mixed blessing: when I tell them to go see a specialist, many do not. One of the patients died earlier in the summer due to delay in getting to a specialist and I was sorry. Until they realise the importance of seeing a heart doctor or an eye doctor when we suggest it, there is no way we can force them to go. An older lady actually told me to operate on her eye at our clinic. That I am not an ophthalmologist, that we do not have an operating room, that we are just a rudimentary clinic - all that was lost on her.
We have attended 3 weddings since my return. The last one featured guests from Qatar. I think the flu doing the rounds at the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, and which has since gone with travellers to other parts of the world, made it here. My sister's entire family and I came down with fever and flu-like symptoms after the event. It has been spectacularly horrible; 6 days of fever, malaise, weakness and a disinclination to do anything other than lie on the sofa. One night, Scott acually moved well away from me in bed as my body temperature was so high :) - and then I moved to spend the night also on the sofa. I already spend the days there. Tomorrow, I am going to ask for IV fluids when I go to Kovalam; let us see if that would help.
So, that has been my life. The Banyan and a most annoying sickness. We did manage to hang out with Naren and talked to my Dad; both conversations were nice. We hope to catch Navin in a day or 2.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu at
4:26 AM
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