Day 3

Day 3

May 26, 2011

What an Indian adventure we had today! I will start from the beginning at the day in the clinic. The doctor in the morning is very interesting in his way of practicing medicine. He uses a more Indian style of medicine which basically translates into very daring in diagnostic and prescription. He is also not very personal with his patients. He took off his shoes and had them propped under the desk and rang a bell obnoxiously til a nurse was able to scurry in to take the general readings such a temperature and blood pressure. It honestly kind of bothered me a bit watching him. The second doctor who came in the afternoon was far better. She was more patient and loving with the people who came in. She also practiced a more modern, western style of medicine. She took the time to explain to us what was being conversed in Telegu into translated English so we could understand what was going on. She also explained treatment, diagnosis, and other possible explanations. Note to all Americans…be so thankful for the quality of medical care we do receive. This morning we were taught how to roll our own cotton balls by hand. Kinds of crafty maybe, however, these cotton balls were also used on many other things that you would expect to be sanitary. The thermometer was the type we used back in the day that you stick in your mouth and what 2 minutes to read the temperature. Well this thermometer is thrown in a mason like jar filled with a solution, taken out, wiped down with a cotton ball, stuck in the person’s mouth, wiped down with the same cotton ball and then thrown back into the same stagnant solution. That was only part of it. The mask commonly used on asthma patients in the United States, was merely wiped down with a cotton ball with a slight amount of alcohol on it. Although I was not expecting it to be like the medical care and sanitation we receive in the states and other parts of the world it was still interesting to see. There were two interesting cases today that really stuck me. One was a man who suffered from his first seizure at age 40. This is uncommon and also concerning. There are several possibilities to a case such as this, but the most likely is the development of a tumor. The most saddening case today was a Dalit woman who was 6 month pregnant and was already having small contractions.  This may not seem “shocking” but if only you could have seen how tiny she was. She looked like a 13 year old, but you could tell her face was worn and tired. Her body was so frail. She also has one other child who just turned a year old. With her being 6 months pregnant already…she must have gotten pregnant almost immediately after the birth of her first child. I intend on keeping all the patients in my prayers, but for this one especially, for both mother and child. The most common cases that come into the clinic are ones that are preventable by proper hygiene and nutrition. Gastronemia is caused by the bacteria in unclean drinking water. This is treated by prescribing patients with probiotics such as lacto bacillus which is also the common bacteria found in yogurt. So put two and two together…by eating yogurt this problem can be reduced. Anemia is the lack of iron in the body. A lot of iron is in red meat, but since by tradition most people in India do not eat beef, therefore they must get this from leafy greens such as spinach or other sources, but these are not common veggies found in this region. Others are Diabetes and diarrhea…Not all , but most cases are preventable by nutrition. The problem is that the people cannot afford it. I’m curious to see if there are any organizations focused directly on this need? This area has especially caught my attention and I hope that one day I am able to contribute to help solve this crisis. The clinic has devotions every morning at 9 o’clock. It was really cool! We sang three worship songs, one in Telegue (the local language), Hindi, and then in English. Everyone in the room is banging on desks to act as drums, tapping their feet, and singing along. We then read out of Hebrews and prayed for the staff, patients, and the day ahead.

            After the clinic hours were over we met up with some of the other interns to go back to Paradise (the place near the General Bazaar). The Indian transport system is an adventure in itself. I have never been on a bus so crammed with people. I was holding on for dear life as the other Indians on the bus laughed at us silly white people. It was especially encouraging to see all the cracks in the windshield (not). After about a 20 minute ride due to the infinite amount of motorcycles, Rickshaws, buses, bikes, and people we made it to our stop. So crossing a street in India is a do or die tactic. Our motto is stick with an Indian… they know what they are doing. If you are in the road and a car is coming…trust me the car has the right away. The bigger your means of transportation the more rights you have on the road. We finally made it to Paradise Restaurant where we enjoyed Buttered Namm, Cauliflower Curry, veggie and chicken Biryanis (fried rice in an array of aromic spices), and a Lassi (yogurt drink). After our rather filling meal we finally found a Rickshaw driver who was not trying to rip us off. We shoved 5 people in the back of a 2-3 person seat. We kinda looked like we were in a clown car with feet and other appendages hanging out from all sides, but it was such a fun time. After getting back to the base and meeting some more visitors who happened to be missionary consolers we decided to call off our busy day and finally get some rest. The hot sun and go go go lifestyle tires you out quickly, but the emotional strain is far worse.