Namaste from Uluberiya India
It was very nice to get to sleep in until 7 am!!! We had
breakfast which here is potatoes in curry sauce, toast, broiled tomatoes,
boiled eggs, lentils, a creamed pasta & some variety of meat that never
looks very appetizing. Another ting I forgot was the “interesting meals”. At
breakfast we found out we weren’t leaving to go to the hospital for set up
until 9 which is what gave me time to get my blog post from yesterday. We
headed to the hospital for set up & we have a great space for the recovery
room. We had to move out alot of stuff – an old
Xray machine, some old gurneys, and boxes of supplies. We will have 4 beds
& a bassinette for the little ones.
Since most of these areas of the hospital haven’t ever been used because of the
patient funds Op Smile pays the hospital I think they bought all new beds for
the post op area, mattresses for the pre-op area & we got some bedside
tables. I have never had “new stuff” on missions. The ORs were a little
different though...the one that is being converted from a storeroom is still “under
construction” with holes in the wall & ceiling!
We have a bathroom in the recovery room & we opened the
door to it & immediately the smell bothered our eyes & throats. We
found out that they were storing the fumigation machine in there??? I have no idea why but we immediately closed
it & let the hospital people know. They removed the fumigation machine and
we are hoping that they will open the door & let it air out overnight. We
finished by 2 or so & came back to the hotel. We were supposed to have
“Team Day Activity” at the hotel but there were still quite a few people at the
hospital finishing up charts etc so it never happened which was fine. Karen
& I wanted to walk the little village here on the dirt road – Uluberiya. A
few of the younger girls on the team asked the front desk people about going
& they said it was dangerous & you weren’t allowed to go & needed
to take a man etc but earlier the anesthesiologists had gone & said it was
fine. Karen & I decided to go on our own very discreetly, we felt safe, it
was the middle of the afternoon & I have been in far more dangerous
countries. Andrea saw us leaving in stealth mode & came with us too.
What an utterly amazing experience to really see how our
patients live…it was “good weather today” so many had come down to the river
for bathing. There is no running water in the village – there are 2 wells.
Seeing 20+ people all bathe in the river was reminiscent of Ethiopia. As we
walked we felt very safe – there are always a few sketchy people but it was mid
day & fine. Seeing their “homes” up close was much more heart wrenching
than driving by on the bus. They had cemest bages being used as “curtains” over
windows, corrugated metal as a roof & a makeshift door of any sort made a
home more luxurious. Most had openings (doors/windows) you could see right into
their space. They gather & chop wood that they then place on top of their
homes to dry out & use for fires. There are cowpies they hae made everywhere
drying in the sun that are used for fuel & some on houses used for
insulation. In this town there is a brickyard where some people work &
fields where others work. The saddest sight was a coal pile where a woman was
breaking up coal that is used for heat in the brickyard. There were 2 girls at
the well getting water for their family & another place where tiny children
(maybe 2-6) were playing right by the fire, by the road by a pond of water…at
home we would never let our kids play alone near one of those (open fire, body
of water & the street) let alone all 3 at once. We saw some people with
goats near their homes & an older woman moving her 3 cows thru the road. We
said hello & some of the kids in the village followed us as we walked
around – we tried to talk to them but they were very shy. Other women &
children came out of their huts I am sure to see the “white people” we would
wave, smile & greet them. Most here speak Bengali (which none of us speak)
and the national language is Indie. We met one father with 4 children &
engaged with them in sign language for the most part & took their picture.
Bikes seem to be a common mode of travel after walking, then motorcycles. The
only cars are taxi types that aren’t in the village. There seemed to be general
poverty but also a few levels within that – huts with dirt floors & some
with brick floors we saw women sweeping. Different types of roofs & walls.
Despite what we all would consider “terrible conditions” they looked happy and seemed
content with their lives in this little village despite all the hardships we
could identify –perhaps because this is simply the life they know. It does make
me wonder what they think when they come to the hospital? And some things are
the same – closer to the hotel by the river where people came to be for the day
there was a man on a bike with a cooler selling ice cream for 5 Rupees (about 8
cents) & a mom buying 4 children ice cream. Like our trips to the beach
they had carried with them chairs and blankets and food and sat by the river.
There were men out fishing on the river. In time it became less and less
shocking as we looked past their circumstances and just saw them saw them
living their lives as families & as a village. I think of talks I have
heard about being ‘grateful or cheerful in any circumstance” and this was a
very visual lesson for me today. I truly have absolutely nothing to complain
about and so much of what people in the states are concerned with are all 1st
world trivial problems when you take a global perspective. How blessed are we
in the United States and how much we have to give of our bounty.
We came back & had some time before a 7:30 dinner &
mtg so I started to get things packed & ready for the first day of surgery
tomorrow. It is looking like we will do between 180-190 surgeries in our 7 days
– it seems unbelievable that this team will change so many lives in one week!
Tomorrow will be another long day. Wake up call at 5:30, breakfast at 6 leave
at 6:30 to be at the hospital by 7. The days will be long & the work
challenging but I am so grateful to be here & use the talents I have
developed and been blessed with for good. Our Recovery room group seems
wonderful -we all set up today &
Karen is ultra-organized so I love that – we are set for a great week! I miss
my family but was able to skype voice call Doug tonight which was nice – even
at the hotel there is no cell service just intermittent wifi. It’s now 11 pm
& I need to get to bed – hopefully I can post this to my blog in the
morning.
***Alas there was no internet this morning so I am posting this Monday night my time & hoping to write & post todays blog as well :)
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