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Published: July 16th 2007
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Hello Bloggers!
I am beginning my third week here in Mumbai and I have finally gotten settled to the hustle and bustle of the city. I spent my weekend in the southern part of the city relaxing and taking in some sightseeing. It was so hot this past weekend (it felt like 150 degrees with the humidity!) that roaming around was exhausting. I was back in southern Mumbai, the main tourist hub and a great place to score some western cuisine (think chicken sandwiches mmmm...protein!). I ventured out with Ellie, a girl from England who is here teaching for the month of July. In addition to shopping (of course!) at my new favorite spot, FabIndia, we travelled to the National Gallery of Modern Art. It was a sweet relief from the heat and a great place to have some space from the millions of people that congregate downtown. The museum was filled with paintings mostly from Indian artists, which the occasional British one tossed in.
We have started a night time ritual, making the 100 rupee (about $1.50) trip to gelato italiano (another one of my mumbai hotspots!). It is a great way to spent the night with
the rest of the people in the program. After surviving yet another frightening rickshaw ride experience (a daily fear), we managed to run into another elephant in the road and this time I was determined to get my picture taken with him! In an attempt to get closer, he opened his mouth and scared the living crap out of me! I told him and the owner that I was close enough!
I spent this morning at V.N. Desi Municipal Hospital (just another name for scary free city healthcare! eek!). From the moment we arrived the hospital was filled with people and a couple cats! The lines to see the doctor are usually 50 deep and the checkup barely last five minutes. I finally made it to the pedatric outpatient clinic, which was wonderful. In a matter of two hours we had seen about 100 children! We saw what I have come to call the bread and butter of Indian disease-malaria, viral and bacterial infections (which will never be cultured), scabies and the ever pleasant parasites (worms, ameobas). I really enjoyed spending time here, even though I have an obvious language barrier, it is amazing how much you can get
out of the parent/child interaction. The body language speaks volumes and makes it easier to understand the diagnosis process. The entire morning was hectic and at times I was concerned that my questioning might limit a child's diagnosis and treatment. They really speed through the lines in seconds and the majority of these kids will be back next week, because they weren't properly diagnosed in the first place.
After the morning clinic, I took the afternoon to grab coffee and some snacks (from the international food aisle 😊 ), before I had to leave again for my night clinic in the slums. At around 6:30 a fellow student and myself headed off to an extremely poor slum area north of our guesthouse. This is probably the worst place I have seen yet. The cab drops you off on the highway and you venture down about 40 steps to the heart of the slum. You are literally right in the middle of this community. There are people everywhere and the smell is like nothing I have experienced before ( a mix of human excremet and rotting food). We made are way to Dr. Mehtre's clinic, which is in the center
of the slum. It is scary to be surrounded on all sides by such extreme poverty and depression. The clinic is tiny and half of it is taken up by the examining table. Dr. Mehtre works until midnight-in an attempt to keep up with the disease in the community. He is a wonderful doctor and the people adore him. Even though his clinic is in one of the worst areas in the city, he is still able to make his patients laugh.
So far, this night clinic has been the best experience. Dr. Mahtre is an excellant teacher and he is so willing to explain each case. Tonight we saw a woman that was eight months pregnant (she barely looked five months by US standards), more malaria (one case even confirmed by bloodwork! A first!), a possible case of Chikengunya (a viral disease that literally means bent over, due to swelling in the joints), lots of GI infections, another girl with scabies and a ton of acid reflux (time to switch the diet! it's even taking a toll on the Indian population!). The clinic was wonderful and I can't wait to spend the next four nights there.
I hope that everyone is doing well and I will post asap!
More pictures to come on this blog entry-the computers are being lame and I'm closing down the interent cafe-till tomorrow!
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