Hallmark movie

I keep finding myself trying to shorten posts as I know my readers don’t have  large chucks of time to look over my entries. However, this has become an impossible task because everyday and week I learn things that have the potential to be transformational.

Enjoy…

I am not even sure where to start.

However, I assume starting with the last day I wrote would be a good place.

After the week in Rishikesh it was the weekend, and like always we spend this time on our own exploring city after city to cover as much land as possible. This weekend brought me to Dharmahshala, the town the Dahlia Lama resides in. It was a whirlwind of a weekend. I am going to do my best to describe it in detail, as this weekend will be a weekend I want to remember forever.

Friday, October 21

We arrived back into Dehradun around 3 PM, and our train left at 5 pm. We scurried to pack and then Taylor and I were on our way. This weekend was a bit different from the last as it was only the two of us. The other three decided they didn’t want to travel by bus, as it was uncomfortable and hot. I didn’t understand not wanting to travel as much as possible but we left on our merry way regardless. It was a twelve-hour air-conditioned bus ride. It was pleasant and we even made a friend from France. He flocked to us, because as I have explained many times, there is not very many light colored skin individuals here. His name was Rudolph and he was spending a few weeks exploring India. He was traveling alone and had been all through Europe.

 We got into Dharamashala at 5 AM and immediately checked into a hotel. It was still dark, and like I have said before, nobody is out about from 9 PM- 9 AM, unless you are “up to no good”. We needed a little extra shut-eye anyway.

Saturday, October 22

What a wonderful day. The town was quaint and vibrant. The weather was perfect. The town was at a higher altitude than we had been before so it was a bit chilly. The past four weeks has been so hot  that it was a wonderful change-- jeans, long sleeved shirts, a scarf and jacket reminded me of home. I am expecting to be very cold when I get off the plane in PDX but I was more than happy to bundle up for a day.

Small shops lined the streets and it was surprisingly clean. Although it was a tourist town as well, there were few cows, and the air was refreshing. The view was breath taking. I am still having moments where I cant believe I am in the middle of the Himalayan Mountains. The Rockies are familiar territory, but the Himalayans… it is surreal. There were many look out points, and great areas for pictures. Since we had the whole day ahead of us, and only one town to conquer we spent our sweet time moseying around. It was a nice change from our busy schedule. We spent hours shopping and walking around, and then made our way to the Buddhist temple. The town was very spiritual, the men and woman dedicating their life to Buddhism filled the streets. I could have people watched for hours, so that is exactly what we chose to do. 

 I bought a journal from one of the little shops to collect my thoughts in as I dont really have time to reflect on the extra things and specifics that couldn’t or don’t make it into my blog. It is more personal, and I see it being a wonderful investment for the future.  We sat down for tea, and I had time to write.

After tea we continued to walk the streets and make our way through small jewlery  and trinket shops. Needless to say, shopping was fun, again! After that we decided to go to Dinner.

It was a wonderful place, very modern. I think it used to be a Baskin Robins as there was a half worn off pink signature 31 symbol. They had all types of food, and they even had different types of wine and beer! Hip Hip Hooray! Tibetan people live near, and in their culture it is acceptable for woman and men to drink. Taylor and I sat for several hours, sipped on wine and talked about our day. One of my favorite down times in India.  After that it was time to go, so we boarded a bus back to Dehradun….

 

AND THEN…..

The wee hours of Sunday, October 23

The bus ride was awful, not just bad, but extremely horrific. It was a different bus than the ride in, and to top it off we also had our first battle with racism. The bus held around 35 people; the seats were slick, and small. Additionally, because the roads back was so bumpy every seat had two different handlebars to brace you with, except ours. Strangle only ours didn’t have any. Hmm…

It was 14 hours of hitting our heads, falling off of our seats, laying on the bags people had piled up, and several people found it so amusing they laughed at us along the way. I slept on the floor at one point because it was much more comfortable than the seat itself. Note to self, and everyone else who may travel to India: don’t take the Long Distance Local Bus. Seats were cheap but not assigned, and in India there is no capacity limit. At one point 60+ people filled the bus. Men and woman sat on our laps and piled their suitcases on our feet. Awful. I wish I were able to choose better words to describe it because 150 words cannot accurately portray it. Its official, I had my first bad experience in India.

Unfortunately it slightly sucked the “high” I was on while in Dharmshala. Everything was perfect, but the bus ride regrettably dampened it. Oh well. Life goes on.

Even with one awful, negative experience, I came to India to learn, and I have and will continue to do so. I am sure when I get back into the states I will have mouthfuls of conversations I will be so eager to share.

Side commentary:

While sitting drinking my tea in Dharmashala I was thinking about Ellis again, and his comment on Facebook of “I Love Life’. I am almost sure he declared that while in India. People live day in and day out setting up small shops and living on the streets but are somehow still content and happy. Everyday life goes on. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you are doing, life goes on. Some people have it better than you do, and some people have it worse than you, that is just the way it is going to be. There is no reason to mope. In the dirtiest, most polluted, crowded, poverty stricken third world country days pass and continue to pass regardless of circumstance. Life is different here, and my perspective is continually evolving.

Monday and Tuesday October 24-25, 2011

Week 4. Wow. The crew is back in Dehradun and all of us went back to work.

Rotations this week include Dr. B. C. Ramola, an ophthalmologist at the government ran, Doon hospital (I talked about this hospital in my first post). After that, I head back to Dr. Naths for continued lessons on doshas, quantum healing, Hypocrites philosophies, Sanskrit health, and several others. I spent my first week in Dehradun with him, and also my last. He is a 99-year-old knowledge powerhouse. I am trying to be an excellent student, as he is an excellent teacher.

My work in Dehradun ends each day with Dr. Sanjay Gandhi, a self-made, very successful do-it-all doctor and business owner. His life is a Hallmark movie. He started The City Heart Centere ‘Emergency Room’ with only little in his pocket and a big dream in his head. I was assigned two and half hours each day with him, even though all week none of my meeting times were less than three hours. I find myself disappointed when it is time for me to leave. This is one time Indian time has come in handy—I didn’t have to leave on the dot. I have learned so much from this man both personally and professionally; I could fill up pages and pages on only our discussions. Most of these details and stories have made their way into my personal journal, but to all of my readers I offer you the shortened, comprehensive version.

I know Dr. Gandhi will be reading this, so to him I say in advance: I hope I do your story justice. I cannot thank you enough for everything this week.

I titled this blog Hallmark movie, because similar to the past few weeks I have found myself with the feeling of being in a movie. Spending the week with Dr. Gandhi has been such an honor, it was a wonderful experience to both converse and listen to him. He has an amazing success story all the while maintaining humbleness. He is the epitome of a Hallmark movie.

He grew up in a socioeconomically poor family. Eight family members resided in one 10 by 10 feet room. He lived on less than 10 rupees a week (20 cents) and by the tenth grade had stopped going to school. Tensions were tough between family members as Dr. Gandhi had so much potential but nearly settled for being a small vegetable vendor. After many life-altering decisions he proceeded to put himself through medical school solely on dedication, merit and clever money making strategies. Who knew, frog blood, love letters and hand made stereos could pay all of the bills.

According to Dr. Gandhi getting through medical school was the easy part; opening up a practice was where things began to get difficult.  City Heart Center began with one stethoscope, one blood pressure cuff, one small room; no beds, blankets, instruments or lights. Now, at the age of only 37 City Heart is a several story building with several beds, advanced equipment and a booming hospital made famous nationwide by solely word of mouth. He will retire by the age of 45.

He is such a badass. Fountain pen, Iphone (the only one I have seen in India), red motor bike, several cars, a huge library and collection of movies and most importantly a great deal of respect from his patients, colleagues, staff and myself. I aspire to follow a similar path to Dr. Gandhi.

Not only does he own a clinic similar to the one I hope to open, but he also possess many of the traits I hope to incorporate into my own practice someday. Being a patient so many times I have realized the importance of listening to a patient and dedicating more time than just a quick consultation. It is easy to do, but often forgotten by medical professionals. A few extra minutes can make a mile of a distance.

I could add much, much more to his story and the time I have spent with him, but within a year or so he will publish his book and I don’t want to give away too many details. His book is titled

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL *

*conditions apply

Perfect title. I cannot wait to get my own personal copy, and read it. 

Dr. Gandhi has inspired me. I will remember our discussions for the rest of my life. He also gave me his fountain pen, probably the coolest thing I will bring back from India! Thanks Doctor Gandhi!!

Wednesday October 26, 2011

Happy Diwali!!!!

I was lucky enough for my internship to fall on the biggest holiday in Indian tradition. In a previous post I wrote about Dushara, a holiday celebrated with fireworks and a finale of explosions imitating the triumphant victory of good over evil. The whole month of October is a festivity of lights and merriment. The time gap is comparative to how we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas close together. People here give gifts of mostly sweets, and a few families exchange other types of presents. I feel so privileged to be apart of a massive holiday while studying with several doctors and living with a joyous guest family.  India has given me almost everything I could have asked for. All week rope lights and “Christmas” lights filled the city. It was awesome, just like home, except in October. Doctor Gandhi received hundreds of gifts, Dr. Nath celebrated with nuts and sweets, and after that we visited other families that happily gave us sweets and fruit juice. In the evening, around 645 the festival truly begins. Since it is a religious holiday many families pray and give offerings to the several gods. They also participate in a small ceremony from home. Mr. and Mrs. Metha were nice enough to allow us to join in the ceremony.

Although I do not classify myself to any religion, having the privilege to participate in a ceremony so dear to our “exchange parents” was awesome. Full participants!

We also celebrated with Dominos pizza, and cake, it was time for us to treat our coordinators!
And yes, that is a red dot on my forehead-- dont worry its not real, just a holiday! :)

FINALE!!!

October 26, and the festival of lights ends with a bang… literally. Around 6:45-7:00 the fun begins--fireworks, a lot of them! Fireworks are not regulated in India because the ceremony is for religious purposes. (Similar to the law loopholes we have in the United States) Every family, and especially the kids have a grand ol’ time lighting off the ‘crackers’! While we didn’t participate in lighting the crackers off, we got the wonderful opportunity to watch the show of lights from the rooftop of our guesthouse.  I love our Fourth of July extravaganzas, but I must admit--- the firework show here Is much more impressive. Not only are there more people to light off fireworks, but since large, exploding in the sky fireworks are relatively inexpensive and legal, the show was very impressive. No certifications necessary; a match and a quick runner are the only qualifications.

The ceremonies and fireworks were amazing, but the highlight of my day were smiles. Since it was a holiday everyone was joyful, even those in the hospital. I loved the smiles so much I wanted to purposely create more. So, before my last rotations with Dr. Gandhi I bought 60 pieces of candy that sell for a whopping 1 rupee each. During my rotations I handed them out to the staff, the visitors and all of the patients who were already admitted or were coming in for a checkup. It was so rewarding, and the reactions I received will be embedded in my heart forever. One American dollar bought me 60 smiles of appreciation. I am quickly reinforcing my ideal I have lived by my whole life, some things money can’t buy, and in the end you cant take money to the brave.

Thursday October 27

Back to work! Everybody was off holiday break, and now its back to the grind. Rotations continued as normal, but today we were in for a treat! Eye surgery! Taylor and I arrived at 10AM and Dr. Ramola dedicates  every Thursday to eye surgeries. We had the opportunity to watch cataract surgery, cauterization, and lens replacement. Thirteen older patients were in need of eye maintenance and upgrade; many of them in hope for a miracle. Dr. Ramola transforms into a ball of seriousness when he is in surgery, he has been doing surgery since 1990 and continues to do all of the cutting an suturing without any help from a machine. A 300 micrometer incision made solely by a steady hand, and much needed confidence. Each surgery was extremely quick, 8-10 minutes each!

Sadly the last patient was not an adult, it was an 11-year-old boy who was came in with injuries due to Diwali. He was covered in burns, and his eyes were scorched shut. Dr. Ramola said he would gain his vision back, but it would be a long painful process as he had so many firecracker particles in both of his eyes.

I wanted to post some of the more gory pictures, but I resisted because I know some of my readers would not get the same joy I get out of it.

Three things I learned from watching the surgeries.

Standard procedure and health precautions are drastically, terrifyingly different. Keep in mind, this was performed at a public, government run hospital. Standards are unfortunately low, but treatment is cheap. Patients were kept track of by numbered pieces of tape put over their eye bandages. Patients all stood in the same room surgery were being performed in. If you look closely you can see the surgery projected onto the computer screen. This means: patients waiting to have surgery get to watch a real time procedure they are about to have- not intimidating at all. There were cords and wires everywhere. If you look closely atthe picture you can make out the surgery on the computer screen (don’t look too much if you are easily nauseated).

Sterilization does not exist. Instruments are dipped in a bowl of alcohol and wiped off with a towel to be used on the next patient. Gloves were only changed every other patient, as hand sanitizer was only used occasionally in-between. None of the nurses had gloves on, and we were not required to scrub up or wash our hands before entering. Good thing I have been living in my scrubs and I don’t leave home without my hand sanitizer!

Teaching children how to act and take care of themselves should be a priority, not an option; especially in dangerous situations. Since fire works are not regulated, proper safety precautions should be. I understand India is highly populated but the safety of individuals should not be sacrificed. This may sound harsh, but all doctors I am working with 100% agree with me.

Friday, October 28

One last day of rotations.

While Tay and I will continue on for 6 more weeks, this week marks the end of the other colleagues journey though India. They only signed up for the four-week program; Morgan and Elliot will head back to PA school in Iowa, and Sadie will continue to be a traveling nurse heading to San Diego next. It was a fun month with you all, and I am already looking forward to our next get-together adventure. India crew reunion TBD---Mexico, Canada, Europe, Hawaii???

I came to India to fine tune the path that would lead me to the career of my dreams. Four weeks in and only a northern aspect of India discovered I have advanced tremendously

It is time to say goodbye to new friends, goodbye to my wonderful coordinator Mayank, goodbye to all of the doctors and specialist I have had the opportunity to work with, goodbye to my housemother and housefather, good bye to Dehradun, and goodbye to week four.

Next stop, Delhi.

Until we meet again,

India and Shelane