National Geographic

Disclaimer: being up in the mountains has provided me with a lot of down time. This post is long, but my favorite so far.

October 9, 2011 Saturday

National Geographic: The Taj Mahal

Guess what?!

I saw the Taj Mahal! I can officially cross off a world wonder on my bucket list! Wooo! I traveled a total of 24 hours in less than 72 hours. It is located in the city Agra, how privileged I am to have seen the white marbled wonder.  It was a bumpy ride in a poorly air-conditioned van, but in the end it was worth every minute.

It was amazing. It was beautiful.

Side note--similar start to the adventure through the ruins-- we went to buy our tickets and there were two lines, foreigners and natives. Yes, I know I am a foreigner, thanks for reminding me… again

My experience.

We walked through an entrance into a big open courtyard, and even though we couldn’t see the Taj yet, I was ogling at everything around me. Such intricate details carved into red sandstone and marble.

After roaming around we strolled through a large arch, which perfectly framed the biggest monument ever constructed out of love.

It was an odd view to swallow at first, it didn’t look real-- it looked like a painting. There were crowds of people everywhere.

It was so hot, a whopping 95+ degrees. Scorching by Oregon standards. I can’t imagine how cold it is going to be for me when I get step off that plane in PDX. I hope you are all enjoying the rain :)

October 10, 2011- October 14, 2011

National Geographic: Patti, India

After our weekend in Agra, India is was time for our next clinical rotation.

We were dropped in the middle of the Himalayans at a rural community medical center in the village of Patti.

How very different Patti is from the city. It amazes me the magnitude of change that came from a 45-minute drive. It is so much quieter here, no horns honking or people bustling through the streets. No packing 11 people into a tiny space, just mountains, open space and fresh air. It is nice to see a blue sky and not a smoggy haze. In the city the air is so polluted, it was not until coming to Patti I realized how bad it actually was.

Onto my duties….

I was to work with Dr. Paul, a man who has been working in villages on the outskirts of Dehradun for the past 12 years.  He lives in the city (Dehradun) during the weekend but stays in the clinic Monday through Friday. This medical center is solely funded by the program I am working with, CFHI  (child family and health International). It feels good knowing that the money I spent to go on this trip actually supports a facility I can see in person, and not just in pictures. It was only built three years ago, but salary, supplies, everything is paid for in full by CFHI. For all who make the trek to the clinic, health care and medicine is free.

Although medical supplies are sparse, it has what is necessary.

A little bit of perspective:

The closest village is at the very least a 20-minute walk

The furthest is a 20+ hour walk

I had a great time with Dr. Paul and the crew. Everyone is so nice, and while everyone takes their job seriously, for the most part they are all jokesters. I cant count the amount of times Dr Paul, Varinder, and the cook Rico has made me laugh with jokes and by scaring me. Everyone knows that I am easily spooked, and they all have taken advantage of that.

I titled this post “National Geographic” because the past several days I feel as though I have been living in a feature story for the National Geographic magazine. Small huts constructed with tin, vines, strings, wood or whatever else is accessible. Villagers cutting and harvesting rice with handmade tools, and women and children carrying huge loads on their heads however long the distance necessary.

Paths and roads only made by few footprints. Water trickling down the mountain side through hand carved divots. I am working in a clinic villager’s walk minutes, hours and even days to receive healthcare. I never thought I would be able to say leopards, cobras and monkeys walk on the same rocks I do anywhere else but the zoo. I now can.

I think I am in the Jungle, or at least it feels like it.

The sky is blue here, and at night I can see a couple stars. Let me assure you it is nothing like the sky we see in Oregon, it is nothing like my view of the little dipper from my backyard. I view the sky lying on my back after finishing our nightly yoga session. Two times a day we have yoga lessons from a private yoga instructor. It is wonderful and it brings me back to the flexibility I was capable of many years ago when dancing everyday.

Let me tell you, this whole week has been a wild ride. Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have yoga from 7-8, breakfast at 8:15, morning clinic from 9AM-1, we have lunch and a break followed by tea time at 3. After that, it is evening clinic 3-6, yoga 6-7 and dinner is served promptly at 8.

Tuesday and Thursday however is slightly different. Yoga is from 7-8, breakfast is served at 8:15 and around 9 we leave to hike to a village. Dr. Paul and his team walk to a different village, once every month. The villagers know when to expect the medical crew in their town but otherwise; if it cannot wait they come to the clinic. Tuesday we went to the village Bakarna, population: 300.

 It was not busy but one case intrigued me. A woman came in with scars on her face, and a hazy look in her eyes. She didn’t speak English, but Dr. Paul told us she had Epilepsy. She had seizures when she was child, which went away and then came back during puberty. The scars were imprinted on her face from a fire, which she had collapsed into during a seizure. She had been prescribed Phenobarbital for the epilepsy (common under specific circumstances) and ayurvedic Brahami tablets for memory. I will definitely be looking more into the tablets when I return home as it has significantly helped her. 

October 13, 2011 Thursday

I had the best time. We worked at a small health care camp in the Village of Dhalani. Even though it is dubbed a “health camp”, it is actually a Jr. High School, grades 6-8. Dr. Paul and the crew (aka us and the pharmacist) were there checking up on all the children. We were doing physical exams on all persons-- 43 kids and 4 adults. The check ups included, eyes, tonsils, pulse, ears, lungs, weight, teeth and any other complaints they had. If there were any other problems, they were treated. Main problems, CAVITIES!!! Such poor dental hygiene, it even looked painful. Other problems were gastritis, scabies, worms, and ear pain due to wax build up. Also, it is winter here so just as in the states… there were several coughs and colds.

My experience.

It was wonderful, definitely the most rewarding day thus far.  When we arrived, the kids scattered trying to get chairs and tables for all of us. I have noticed the kids are very well behaved and respectful in India. Although the doctor was present, it was Taylor and I who were doing all the examinations. Being here and getting to perform even remedial health assessments has made me very confident in using different instruments. Dr. Paul puts his full trust in us to do a satisfactory job, and so far, so good.

Now I have a few stories to share from the day.

First, in India a proper and respectful greeting includes folding your hands together on your chest and saying “Namaste” while titling your head down. Secondly, extreme respect includes the usual greeting along with touching the other persons feet (I know this is unusual, but it is what it is). All the boys and girls greeted us, but one little boy greeted us and touched our feet. It melted my heart, as this was above and beyond the usual.

After we were all done and cleaning up Taylor and I went classroom to classroom (only 3) and wrote our names on the board. I had learned how to write my name a few months back when I took a Hindi class, but this was Taylors first time! It was awesome cause even though to us it is only a few symbols they were able to pronounce our names. How exciting!!  The top one is Taylor, the bottom one is Shelane.

When we were leaving the camp three girls from 7^th grade picked a flower and gave it to me. It was precious.

Finally as we were leaving all the kids sent us off with a loud goodbye.

October 14, 2011 Friday

We were in for a special treat today. Morning clinic started at 9 this morning, but because there were no patients waiting we took a stroll through the back yard. We looked at plants and herbs that are used for ayurvedic, homeopathic and other natural remedies. I wrote down a full page of plants, roots, leaves, seeds and bark. The different smells, textures and color were very fascinating. 

My notebook is becoming a gold mine of knowledge. One simple spiral notebook contains thoughts, remedies, perspective and unbelievable experiences. YES! I cant wait to keep soaking up more knowledge.

Moving on…

I am getting better at communicating with everyone. I have picked up a few words from watching patient-doctor interactions; I now can give small orders to check lungs, throat, liver, and blood pressure. Along with that, Taylor and I are getting good at hand signaling communication. It has been very successful--- except when getting lost. In that situation nothing seems to work (see previous post).

Also, to comment on the amount of English in Patti, it is a lot more limited than in the city. Dr paul speaks English well but everyone else speaks what I call Hinglish (hindi + English… get it?!) :)

As I mentioned in a previous post, the more I learn about alternative medicine the more intrigued I am about its potential success. I am bringing a lot of knowledge back home to help myself, and friends and family. I am excited to share what I have learned. In the future I see myself incorporating multiple treatment methods into my own medical practice. 

Additionally:

Tea time has become one of my favorite parts about India. Two or three times a day, Chai is made and everyone sits around a drinks a delicious cup of tea. It doesn’t matter if clinic started 10 minutes ago, we are on Indian time; enjoyment of your tea is of great importance. It doesn’t matter if villagers have nothing to give, you will get tea for coming into their home. Indian hospitality.

Bug Bites!

So many flies up in the mountains, especially in Bakarna!

All over India cultural dynamics are so different. I expected this, but it is odd to see and experience it. For example at the clinic, a little girl came in to get help with her wrist; she had fallen and sprained it pretty bad. However an older man knocked on the door, and without any hesitation the girl walked out of the room, waited for the man to be helped and then reentered.

I always thought Americans didn’t have any filter on what they say, but some Indians take it to another level. People, well actually just the men can be very rude. There have been times when Taylor and I have wanted to slap them in the face, but we resisted. I will never forget some of the situations we have been in. However, while at first we were appalled, now it just makes us laugh. Just one more memory that will stay with us forever.

I posted previously about Indian time. Patti time is no different; nothing is done in a hurry. Even when a patient is present, there is no urgency. If Dr. Paul is mid tea, or reading a newspaper article, he finishes before he begins his assessment. Also, in the time when we don’t have patients we take time to talk about life, our surroundings, our families and the future, as corny as it sounds it is very therapeutic. We have touched on the many similarities and differences between America and India. Topics such as pregnancy, AIDS, marriage, scenery, shoe prices and candy prices. It is amusing because they can’t fathom spending $60 American dollars on shoes (3500 rps.) and I have a hard time with only paying 2 cents for a candy bar. 

I have decided that being here has given me the opportunity to expose myself to different bacteria. If done correctly I will return with a strengthened immune system. So to do this I have started brushing my teeth with the water. Next will be a ¼ of a cup — still healthy, not sick yet.

^^^knock on wood

Yoga is wonderful, just like I imagined. We start our day with yoga at dawn and finish our day with yoga at sunset. Can’t complain about that. It boggles my mind I am practicing yoga in the country where it all began. Shelane for the win!

Dr. Paul has never seen a case of cancer in all of his 12 years of experience throughout the villages. There is nothing to cause cancer here besides chance and natural mutation, even that rarely exists. Don’t get me wrong it is just as prominent in the bigger cities as it is in America, but in the villages it is not the case. I thought this was also captivating.

I have been reading a book called The Neuro Revolution; it is about up and coming neuroscience and neurotechnology. It is a great book and I am enjoying it but it constantly reminds me of how lucky I am to live and have grown up in America. We have so much access to education and opportunities to learn and grow, and push ourselves outside of our “bubble”. To put it bluntly, 98% of certain village populations will never pursue higher education or even enter high school. I don’t think any of the people of Patti could even imagine what the Untied States is like. They couldn’t imagine a multi-stall bathroom with self-flushing toilets, automatic faucets, soap dispensers, and hand driers, a cereal aisle, or a grocery store for that matter. Baffling. 

Likewise, Americans would not be able to fathom what this place is like. Pictures are nothing, comparatively.

Also Dad and other builders, I thought you would get a kick out of this. When I was in Dehradun there was a lot of construction being done. Since it was the Dusshara holiday many of the people clean, improve, re-paint, and remodel their homes. This is a picture of the scaffolding used to build a deck/expansion or something of the sorts. I am pretty sure this is not up to code.

Shout out to all my blog readers. I love to know people are following me on my journey and actually spending the time to read my posts. It means a lot to me, and I hope you all are enjoying it!

Also, shout out to my ducks!! I miss all of you in Eugene and hope you are enjoying all the football games without me L I am in there in spirit.

OOOOOOOOO! Go Ducks!

Sometimes I still catch myself trying to wrap my head around the environment around me. It feels surreal that I am in India, almost like a movie. I worked so hard for this and now I am already two weeks into my adventure. Crazy.

Even after a days worth of helping so many patients, practicing yoga and ”expanding my horizons” , when I look at the night sky I still miss the little dipper. 

Xoxo,

India and Shelane

Hello all!

It is the end of week one, and the end of our first clinical rotations in Dehradun. It has been a wild ride trying to adjust to Indian life while simultaneously soaking up the many aspects of their health care system. My notebook is dirty and getting very, very full. For those of you who know me—normally I would not be happy with a dirty notebook, but here it is an excellent sign. This must be a good indicator of my adventures.

Thursday, October 8.

I had the opportunity to enjoy the Indian festival Dussehra, it is one of the many celebrations of the month long Diwali. In short, the festival is about celebrating good triumph over evil. It is the story of Lord Rama and his nemesis Ravana. His wife was stolen by his evil brother Ravana. Ravana was a jealous man, who was malicious and deceitful. In the end, like all heroic tales, Ravana is killed with a burning arrow and Rama is triumphant. Sooooo… how is the holiday celebrated? Everyone claps and cheers that Ravana is dead, children run around with bows and arrows, and at the end a huge paper statue is set on fire--blown up in a firework fiasco.

Also take note of the crowds of people.

Before

After

Moving on… As promised here is a list of some of the things that has caught my eyes about the way Indians do things here.

The Indian head bobble:

When having a discussion the involved persons tend to bobble their head back and forth. It is a way of showing that you are being an interactive listener. I would compare it to our way of smiling and nodding when listening to somebody speak. I didn’t recognize it at first, but it became very noticeable while observing doctor patient interactions.

Doctor-Patient confidentiality doesn’t exist.

All of the patients wait in a crowded room, so there is no room for privacy, literally. The doctor lifts up patients shirts to listen to their heart beat, or pulls down there pants to check their vasculature. It doesn’t bother the patients, this is how they live.

Lets just say HIPAA goes out the window!

Bacteria, dirty hands, and hygiene:

In one day I used my hand sanitizer 14 times. As Americans we are bacteria conscious making us aware when things need to be disinfected. Here, that is not the case. Doctors will examine patient after patient, touching their eyelids and chest infections without gloves or without a hand washing in between. There is no system, but the system works. By American standards this place is very dirty, but to everyone else, this is just the way it is.

A family member accompanies every patient:

No exaggeration. Everyone has someone with him or her whether it is a family member or a friend. It doesn’t matter if it is a short, simple examination or overnight stays in the high-risk ward/ intensive care unit. Someone is there. Family and friends come first. This is one thing I wish Americans would catch on to. However, on the flip side, I found it interesting that unless kids are the patients, not many children are found in the hospital.

Allopathic versus holistic medicine OR allopathic and holistic medicine

Medicine is different here, I have found that out really quick. The approach I have found most interesting is treating the symptoms vs treating the cause. Chew on that awhile—within the next month I will expand on this thought.

This is my Accupuncture and Reiki Master, Doctor Nath.

ESL

I am continually surprised by the amount of English they speak here. It is the second language, and is found in most advertisements. Most all adolescents speak some sort of broken English; many of them talk to us, and take pictures of us.

^^side note—we are in a big city, next week we will be in a village. ESL might not necessarily be true.

Blank stares

In my last point I mentioned people staring at us and by this point I have mostly gotten used to it. However this guy topped the charts on his appearance, smell and actions. Our program director, Mayunk said he was drunk, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a snap shot.  Surprisingly even a camera didn’t even discourage him. 

Don't let this blurr your vision of all Indians, he was just a special case.

Indian time, or lack of time.

I was warned about Indian time, and how it doesn’t exist. People mosey, take naps, take breaks, take picnics, take whatever time they want. Taylor and I showed up to an empty hospital room nearly everyday, just to wait around for 30 minutes or so. It was a little hard getting used to, but after a few meals at restaurants we began to catch on. We would consider 20 minutes for our server to come, 30 minutes for food delivery and 45 minutes for the check “terrible” service; but here it’s the preferred way. I must admit however it was actually kind of nice to have some down time. I can see why they take pleasure in moving slowly.

Also, stores, shops, offices and everything are open from 9-1:30 and 5- 8. People take long lunches enjoy nap and team time. There are no deadlines or time limits, just don’t expect the shop to open until 9:30 or 5:30.

First interaction with typhoid fever, and tuberculosis. No mask.  Don’t worry I survived.

Storm devastation.

Hospital wards are ruined

In Oregon, the slogan for road construction is “put Oregon back to work”, keeping that in mind India is in need of some SERIOUS road work. I now understand why flat tires are so common; bottoming out your van or car is nothing like getting stuck in potholes. Gravel, ditches, slopes, potholes, cracks, large rocks like I have never seen; traffic is bad, but the roads are worse.

Cows, dogs and monkeys, oh my!

Everywhere. Mating season just ended so baby monkeys are everywhere. Why are the little guys so darn cute?

On a side note- no rabies yet! Woo!!!

I am posting my schedule I received  from mycoordinator so you will have an idea of where I will be the next four weeks. As far as I know I will be in very rural villages and may not have access to Internet. Perhaps do some research about where I will be, maybe you will end up knowing more than I will! My schedule is on the left: Intro to Traditional Medicine.

Regardless of how different it is here, I can still find beauty in this environment.

Also, thank you for all of the love an emails. It makes me feel like I am not 8000 miles away, but only around the corner. I will try and answer them all, but normally I am only allowed very limited time on the world wide web. Keep sending them I love to hear from home.

Xoxo,

India and Shelane

Oh yea, I saw the Taj Mahal this weekend!!! No big deal :) I will tell you all about it in the next post. Now you have something to look forward to

First Impressions… and oh yea, I’m alive.

After many hours of flying, and sleeping, and sleeping some more (it is a good thing I can sleep just about anywhere) we arrived in the Dehli airport. I had so many preconceived         notions that I thought I would have a good idea what to expect. Expected first impressions: loud, dirty and crowded, while this was true outside of the airport, inside the airport it was eerily quiet. We got off the plane after a thirteen-hour flight from New Jersey, picked up our bags, and made our way to customs. After customs we exited through double doors and as told, met a driver by pillar #16. He was a middle-aged man wearing linen pants and a white T-shirt. He was holding a poorly written sign marked Shelane Oglesby and Taylor Hansen CFHI. At that minute I had the long expected realization—I was India, maybe it was the language barrier that hit me like a semi truck,  or maybe it was the smell. A smell I don’t think I can describe just yet, but hey, I had been in Delhi for all of about 20 minutes at this point- maybe by the end of 10 weeks I will be able to describe it for all of you. Garbage and incents and…. TBD to-be-determined.Nonetheless it is beautifully different

October 1: The first few hours:

So now Taylor and I are in the taxi heading to the apartment we would be staying at for the night. First impression: traffic is CRAZY! There are lines on the road, but nobody follows them, people walking in the middle of the street and the most noticeable--horns are being honked every ten seconds, it is officially getting progressively louder. I couldn’t figure out if a honk was friendly “get out of the way”, if it was a “warning: I am coming through” or if it was actually the universal sound for move over, I am passing you, and/or here I am  @%&%#! Two things I do notice through besides the perpetual horns—one, there are no women on the street. First lesson learned: as a female you really don’t hang out outside at night. Second, beggars are abundant. At each stoplight (if the driver decided to actually stop) there would be a knock at my window, a lady or child asking for money. Lesson learned number two: you must turn around and pay no attention; sad, but necessary. I guess I will have to quickly adapt to this kind of situation

 

We are at the apartment. We got out of the taxi and are escorted upstairs where we meet the “caretaker” or servant for lack of better words. Dinner was already on the table, and two of the interns had already arrived. Morgan and Elliot are from Iowa, and are second year PA students. It is quite the treat to be working with people who are already in a position I may want to be in one day. As most of you all know I am stuck between PA school and full on medical school.  Maybe if I am lucky after this trip my decision will be easier, or even be made.  A few hours later another intern showed up, Sadie, an international nurse who travels the world with different NGOs. She had just flown in from Indonesia, talk about world traveler, she has been everywhere. Now its bedtime.

Day number one, October 2… the first 24 hours

Breakfast was already on the table; they sure like to feed us here. They gave us filtered water, but I was still wary, and decide to drink my Aquafina instead. For now I think it is a good decision. Breakfast was Bananas and toast, could have had an omelet but I opted out of it, I was still full from dinner. Like I mentioned, they love to feed us here, and for all of you wondering, yes, we ate with our hands. Hand, specific—only the right to eat, unless you are tearing bread, then it is appropriate to use both.

Now its time to explore, and it is only 11AM

We are off to a good start.

Hema, our Dehli coordinator came down to greet us. She told us, if we wanted we could go visit a temple that was about 20 walking minutes or 5 minutes away by auto rickshaw. Our first adventure and are first auto rickshaw ride. A three-wheeled covered motorcycle is the best way to describe a rickshaw. 50 rupees or 1 dollar ish for the ride. After we got there we were dropped off at the ticket booth where there were two lines formed. Which one do we choose? Each line had a labeled sign, one said “natives”, the next said “Foreigners”. I was a foreigner, 8,000 miles away from home and surprisingly very excited about it. We bought our ticket-- 250 ruppes, and walked across the street to the entrance. We began our tour. First impression: Ruins. Beautiful ruins which were constructed around 1311AD. I was standing in the middle of an old temple that at one point was the center of civilization. Unbelievable. 

It was crowded but I hardly noticed because I was too fixated on people watching and taking in the incredible detail that surrounded me. I hope the pictures I took capture the essence, but I am sure it will show only a fraction of what it really looked like.

After an hour of exploration it was back to the apartment. Lunch would be at 12:15 and we were instructed to eat as much as we could, as dinner would not be available until we reached Dehradun around 10 PM. About one o’clock our taxi was out front waiting to pick us up again. It was time to travel to the train station for a 6 ish hour train ride up north.

WOW. The train station. Crowded, very crowded. If you ever watched the movie “Outsourced” it is an exact depiction of what it was like. The only difference is we had another program coordinator with us, a man named Sanji. We were not alone-- this was a good thing. We followed him up and down stairs, through a couple loops where we arrived at platform number 13. Now, it was the waiting game. We had an hour to kill while we waited. I quickly grasped the reason we were there so early, there were so many people that we had to be the first on the train to pile our stuff on the limited racks on the train. I am now realizing why it was so important to pack light. Huge suitcases would have been unbearable under these conditions. 

As we waited, I killed time by people watching. Masses of people everywhere. There were hundreds of adults, children, elderly, beggars, food stands, and all sorts of people attempting to sell you things. I had a moment----I was in a country with over a billion citizens, and it was very evident, there were people everywhere.

And this leads me to where I am now, on the train with about 4 hours left to go. We were told we would get to Dehradun and immediately have orientation, after all tomorrow is our first day of work.

Xoxo,

India and Shelane

October 3: Dehrandun and the first day of clinic

I have so much to say, I don’t even know where to begin. Last time I wrote I was on the train to Dehradun and now I have been settled in for 2 days and 2 nights. At first glance I knew I liked this place better than Delhi. Delhi was dirty and very, very crowded, streets were small and congested, I don’t think they have trash cans here. Although I was so excited to be in India It would have not been preferable to stay in Delhi for the entire 10 weeks. So it was a big breath of fresh air arriving in Dehradun. The train station was a little scary.  Since our train arrived early our dehradun coordinator was nowhere to be found. It was a little nerve racking but quite the experience to be the only white people; it was as if people were baffled to see humans with light skin. Thankfully we had Elliot with us. I assume having a male with four girls made for a safer situation. Elliot even got a high five and a thumbs up from one elderly man.

After our coordinator, Mayank picked us up we made our way to our home stay family. It was a gated house that looked fairly small from the outside. However after walking in it was anything but small. The house was open and beautiful. We met our home stay mom Ms. Mehta, a sweet woman who welcomed us with open arms into her home. After getting settled in we had a quick orientation with Mayank. He went over the schedule and a little but of where and what we would be doing. Each week was different, Taylor and I would mostly be traveling and working together whereas Elliot, Morgan and Sadie would be in other places. After the briefing we all sat down for a well deserved meal. We then decided it was time for bed. It had been a long day and a long train ride.

Monday morning. October 3: The first day.

I had been talking about this for months and now it was actually happening. After a bumpy ride on what is known as a vikram we arrived at our first stop. I would compare Vikrams as a disorganized bus system. All vikrams were numbered and they made the same loops and route continuously. Taylor explained it perfect: it s about the size of a regular restaurant booth, but without the table. Then pile in 8 people, or even 11. The vikram never actually comes to a complete stop either. To catch one Mayunk told us to be proactive. Which by definition means as it goes by raise your arm so the driver knows to slow down and as it continues to drive by, do a running hop into the small seater. For the next week we will be taking vikram #8

 After being two proactive white woman we arrived at the Doon hospital where we would be working with cardiologist Dr K B Joshi. The Doon Hospital is a public hospital that operates different than any hospital I could have ever imagined. For 11 rupees (24 cents) patients receive a blank piece of white paper with lines and numbers on it.  They fill in their name, birthday and gender, and leave the rest empty to give to the doctors. This paper give you access into the hospital. The hospital is a bunch of 10x15 covered rooms in an alley, about 40 rooms in total. There are people everywhere, and by US standards it doesn’t look like a hospital. Patients select a doctor on their own (no referrals necessary here!) and stand in a crowded room until they reach the front of the “line”.

Some of the patients are regular patients that visit certain doctors when they feel necessary, and others are seeing particular doctors for the first time. There is no system, but  somehow the system works.

I already knew that things were going to be ridiculously cheap but medically speaking it is extreme. For example:

MRI: $30

Prescriptions: 10 cents-$5+

EKG: $2

Open heart surgery $2000

Knowing the value of these things, and realizing the poverty that actually exists here has led me to hear to heart wrenching stories. Our first clinical rotations were working with Dr Joshi, a cardiologist at the Doon hospital. A five year old little boy came in who had congenital heart disease. While in the womb his right and left ventricular septum never fully closed manifesting as a very loud and apparent murmur. I could feel it with my hand and it pounded through my stethoscope. It was so prominent you could see his heartbeat pulsating through his little ribs.  Dr. Joshi told us that he would need open heart surgery to survive, but his family was much too poor to pay for the operation. He put him on medication with the hope that the family would have time to raise money before it is too late.

That is just one of the many cases that I have had the opportunity to be an active participant in the diagnosis and treatment for the patient; I have many stories so share so stay tuned for more!

One thing that has been overwhelming to me is the crude equipment. The equipment clearly reflects a country who has less than desirable medical services

I posted this picture because the EKG machine works, it is just very rudimentary.

After working in the hospital with Dr. Joshi many cases were very similar. Just in 6 hours of working with him I have already seen over 100+ hundred people. Lines are long and evaluations are quick, one person after another, after another sitting on one little stool. The most common alignments so far include angina, angina neurosis, COPD, Rheumatic heart disease, and the most common hypertension. After the short diagnosis, 30 seconds to 3 minutes the patient is usually prescribed medicine and is on their way

One thing I cant get out of mind is the amount of Rheumatic heart disease here. Dr Joshi said it is so prevalent because in small villages streptococcus is prevalent. When it goes untreated it can lead to carditis and permanent damage to the heart and body. This baffles me because as a child I had strep several times a year, but it was always treated, and with a little bit of amoxicillin I would be healthy and back to normal. Here that is not the case. My heart aches.

Reflection of working with Dr. Joshi:

Working with Dr. Joshi is a pleasure. I get to see the Indian health care first hand. I see hundreds of people with chronic and acute cases, patients fill the hospital wall to wall,

As a white American woman the people I am surrounded by show me the respect of a Doctor. It is an unusual feeling, but an amazing one. While I can’t help them to the significance Dr. Joshi can, they still look at me and allow me the same freedom. I get the opportunity to use my stethoscope, blood pressure cuff and hands in nearly every abnormal case, usually anything outside angina or hypertension. For all of you who know me, it makes this experience so exciting for me! It is a wonderful feeling to know and recognize that patients appreciate Taylor and I being there even if we am not doing anything. It is an unexplainable feeling . I feel as though I was never supposed to go anywhere else but India. I am so happy I chose to come here for my internship.

I could write forever about all the time I have spent with Dr. Joshi and his patients but there is just not enough space.

Fast forward… It is day two, October 4, one o’clock and we just finished our three-hour rotation with Dr Joshi…. And then….the inevitable happened.

We. Got. Lost. In. India.

The first day in India, our coordinator Mayunk showed us around India and how to get to the hopsital and back. The second day we were on our own. Needless, to say it didn’t go too smoothly. We hopped on a bus that we thought went all through town, but instead went the opposite way of home. I had been warned about Indians not liking to say “no” or “I don’t know”; instead they just point in random directions to please us. This happened several times. And we ended up on the opposite side of town within a period of 15 minutes. Flustered and annoyed, the language barrier at its highest, we had no idea what to do, and then the most wonderful thing happened….

Along with not liking to say no, every one has also described to me Indian hospitality. Through this adventure Taylor and I found out the extent of that. On the other side of town, riding on a vkram that was going the opposite way we met a little girl and her mother. The little girl spoke English well, and asked where we were from. We told her from the US and her eyes lit up and she replied ”America?!”  She could tell we were lost and quickly offered to help. She told us we were on the wrong vikram and showed us the one we needed to ride. Her and her mother even got off her route to help us get on the right path. It was amazing. She was so happy to have met Americans, but even more happy to have helped us. I have quickly learned that white people are scarce here. We get stared at, but not in a bad way. We are just unknown, extraterrestrial almost, and to many it is an honor, or life experience to see and chat, nonetheless help an American. Again, it is an experience I cant exactly put into words. The smiles we get are genuine and radiate excitement, no matter where we are or what we are doing.

Mid- blog interruption---

HOST FAMILY IS PLAYING “STAYIN ALIVE”!!!! Yesssssss

The second clinical rotation I go to everyday is with Dr. Nath, a Rekei Master. He is a 98-year-old man who has been practicing Rekei and acupressure his whole life, but has made a living off of it the past 20 years. I have spent 2 days with him for an hour each day. We have learned about the“Chakaras” of the human body, in basic terms there are seven major areas of the body which radiate and absorb energy. Dr. Nath describes the flow of energy each human has. If your energy flow is normal, you are healthy and at-ease, but if something is “off” mentally or physically the flow of energy is in dis-ease, and you are unhealthy. To somebody just beginning to learn about Rekei the concept can be slightly abstract, but when learning from a master, from the beginning and building up, all he has to say is brilliant. This again, with nearly every new experience I am having in India is blowing my mind. I am realizing the power of holistic medicine, and this was only the first alternative medicine I was exposed to. I must admit however being in the same room with Dr. Nath is slightly eerie. He speaks with such wisdom and with his 98 years of experience with energy healing I get the feeling he knows what I am feeling and thinking, maybe not in a literal sense, but maybe from a spiritual and holistic sense. He can feel my struggle with epilepsy and mood, and even made a comment about it. He looks deep into your eyes and it actually has made me slightly uncomfortable at times, but a good uncomfortable. I am highly intrigued by this man. I am excited to spend the week with him.

He has all these bottles and mixtures it is nuts, every time a patient comes in it is different, he is amazing.

Our third, and final rotation of the day is with a homeopathic doctor, Dr. Nanda. In a few words the concept of homeopathy is treating like with likes. You listen to a patients symptoms, personality, genetic and family history and develop a regiment that may help with whatever ailment they are experiencing. For example when a patient comes in with symptoms of a runny nose, and burning watery eyes the doctor will treat likes with likes. What naturally makes watery, burning eyes and a runny nose? Onions? You choose a remedy that would naturally cause similar symptoms which will in result and cure and treat the patient. Likewise if you give a healthy person the same remedy, they will manifest the unwanted symptoms. This is a link that explains the basis of homeopathy in 6 minutes. Just watch the video on the homepage. ­­­­­­www. homeopathy.org ( or maybe it is http://www.homeopathy.org

So far working with Dr. Nanda has been my favorite, followed by Dr. Nath, the reiki master. I think a major contributor to why I have fixated on them so much is because natural and alternative medicine has always been another option outside of western medicine. However the more I learn, the more I begin to see the power it can have. I remember reading in magazines about people with rare forms of cancer who were told they only had 6 months to live because their cancer was unresponsive to conventional medicine. When all options seemed to have been exhausted they turned to an alternative route and had amazing success… we have all heard about these stories but I am actually witnessing these stories, and sitting 3 feet away from a man who has done that more times than he can count on his fingers. It has only been four days since I have been here, but I am realizing that I am in the homeland of alternative medicine. All of these treatments began, grew and are still today practiced here. Dr. Nanda was trained by a homeopathic guru who is over 100 years old now, who learned homeopathy from his grandfather before, who learned from his grandfather before... it goes back further than I can imagine, Again, my mind is blown away.

My life, and particularly my epilepsy would not be the same without western medicine. I know that without my prescriptions, and my neurologist, my life would not be the same. I have wanted to be a doctor my whole life, and have such a desire to reach the limits of what western medicine is capable of. I have always known that, and as I get older I get more and more excited about someday practicing medicine. While immersing myself in traditional medicine has not changed that, it has given me such an appreciation for what else is out there, and I want to learn more. Knowledge is powerful and I am so grateful to be getting the opportunity to learn about natural and alternative medicine where it all began hundreds of years ago.

Adjusting and immersing myself into the Indian life, culture, and healthcare has proved easier than I thought. I chose the first 5-week rotation of “alternative medicine” particularly to learn and open my eyes to other things outside of western medicine. I must admit, my eyes are open

I know this was a lot to read, but I still have so much I could say and write but I cant get it all out. My goal for upcoming posts is to give you the opportunity to experience what I am experiencing. When I upload again, whenever that may be I am going to post a list of all the things that have caught my eye. I have a list started, so stay tuned!! Miss you all, but have comfort that I am loving every minute of it here so far.

Also, it rained today, reminds me of home.

Xoxo,

India and Shelane

Quick Quick Post

Hello All!

I am alive!

So we are having problems with intenet right now. This is the first time I have had access and I only have about a minute. I have written some posts that when I actually get some internet I will upload.  I have been taking in a LOT but am excited to be here and even more excited to start my clinical rotations today. I am definitely on cloud nine sensory overload, but loving it. Until I am able to login again please send me some e-mails so I hve some persional love from all of those who would like to talk with me.I may respond faster through email. Also... it is very exciting to get emails :) soglesby@uoregon.edu

Also, I should get a cell phone today or tomorrow. Yay!

Until we meet again.

xoxo
India and Shelane

Im leaving on a jet plane.....

6 hours I am getting on a plane.

India. Bound.

Next time you hear from me I will be in India. Not North America, not South America... not the same continent.... ASIA!!!!

Packing was so hard. I am so glad I had my friends and family to help me. I am going to miss everyone SO SO SO much.

It is time to go.

It is in the NOW!!!! It is HAPPENING!

xoxo,

India and Shelane

It is so close I can feel it.

Hello All!

Over the last three weeks I have been giving my blog website out to several new people. Patients, nurses, and doctors at the clinic my mom was at—people on the Amtrak, friends and family at random outings--- and probably most exciting for me… the professors that helped make this journey possible. So thank you to everyone who helped me get to where I am today.  Also, a special thank you to my program coordinators who made the decision to accept me out of 433 other students.  Welcome all the newly recruited IndiaandShelane blog followers; I appreciate your desire to follow me on the next three months. Expect more shout outs veryyyyy soon, but for now I need to touch on the subject that I will be leaving for India in a little less than 72 hours.

It is funny to look back at a post that I wrote 30 days ago. It never got posted because, at that time my access to wireless was limited, but for many reasons I decided to post it still (see below). I wrote mostly about immunizations, which like I said is slightly amusing at this point. That seems so far away considering at this point I have shopped and packed---okay sort of. Mostly the stuff I want to pack is in the same place piled in a corner.

^^ Side note: I am limited to a small duffle bag and backpack, yes, that’s right Shelane Oglesby is packing lightly, very, very lightly for a 3 month trip.

I have made to-do lists, and crossed things off the to-do lists (love that feeling). I have talked to people, those I have randomly crossed paths with, talked some more, and talked some more.

It is weird and coincidental that nearly everyone and anytime I mention India they either knows someone from India, has been to India, or has a story to tell about India. I have discussed opinions, likes and dislikes, and my personal favorite, and most definitely the most helpful, the people who were actually born and raised in India ß now that is 6 degrees of separation at its finest (kind of). I have learned many things that I hope make my transition easier… but as I have heard, nothing can actually prepare me;  if anything it can only be slightly helpful.

Here comes the but,…..BUT…….. even with all of this so called, preparation, I still feel like time is running short, oh wait… that’s because it is. 63 hours à 3,900 minutes à and 243,000 seconds. Not like I am fixating on numbers or doing the math or anything.  ;)

Anyway, at this point I am nervous but ready to take on the world (literally). Prepared, but doubtful, and above all----I am excited, but nervous but don’t worry---mostly excited! I would like to say, BRING IT ON! It has been nearly 6 months of applying, waiting, celebration, preparation,, vaccines, hello, and good byes. I guess, I am as ready as I will ever be.

Okay, that is it for now, as I have many errands to run, and desperately need to mark some more items off my to-do list. I will try and write about my supplies I have decided to pack, because I think most of you will find that fascinating, I know I have. If not, or I don’t have time, the next time I write it will be from India. Wooooo!

Once again, thanks to all the new followers. Please don’t forget to actually “follow” me on blogger that way you can get e-mail updates when I post.

For now, I am so excited, I hope you are too.

Xoxo

India and Shelane

A little late- 30 days ago- but still post worthy.

Hey everyone!

I know it has been a while since I have updated you all, but life has been unexpectedly crazy recently. It has been a bumpy ride, but what more can we say than life happens.

It is a crazy feeling to know that in 32 days I will be waking up in a country thousands of miles away from home. I have been doing my best to prepare myself—physically I am ready, I have my passport, a Visa allowing my extended stay in India, shots protecting my body from foreign pathogens and the mind set of “bring it on”. While all the proper preparations have been made, I cant help but think, that when it really comes down to it I am flying, walking, and running into the unknown. All of you will probably agree with me on that, because my last posts have consistently mentions that….. however, I just wanted to put it out there it one more time.

To go to India I was advised to protect myself with some immunizations, luckily I was already administered several throughout the years, but in addition to them, there was a whole list I had to choose from. In an earlier post I mentioned some of them, but I was still having a hard deciding which ones I wanted to get as there were so many risks and side effects tied to many of them. Well, about two weeks ago I made the trek to Eugene and finished up my vaccines. The following is the list of my preventative needle pricks, both past and recent:

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Tetanus

Adult Polio

Meningococcal

MMR- measles, mumps, rubella

Typhoid- (I wanted to get the oral Rx, but unfortunately I didn’t have a choice)

Malaria- (In pill form which I take once a day, the whole duration of my trip)

 Influenza

I chose not to get:

Japanese encephalitis

Rabies

Whew! I think I now have the immune system of a large elephant.

Oh, wait…. What about all the pills I got prescribed for “other things”?! Hmm, Dehli Belly” anti-diarrheal, fluconazale :-/, three dosages of antibiotics, plan B for voluntary or involuntary protection (AH!) andddd lets not forget my own personal syringe pack incase for some reason I need another shot. Let me rephrase that, I WILL have the immune system of a large elephant…. Hopefully by mid November I will have built up some immunity to the many ‘bugs’ that could infest my body. I don’t like that word “infest”, at least, not when it is used in the context of MY body… but nonetheless, I know I will be just DANDY! 

xoxo

Shelane and India

^^^ I have decided this will be my new sign off