Some last impressions of India before I go home for a month:
The day started with intensive rain which delayed my arrival to the hospital ( ricksha’s don’t like driving in the rain). I came in somewhere half way during the rounds as they were just consulting a post op HIV positive patient with multi drug resistant Intestinal bacteria. Wow, I’ve never seen so many R’s in a resistance report. For those interested I ‘ll post some info about antibiotics and resistance later. Next patient (hiv pos) was referred on suspicion of syphilis. So all well until he lifts up his bed sheet… Serious, he hardly had a penis left. I include a pic I found online to demonstrate, let me warn you, not for the weak hearted. Most likely a squamous cell carcinoma of the penis, associated with (untreated) HIV. His scrotum was the size of ca 2 coke cans. Again, wow. The rest of the rounds were relatively uneventful with some tb and opportunistic brain infections.
The penis mentioned above was little worse than the first picture but just not as bad as second picture.
source: http://www.airahospital.org/?tag=sarcoma
source: http://www.nature.com/nrurol/journal/v6/n1/full/ncpuro1273.html
Which brings me to where I am now, a coffee place close to a shopping street. Just noticed a mentally and physically disabled young man sitting on the ground just outside the window right under where I’m sitting ( shop is raised slightly above streetlevel). It must be a stereotype sight. A poor begging cripple in front of a White girl drinking a coffee worth at least two meals for him… Being mentally challenged he’s playing with the coins by passers are giving him. So far he has collected at least 20 rupees (ca 30 cents and one sixth the value of my coffee). Don’t tell anyone, but I think I’m going to give him a brownie when I leave. Dealing with poverty got easier over the time I’ve been here, but it remains heartbreaking…….
See you all soon hopefully!!!