Saturday, October 31, 2009

Delhi

To get perspective of where we are living you need to understand Delhi a little better. The city is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world with a history dating back to 1,000 BC. One of the earliest structures that exists is the 1,600 year old Iron Pillar at Qutb Minar (at the time we saw this we couldn't figure out why everyone was so excited to see a pole! The pole also has never rusted.). There is Very Old Delhi, Old Delhi, and New Delhi. The New Delhi was designed to house the British administration in 1931. There are close to 800 politicians in Delhi when Parliament is in session and India is the world's largest democracy. Delhi is the largest city in India with a population approaching 22 million. The country has over one billion people living in it.

A quarter of the world's destitute live in India. Over 380 million Indians live below the poverty line, subsisting on less than US1$ a day and almost 89% of the total population live on under US$2 a day. Conversely, as India's economy grows millionaires are being created at a record rate and there are now over 100,000. This is a 20% increase over last year. Bridging the gap between the 'two' India's is perhaps the greatest challenge facing the country today - and for a visitor to come to terms with. There is a rapidly developing middle class, but you have to be sensitive to the fact that wages are low and even a middle-class family is likely living on less than US$1,000 a month.

Just watching how the hospital operates I assume there are extremes in what wages are being paid to people. In general I know that the sisters (nurses) were brought in from another state to work here and are living in a hostel together, the ward boys are hard laborers and come from the mountains and do not have hot water where they live, and then our doctors and managers have drivers to take them around.
The influences of Hinduism and the tradition of the caste system have created a culture that emphasizes established hierarchical relationships. Indians are always conscious of social order and their status relative to other people, be they family, friends, or strangers. All relationships involve hierarchies. In schools, teachers are viewed as the source of all knowledge. The patriarch, usually the father, is considered the leader of the family. The boss is seen as the source of ultimate responsibility in business.

I can see this applied in my little time observing people in India. Dr. Shroff is absolutely the boss and takes precedence over everything. When she asks for something it is done immediately. People take her phone calls when they are in a meeting. Dr. Sudeep has a phone dedicated to just her. He has it with him at all times and will answer it always immediately no matter what is going on. Dr. Shroff and Dr. Ashish realized on Thursday that Monica was having cognitive issues and was an A+ student and in advanced classes before she dropped out of school (they have been very focused on getting her to walk and trying to get any type of sensory back and didn't fully realize how impacted her quality of life is with not going to school), that Dr. Shroff walked away from us, went into talk to the director of the children's department and she came back and told us that Monica would be starting that day meeting with him from 12:00pm to 12:40pm everyday. During his evaluation of Monica he answered his phone (of course I thought he was extremely rude, as I have every time someone answers their phone in front of me mid-conversation) and started talking to Dr. Shroff. After he evaluated Monica (he stated that she was extremely intelligent and has a superb working memory (short term memory), but she has an information processing deficit. He now not only sees her alone daily, but is dedicating extra time to her throughout the day and asked her to come to his department whenever she has free time.

I continue to be amazed at the support system provided to us if the doctor believes we need additional support. They will provide you the resources if they believe your body needs them - never before. They really pay attention to what the patient's body is saying and what they observe collectively. They scientifically make their decisions and are constantly weighing the trade offs. I wanted more occupational therapy for Monica and couldn't understand why I couldn't hire our therapist outside the hospital time. Well, they just didn't believe that Monica needed more than two days a week. There was not enough proof that it was worth the investment. It is important and critical to do, but not everyday. I love that they are very clear cut in priorities. It is such a pleasure working with people that are decisive and invested in the outcome - my girl's quality of life!

2 comments:

  1. Hello! I have been following your blog about your trip as I, too, am thinking about making the trip. I am thrilled at your progress and keep blogging!

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  2. It explains why I was given THREE phone numbers just to reach Anish! : ) Love your blogging Tracy... keep it up! Miss you...

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