Same as Before and Just as Hot

This Week's Star at Mercy

Mark Joseph Harry Low

 

Mark is a true Mercy Hospital person as he was born at the hospital some forty years ago, when (I think) Sister Sheila Walsh was the CEO here, and his family lived just around the corner on Duke St. He did move to the East Coast for a while, as he had to live with his grandparent in Annandale and went to Buxton Community High School.    His grandfather and father were Hindu Pandits, but he didn't follow in their footsteps.  However, as he said his grandfather said, "The Lord is One."

He started his Mercy Career as a Maintenance volunteer for 6 months and then in 2006 began is present position as  a Ward Attendant.   His job takes him all over the hospital - delivering oxygen or a patient or waste.   This allows him to serve as a greeter to staff and visitors alike.  I would think it was unusual if you came to Mercy and he was working that you didn't see him and get a friendly hello.

He says the best part about working at Mercy is his job description ..... a little of everything and everywhere.   "So Mark, you like your job?" "No Rev, I love it."   He has little routine and is constantly learning new things.  In fact, he has been going back to school for several years trying to upgrade his education and is now in the pre-CXC programme at a local Adult Education School four nights a week.   As he says, "I am slow academically, but that doesn't stop me."

When asked about what would he tell my vast readership about Guyana, he sounded just like a travel brochure outlining all the interesting sites here, the Amazon Jungle, Kaieteur.  I think he named something interesting in all ten regions.

Asked about his piece of wisdom for my readers: "If you want something, then go after it. You just can't sit down.   It is not easy.  You need to believe in yourself.  You need to have the mind to do it and with prayer."

So in 2014 what will you be doing, Mark?   "So many plans.  And with God's grace I'll pass Maths and English CXC's.  I would love to be a Nurse Aid"  And of course at Mercy Hospital!

I Should Listen to Myself

Whenever I evaluate what I am doing here, I am content to say my goals are small: I come and work really hard for 12 weeks with my 20 or so students.   I do this because it is way too frustrating to do anything larger societally.  Clear focus; no problem .....


I don't know what happens to me.  It started innocently enough in July. My friend, Bhiro Harry asked, "John, would you help us edit Guyana's new Mental Health Action Plan?"  Sure; sounds easy; how much trouble and stress could an editor get into?


When I finally got a copy of the detailed Action Plan, I think there were almost an many blank pages  "To Be Completed", as there were pages with content.  And then it went downhill...  Bhiro would rather see 20 psychotic patients off their meds than read one paragraph; and the other collaborator, Jorge, is a Cuban psychiatrist whose English, while much better than my Spanish, does make me look like a grammarian.   I had asked for some financial data and other statistics and Guyana's "just now's"... permeated the correspondence.   A week or so before I left Canada, I rewrote the places where we needed actual data, using realism.



So in place of "the budget for 2015 will be so many dollars", I wrote, "The actual budget contribution of the government will be determined after the legislative passage of specific lines of action."  

Anyhow, there was the  roll-out of the plan on Friday (while the actual plan is still being printed);   there were the press and tv ..... a set of powerpoint slides, a few discreet questions -- and it was mercifully over.

Dr Bhiro Harry sharing the overview of the "Shaping Guyana
Mental Health Through 2020.
[R] Minister of Health Bheri Ramsaran
providing strong support
for the  New Plan

 

Before that we -- the unholy trinity of Bhiro, Jorge and me -- were invited to talk about the Mental Health Plan at the UN Headquarters.  I was going there to just look cute and give some moral support. Well, the head of the staff there got up to introduce us and proudly announced that it was her great pleasure to have us talk about Balancing our Work and Home Lives.   I started to slouch down in my chair .....  It reminded me of once presenting to a nurses' group in Toronto on "Developing Organ Donor Protocols" and as I was sitting to be introduced, someone handed me the programme where it was clearly displayed that I would be talking about the "Spiritual Needs of the Elderly".  And there was no place to run .....  So:  "The spiritual needs of the elderly in their distilled form parallel the development of donor organ transplant procedures ....."



I am so full of BS!  I had no trouble addressing their topics, but first I had to point out the obvious:  "Here you have three professionals volunteering on a late Friday afternoon to do this session.  I really think you should distrust anything we may say about balancing your lives."  In the end, I had fun; and they want us back for an advanced session.   I suggested they schedule it for December, as I leave in late November .....



And then today at 6:00am there was to be another march for Suicide Awareness -- and Breast Cancer?  The march was to end at the Fair site, the plaza of the Revolution with the famous Cuffy statue of 1783.   There at     9 am, I was to man a booth that dealt with "Counseling Adolescents" -- another surprise.



When I got here maybe forty police officers were there listening to Bhiro.    And as I was dropping my backpack, I hear, "Now Rev John will share his thoughts on mental illness and policing."   (I swear I am not making this stuff up.)   So I talked about resisting the urge to settle a mental illness standoff with violence.   They needed to be in touch with their fears and prejudices about the mentally ill, and very few ever resort to violence against others, and a few other gems .....

Dr Tony, a new Cuban, psychologist got put to work
early with the police attendees.
[R] I started with "Counseling Adolescents"
and then scratched out Adolescents... and finally ended
up with my last sign, so Bhiro came over! 

And in the spirit of "I bet you can't eat just one".   I will be helping another person Tabitha Mallampati conduct a full review of the Nursing School at Mercy -- right after I design it.   Sylvia invited me as consultant to the Family Life Commission of the RC Diocese here in Guyana... and I somehow left there with my used-to-be friend Sylvia, saying that I would lead a small workshop for all the leaders of the local GT congregational groups on desensitizing the stigma of Mental Illness.

It is a good thing Dennis LeBlanc is coming, I think he is an expert in that area!   He might not be too willing after he sees all the changes that have been happening to his new bedroom.  Below is this morning's picture.-

Sylvia and I did move the table.  Now there is an  avant guard
open concept bedroom complete with invisible furniture. 

Old Friends and A Swim

It has not been all work.  I have invited several old friends out for a meal and a few beers to catch up on their lives.  

 David Yahn was the Chairman of the Board at St Joseph Mercy Hospital.   And in our usual tradition we solved the world's and our own problems over a few beers.    David's family have a long history here in the life of Guyana and some great stories.  His dad grew up right around the corner from Forbes Burnham, a former President of Guyana.






Then, I caught up with Raymond Jagessar.  Ray is a Chemistry Professor at University Guyana who specializes in the medicinal qualities of many Amazon Jungle plants.  He did his Ph.D in the States but came back to help out his country.  AND he is a Lutheran from Skeldon and that is how I first got to know him.   We met at our usual hangout outside the university and he had a couple of Maltas - and I had -hmmm - what was it - oh yes, a few beers.    Raymond is still single, so any eligible women out there, write me and I'll give you his contact information.



I still have to catch up with a few more old friends like the Scarboro Sisters  Donna and Bev. Also, and my fault,  I didn't remember to take a picture of Shawn Rampersaud when we went out.  Shawn was a previous Treasurer here at Mercy for many years.   In many ways, he is still supporting Mercy as he works with Demerara Tobacco Company.   

Swim at the Grand Coastal
This is really about an old friend too, but Ian MacKay wasn't here this time. He is back in Canada recovering from a total hip replacement.  Tony Carr and I first met him here many years ago as he has been the consultant for the renovation of the hotel.  So I ride on his coattails and go for a swim and a few beers and dinner without getting a room.    This Eid holiday, Sylvia and I spent a very cool afternoon poolside.  Thanks, Ian.

Thanks for reading this week and to all my Canadian friends and family -- and all those Americans who wish they were Canadian:

                  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Dr. Charlie, Nurse Cathy and my Girls, of course...

Almost all the pics of the girls they ave taken themselves.

This week has been defined by the presence of our colleagues from Canada and, specifically, McMaster University:  Charlie Malcolmson, a pediatrician with whom I spent the better part of my time in an intensive care unit, and his wife Cathy Lee, a nurse practitioner who has spent a big chunk of her career working in family doctor's offices in Hamilton.  They reminded me that I had officiated at their wedding some time ago, as well as the weddings of a couple of their kids.   In some moments, I do realize how much of myself I left at the hospital with colleagues and patients and families... and how much they are with me [or more spiritually... "are me"] today.   There are so many stories... some remembered by all , some remembered by just one of us .... and probably most of our stories forgotten by all.

Charlie had been here last year for a week to look around to see how he could participate and was all set to help develop a pediatric residency for UG and the Public Hospital; however, it was delayed and will be starting "Just Now." [For those illiterate in Guyanese, a translation is "It sure isn't now and don't hold your breath waiting".  

Charlie knew what Tony and I were doing and jumped right in with our students.  So did Cathy, who is on her first visit and is exploring future possibilities for how she might be helpful if  when she returns.  [Anyone else who'd like to explore possibilities is invited to contact us.  As Sister Sheila used to say, "I haven't met a volunteer I couldn't use!"]   Charlie and Cathy have both been a welcome addition to our tutor corps as their experience and expertise have energized the students.  As well, they are kinder than two of the tutors - and the two aren't Marysia or Claudette.

 

 We took them out to worship last Sunday, to Dr. Daniel and Tabitha Mallampati's mission congregation [LEFI] near the university.  Tabitha is now the Director of the Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing programme at UG and has already begun recruiting Cathy for next year.

They also had the gourmet experience of Taju's Princess Kitchen.   Tony demanded that they go there as a way to hide his addiction to the ice cream. [Taju's ice cream is getting ever-better, even though some unknown and un-appealable Canadian immigration bureaucrat refused his visa request because ice cream and nursing don't go together.  Actually, Taju has gotten over it; I, on the other hand, am still mad at my own government.]  Tony has also begun teaching Taju's daughter and son, Althia and Tommy, how to play the guitar and keyboard respectively .....  he gives their lessons within sight of the ice cream ......

Of course, we all got to St. Ann's to visit with the girls and Sister Barbara who chatted with the visitors for a long time about the home and the girls.   They got an insiders' tour from Alma who was quite thrilled to have such an important responsibility.   

I don't think that I mentioned it last time, but Tony and I were over at St. Ann's earlier to get two of their computers working and connected to the internet, so the girls can do their homework.  Well, within a week, one of the fixed computers blew a monitor and so I switched it with another old one.  This is the pattern here:  many donations are used well before being donated [and donations are still a good thing] which usually means that their "trouble-free" period is quite short.  

Stream of consciousness:  orphans, girls, boys, old computers, new computers, Mercy, School of Nursing, wireless, IT department, new employee  --- Ah, to the point:  Hansel!   When I first got to Guyana, he was just a little weenee at John Bosco Home in Plaisance; and, now he is on the IT staff at the hospital - some very good things do happen!

Hansel, with Jennie, the IT Boss and the always helpful Dr. Tony

I started my cute(?)  "rat's tail" in the early 90's because it was trendy then, and then kept it just because it annoys people.  Now I think I have discovered its real meaning:  people all over Georgetown know me and remember me!   At the Brazilian barbecue place, I didn't recognize anyone- the owner, the waitress, the cooks... however, a beautiful young woman came over and started playing with my tail and saying, "I remember you... "  If there was ever a great pick-up line ......  and I was ready .....  She went on to tell me, "And you like your breasts rare" ..... Whoops -- I  think she actually said, ".... beef rare," and yes, I do.  

Many of the taxi drivers know without asking that I am headed to Mercy.  And yesterday on my travels I ended up yakking with a woman on the street because she remembered my conversation with her daughter when the girl was a patient at the hospital.  She recognized me by the tail; however, I am sure my words touched the child deeply!  And then at Bosco, one of the teachers knew me; she was a Lutheran and remembered --- the tail.   Speaking of being Lutheran, I am preaching across the river tomorrow and following up on the Revival Meeting of a week ago.  [I'll write about the whole experience next time.]  

And I really can't leave without a Tony Story.  We are getting along like an old married couple.   However, he still has some quirks [now fewer than 100] that I am trying to understand.  For instance his toothpaste roll.  I thought that I could go to the web and gain insight into such a seemingly violent approach to squeezing; however, I found that this particular pattern has yet to be described.  I have asked for help from the sites, but please feel free to comment.

Tony's Toothpaste Roll and used only for two days.

Thanks for getting this far... Take Care, John

Justice, Confidentiality and an "Iota" of Just[ice] is not Enough

Tony and I have two hours on Tuesday when we aren’t doing pbl.  This Tuesday, Tony gave out our exam! … And I gave them Pineapple Turnovers – or Pine Tarts. [And Tony can’t figure out why they like me better.]   There are now 10 students from the original 13; I say that I have a surprise for them…  I randomly hand out 5 "pines" and then return to begin my comments on Justice…  I don’t get very far before the student grumbling is too much to ignore… none who had the pine tarts were complaining.   [And maybe that is the essence of human justice – those “with stuff” think that it is fine; those “without stuff” are quick to claim violations of fairness.]  

I ask them why they are upset…. “Not Fair”, they cry…  “What isn’t fair?  Can’t I do what I want with my money?”   [Liberty ah yes,  best argued by those who have the “stuff”.]  

“How could I make it more fair?…   Maybe you should get a pine because you deserve it?”… 

So I gave out a short test and whoever gets the right answer gets the tarts.  …..  Only four right answers.  I retrieved the five pines from the first group [Actually, there were threats of violence to my person as I took back the tarts as none of the original recipients got the answer] and gave them to the four correct answers – one got two.  They did not like Merit any better… as it, too, was quite random… "What about attendance?"  “I have the highest class average.”    So bemoaned the pine-less students.

“How could I make it more fair?”… 

“I really need a pine, Rev. John.”  “Me too!” went the chorus.  “Great, and how do we determine need?”  There are two really thin students … so I gathered up the five from the merit-ers and split the tarts 3 and 2 between them.  A Need-based system was not to their liking either.   “I am hungrier than they are.”  Okay.  “So who is going to eat their pine right now and who will save it for later?”   Five said that they would eat it now… So the pines moved to the five hungry.   And the refrain was similar… “They just had lunch; they are hogs, not hungry.”

“How could I make it more fair?”… 

“Look at me.  I am fit and eat only what I should.”   Okay… “So we shall exclude those who abuse food.”  So I picked out 4 of the class who are on the heavy side… and the two thin ones… and one is diabetic…  and two can’t stay awake in class- so obviously are abusing something. So the five pines moved to the most virtuous. “Hey it is not my fault I am diabetic.”  “It is not my fault I fall asleep; I have to travel an hour to get here and that is after I look after my chores.”  “And Miss Good person never does her own homework, she copies mine.”  [All is fair in love, war and pines.  So much for Personal Responsibility.] 

“How could I make it more fair?”… 

“We are all your students… You must treat us equally.”   Okay.  “As you have all five pines, are you willing to share with your batchmate equals?”   She was not obviously thrilled with this solution … and in the resiliency of the human spirit announced, “Well, if I keep two; you can split the other three in thirds and everyone can have an equal share.”  [If you have the “stuff” Equality means something different than if you don’t.]

I got through the major concepts of justice including Retribution and Utilitarianism.   I ended with, of course, giving them all a pine tart.  And then the diabetic and a few of the others said that they didn’t like or couldn’t have a pine tart and what was I going to substitute…   [Yes, I know that a pine is not the healthiest, but it is hard to see a carrot as a reward for anything.]

Next, I had them pair up and gave them one extra pine tart between them.  They had to decide whom they would give it to …and a justice reason… Now the chorus was “Rev John, it is unfair for you to make us work so hard for one pine!”   In the end, 4 pines were given on the basis of perceived need.- beggar on street, housekeeper, porter, and Dr. Tony… and one on a sameness principle… school secretary.

All in all, a good hour… and like most students before them, they will remember the “pines” and have no recall of the why, just that they were good.  Plus, I gave Sister Catherine my tart, as she was one of those fired last week.

Confidentiality – Yes and No

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that Neurology is not one of my strong suits… and when I do try I usually mess it up.   Naturally, it can happen the other way round, too.  Tony took on Ethics this week…   As you remember, we had a student who had to leave because she was diagnosed with active TB.  Tony and I have tried to support her get good care and fairly soon.   A doctor at Mercy agreed to see her and CEO Helen agreed that the hospital would pick up her bills here… Students don’t usually get assisted till they are in second year…  Anyhow, on examination, she was found to be pregnant as well.   This was a surprise!   She was distraught as she was on a pill and already had a child … and … and…  Well, on Wednesday evening Tony and I made a visit to her home with her mom and siblings and daughter; and she was coping better. 

The day before, when the doc had told her she was pregnant, the doctor got her permission to tell Tony and me about her pregnancy.   On Thursday this student came to our class to say hello and... good bye to her batchmates.    Now Tony jumped on the chance to demonstrate his ethical prowess with a great example of how Dr. Devi had gotten the student’s permission to share the fact that she not only had TB, but was pregnant.    Now this would have been an excellent example of how to maintain confidentiality in real life –except for the fact that she had not told her batchmates that she was pregnant .......    In true Doctor form, he quickly indicated that while she hadn’t told them, she really wanted to share it… and “many things are true” again…  [And nerves are those thingys that make you nervous.]    Her batchmates did support her and encouraged her to return to nursing next year…

Some Things of Note

• ·         Reformation Sunday

 

This was the Premier Performance by the Calvary Lutheran Church Melody Makers.

The King of Glory - Reformation Crowd? Chris Klafs is in there somewhere.

Tony chaired a distinguished panel:  Pastor Young, Chris Clafs – the Florida Synod representative to Guyana, Errol Ramdhany, a local scholar and myself.  We waxed on [and waxed off] wisely beneath the shade of a Silk Cotton Tree to an audience of all ages about how the Reformation has impacted the present.   One thing which I didn’t share at the time was that with all the freedom of information that the Reformation brought, most of what I said came from a Unitarian Universalist source – a sermon that Anne delivered to a UU Congregation in Canada.  This must fit under the rubric of “priesthood of all”!

• ·         “The Little Apple of Death” 

Also beneath the Silk Cotton Tree [there are no Jumbies in this one, I think], there was a beautiful and bright red tomato-ish fruit… Very lovely and just at a height where even the smallest child can appreciate it.   However… Mancinella, as it is known in Florida, contain strong toxins in all its parts. It will secrete a white milky substance during rainfall.  Allegedly, standing beneath the tree during rain may cause blistering of the skin from mere contact with this liquid.  Burning the tree may cause blindness if the smoke reaches the eyes.  The fruit can also be fatal if eaten. Many trees carry a warning sign, while others are marked with a red "X" on the trunk to indicate danger.  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel]    This is not exactly what you’d like your kids to be playing with most days!

·         A Friendly Canadian and Barely Clothed Women

Our newly found friend, Ian MacKay, a consultant who is down here to help upgrade a local hotel and restaurant, Grand Costal, invited us and any stragglers over for a swim and to be his guests for dinner.  So we invited Sylvia, a Scarboro volunteer.  She walked over to the internet-deprived Mercy Volunteers and got them to come as well.   

We had a wonderful time and will return this Friday with our First Year Class for their outing with snacks.   If I get this out after we have swum, [or swimmed, swummed, had swum, went swimming or…] I’ll add the pics to the blog’s top slideshow.   And don’t worry, I won’t get too excited with all those beautiful young women; I’ll fantasize about their grandmothers!

Of note also was that we picked up another Consultant, who had previously been in Iraq for several years and had just been in Guyana for a few weeks.   When we asked him what he thought of Guyana, he said, “I think that I may return to Iraq as it is better there.”    He didn’t seem to be kidding… Ugh!    Update:  He has chosen to work in Afghanistan..   [Are you kidding me?  Double Ugh.]

• ·         Diwali

Friday was the Hindu festival of lights. Diwali means a row or cluster of lights which symbolizes Light over Darkness, Knowledge over Ignorance, Good over Evil and Love over Hate.  How can you be against that, eh?

Diwali falls on the lunar month of Kartik meaning the month of October or November on the darkest night of the Hindu lunar year.   This is an occasion for the young and the old, men and women, rich and poor - for everyone irrespective of their religious and economic background who seeks light, knowledge and love.    The festival is celebrated throughout the world to ward off the darkness and welcome the light into our lives.  As William Shakespeare said,  “See ye that light yonder?  So shines a good deed in a naughty world”.  This festival is also celebrated as the beginning of New Year, and the blessings of Lakshmi, the celestial consort of Lord Vishnu, are invoked with prayers.   Lakshmi is a wonderful manifestation of the Brahman as she is considered the intermediary for beauty and wealth!  Nice combination, sort of a Virgin Mary, Martha Stewart and Beyoncé. 

• ·         Free Ice Cream Equals No Canadian VISA

After Tony and I made our home visit to our student, we had to stop at Taju’s for dinner and a few beers [for John] and ice cream, as we were made Honorary Life Members of the Free Ice Cream Club.   While I was there I remembered to ask Taju for a price on 20 gallons of ice cream that the School of Nursing is responsible for providing to the Mercy Hospital Christmas Party.   I thought that I could get a good discount.  He said, “No charge.” As it was his alma mater, he would donate it.  His only question was whether they wanted it in gallon jugs or individual cups.  You would think that makes him a good guy?

The next day he was denied a Canadian Visa to attend a week-long ice-cream marketing course at the University of Guelph because he was at risk of remaining illegally in Canada.   God save me from those faceless bureaucrats who are keeping Canada safe from hard-working entrepreneurs.    There is really no appeal, as the course starts at the beginning of December.  

I have been proud to be an immigrant to Canada as I have always thought it to be a kinder and more welcoming nation than so many others.   Today it is not true.   While I was firing off letters in my “Righteous Anger” phase, Taju wrote back, “Oh Reverend John don't be upset; for every disappointment there's an iota of blessing hidden somewhere.”

 Thanks for reading and may your blessings not be hidden.   John

Just Some Folks - Not All

 Sounds of Silence - NOT

I have long since thought that we did not have anything at our core – no central defining value, soul, centre, whatever.   We are the unique ingestion of our experiences and especially our experiences with others.   So the “who” of John is the amalgamation of all the relationships of a lifetime.   There is no “Cogito, ergo…” anything.  I am my memories, some conscious, some only felt, of all the relationships of living.  These relationships may be long and intimate, conflicted or demanding or punishing, short and/or significant.  They are all there in “who” I am today.   These internal beings share in the new experiences of my present incarnation.  How could I have been anyone if not for those who have known me and I have known?   However unique or different I am, I owe it to the people like those whose existing has bounced into mine this week in Guyana.

Rev. Richard Young

I would have a difficult time keeping a white Lutheran pastor who used to be a doctor and has been here for nine years anonymous… and there is really no need to do so.   I met Dick even before I physically met him… He had arrived as a long term missionary just before I first came in 2002.   He had a big write-up in some Lutheran rag… that told of a hodgepodge of activities in which he would be involved.   I did get to meet him that first year and every year thereafter.    And after his move into the city several years ago, we have gotten together frequently… for a few beers. [Yes, I drink them all as Dick doesn’t.]  I could not really last more than three months here because I do not have the patience nor the spirit to deal with all the disappointments of inertia, but Dick has a wonderful acceptance of people and all their failings….. He is a pastor of the people here; he has a sense of call that emboldens his work even when it is a colossal failure – in my eyes. 

Enough of the pre-canonization propaganda….. I am sad:  Dick is finishing his ministry in Guyana for all sorts of reasons at the end of December.   And, of course, this means he will not be here if/when I return.  [Ah yes, my students, as I have said, “grief is essentially selfish” – at least initially.]  He will head back to his family farm in Oregon… and I will miss him.

And he has become a part of me – as Doc Young before him.  That Doc Young was a retired police surgeon whom my mother kept busy by bringing me to his home (next door) for treatment… I have a lot of stories – here's just one: I fell through a French door full of glass and gashed my head… and he stitched it up right in his kitchen.  Now that isn’t the point of the story…  The point is that he gave me a six pack of small Cokes and told me to take one every hour! 

From their Prison Shots of 2006

 

Annessia and Nathoya

These two had been my students a few years ago and were among those 19 fired/laid off by Mercy to “save” the hospital.    Well, Tony and I had a meeting for all those folks last Sunday and 6 showed up [I have seen almost everyone else in the following days.]  It was a good meeting of sharing and support and for a moment there seemed to be more of the spirit of the Mercy Family there than elsewhere.  It is strange – well, not that strange for here.  There was very little resentment at Mercy even though almost no-one had seen it coming.   It confirmed my “script” that there is a generalized despair….. like "Nothing good ever happens here in my life and why should this be different?"   Anyhow, they exchanged phone numbers and offered ideas of how they could use their strengths to get jobs. 

I had met Annessia after she had been fired and, like the others, was not all that distressed – at least not as much as I was.  (She had just received the award for the most improved student in her batch.)   Mercy had forwarded all the names and phones to other hospitals and major employers who might be looking.   Mercy nurses are still regarded as the best in Guyana and rightfully so…  So the next time that I saw Annessia she was wearing a smart looking pants outfit with a Bhawant Singh Hospital logo…..  She had been hired at another private hospital in Georgetown and for considerably more dollars.  And Nathoya is there too… I have not seen her personally as she is very short and I may have missed her in a crowd!

They are my children here - and the reason that I have come here.  I want the best for them that they can manage.  I didn’t realize how much of myself that I had invested in them….. all of them.    They had been pre-incarnated by those McMaster family members who were also given the opportunity to "free up their futures" by those who really had none of their own…  I remembered them (and me with them) going in a blink of the eye from loyal staff to potential corporate saboteurs.  Strange -- if I had a soul it would have MUMC branded on it….. for McMaster University Medical Centre, as it was then.

Another Nursing Graduate

Last week she had asked me if she could talk to me and I said sure ….. [As Anne just wrote:” …you can say no, sorry, not today as I’m too busy.  Oh, I forgot – you have to take care of your need to be needed ...... and I’m not kidding or disparaging; I do know that’s important for your soul.”  Soul? And she calls herself a Unitarian?]   This nurse eventually caught up with me to tell me that she will be leaving Mercy Nursing  - initially to stay at home with her three kids… Her second child was born at the end of her first first year in the school of nursing.   You see, if you are pregnant in the first year you have to leave. [I have not quite figured out this reasoning, but I am pretty sure it has to do with British decorum and all that stuff.]  Well, two years later she returned to start nursing again and became one of the few "two-timers" of my students.   I shall not use her name, though those who know her already know her story…..  Her own mother had abandoned her when she was small and she is determined that her children will have the sense of a mother who cares about them – even if it will be difficult financially.   I am sure she will return to nursing, in Guyana, but now a special season is demanded in her living.   She seems to be me ......  so familiar that she has to be me.  (When I stop coming here, perhaps I’ll have money for analysis!)
 

I may have another two-timer.  A bright first year nurse who has a child and is a single parent has had a cough for some time.  I had been after her to find a doc….. well, she got into line at the Public Hospital – as she has not been in the family long enough to get care at Mercy – and would still be there, except that, not having Dick’s patience, I paid for her to get a TB test done at Mercy.  And, yes, she has active TB, so she has had to withdraw from the school, as the first year students are only allowed three days absence…   So she has been at home and is now waiting for treatment to begin; hopefully, that will be sometime soon.   And the rest of us will need to have a TB test as they are worried about the spread.   I really doubt it as you usually have to have prolonged and close contact.

 

I have at least a dozen people left… I thought his would just be a short point-form thingy.  Maybe I should have a commercial break?   Okay one or two more, and that’s it.  

A Girl from St. Ann’s

Like the nurses above her story will be no secret here… She just turned 16; the pumpkin age for all girls at St. Ann’s to leave.   I’ll call her “John” [Did you know that all the newborns whom I baptised dead or alive at MUMC and whose parents didn’t want a name for them, I baptized them John. How can one go to the kin-dom without a name?]   Well this John was going to be adopted by an overseas couple who had visited her and were captivated by her personality.  In the process of applying for a visa, it was discovered that John was Hiv+.  And the family admitted that they were not strong enough to cope and the adoption was cancelled.   John has really never recovered in spirit.   Sometimes the matrons wonder why she acts out… and sometimes the smaller kids have answered “John” when visitors ask who is in charge of St. Ann’s.   Anyhow, Sr. Barbara has allowed the older girls whose hopes of ever passing an exam are minimal to work as apprentices and John is working with a veterinarian.   So I promised to buy her a book on animal husbandry at the bookstore.   We [John, John and several of her friends made the trip] actually found a book on First Aid for Dogs, complete with all the gruesome pictures of disease and accidents. 

It was a successful trip and when I got home – guess what – one of the dogs at the parsonage or had a red eye.   So I took a digital picture of my guard dog humping my leg ..… and went back to St. Ann’s and asked for a consult from Dr. John, and said that I would pay for good advice for my  dog.   She was thrilled and so was everyone else – till she realized that she would actually have to read the book!   I am still waiting for the advice and as the dog in question is still barking most of the night it seems that the disease wasn’t terminal. 

I have no idea of how and if John will survive outside the womb of St. Ann’s.   And I remember feeling the same (though I don’t have Hiv, nor am I a girl) when I left Maryknoll and Catholicism:  I didn’t know if I would survive… and if I did as what?   I do think that there were some who would have given me the same odds as this John…  I can only pray that this John will survive with the blessings I've had.

Can you handle another?  Just one more?

Gold Coast Waiter

I took Dick [see earlier, above] out for a farewell meal before his dance card gets all filled.  He wanted to go to the Chinese restaurant that was a favourite of my favourite nuns Sheila and Theresa.  I will make the waiter anonymous not only to protect his identity but also because I have already forgotten his name.  I knew him and he knew me; and, we both remembered Theresa who could not leave with extra chicken bones for her Guyanese dogs who seem immune to the warning to never give chicken bones to dogs.   And he always tried to get a little free medical advice from Sheila…  I promised to remember him to Sheila -- who will remember his name.  

The long standing restaurant was pretty much a ghost town as the new and chrome and cool New Thriving Chinese restaurant had opened across the street.   He stood, polite and courteous, unlike me in most ways, yet I saw myself in him --  in a world that had passed his style by, where customers were valued for themselves and their stories as well as their dollars… and the tip is included in the bill.   I imagine that this is how all us older people feel and whether the new will be better, I don't know – it just will be.  At least we can remember and smile.    

There are more of me here... and many of you are me, as I am you.   Thanks for joining me this week.  For better or for worse.. I would not be here without you in my spirit and in my body... John

I'll do this as a PS so I don't make a liar out of myself.

My Adopted Son, Rashleigh, The Lecturer

We were exploring a paper problem of a young Amerindian child in the interior who was thrown into prison for a crime that wasn't a crime.  The students wanted to go on a field trip - naturally, to the interior to see a jail there - and the sights too.  I had thought that we could get a tour of the local facility but apparently it was not possible for a class.  So I remembered that Rashleigh had spent a few days in the Georgetown lock-up in his youth a few years ago.  I asked him if he would come and describe his experiences there - and believe me, you don't want to know!   I was very proud of him - mature and articulate and descriptive... very descriptive.   Anyhow, I had promised if he came he would make my blog this week; as well as, I took a couple of thousand (Guyanese) off his loan ......