Today we set out for the rural villages in the physician\u2019s mobile unit.\u00a0 I had wanted to meet persons who had disabilities so Sam OT went along with me to the villages. In the first village, Salamatham, we visited a woman with 2 daughters in their 30\u2019s, both were deaf.\u00a0 They had their own sign language system and verbalizations that they understood.\u00a0 The daughters were both married and had children of their own.\u00a0 They were pretty well integrated into their community and functioned with minimal assistance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The mobile physician unit is interesting.\u00a0 We pulled into the front yard of a house-under a tree for shade and they set up shop.\u00a0 There were about 10 women sitting on the porch waiting for the van.\u00a0 One doctor sat outside of the van at a table and saw anyone who walked up.\u00a0 Everyone has a medical card and it is obvious that they guard this card\u2026 They carried the card in old woven plastic rice sacks for protection.\u00a0 The doctor outside takes the person\u2019s blood pressure and talks with them about their complaint.\u00a0 Another doctor inside examines anyone that the outside doctor refers.\u00a0 There is also a health worker (she wears a pink sari) who hands out vitamins to pregnant women.\u00a0 And there is a nurse (she wears a blue sari) who dispenses medicines from a window in the back of the van.\u00a0 It is a very efficient operation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After about 2 hours, everyone had been seen who wanted the doctor\u2019s services so we moved onto the next village, Perumalaipet, where the doctors again set up shop.\u00a0 Sam the OT and I walked to the home of a young man who had severe disabilities.\u00a0 His mother had had rheumatic fever while she was pregnant.\u00a0 This young man was 17 years old and in the 5th<\/sup>\u00a0standard (I think that is equivalent to our 5th<\/sup>\u00a0grade) and was making excellent grades.\u00a0 He had not been allowed to start school until he was older because of his childhood illnesses.\u00a0 His older brother has mental retardation and carries around the younger brother.\u00a0 The younger brother wants to do computer work when he finishes school\u2026but the family is extremely poor.\u00a0 Sam OT was hoping I could find them some financial help\u2026this boy has an opportunity to learn a skill that will allow him to be independent.\u00a0 He is really a poster child of sorts.\u00a0 The father climbed the palm tree in the yard and brought down 2 green coconuts for us to drink from and then cut them open so we could eat the coconut meat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sam OT and I rode the city bus back to CMC campus-another adventure!\u00a0 Hot, crowded (VERY CROWDED) but a gentleman did give me his seat.\u00a0 The children stare, of course, but it was interesting\u2026they would try to get near my seat and hold onto the seat back and \u201caccidently\u201d touch my hand with a finger.\u00a0 I was a real curiosity on the bus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today we set out for the rural villages in the physician\u2019s mobile unit.\u00a0 I had wanted to meet persons who 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