C-Section, and other stuff

The power is turned off everyday in the morning from 7am-8am and again in the afternoon from 12-1:30 (the afternoon one varies a little bit), to keep Tamil Nadu from having a power surge.

Today we went to Junction and bought our train tickets to Kovelum. On the way to Junction the bus took a long way through a new part of the city. We stopped for 10-20 min at one section, it smelled like sewege and mango, not so pleasant. Through the bus ride there were cows and goats eating signs off the walls.

What fascinates me the most, I think, is driving through a city and seeing people, starving, garbage and dirt everywhere but then seeing a pristine air-conditioned building among all the filth, like RMKV or the police office. It doesn't make sense to me. Zelda was right when she said the best way to descrive India is "what the hell?" because no matter where you are or what you see, it always applies.

Then we went to the hospital, we went straight to the OR rolled up our pants, put on gowns, masks and hats, then went and wiped our BARE FEET on a bunny/dog rug, put on hospital regulation FLIP FLOPS and went into the OR. There is no steril entryway. there is an area with sinks, that are dirty, for the doctors to wash thier hands in. We were about to see a c-section. The anestesiologist gave the woman shots, no gloves for that. The "sterile" instruments were under a stained sheet on the table. The doctor and the nurses wear gloves, everyone is quiet. No one says much to mom. They get the baby out, the dr. holds him upside down and practically tosses him to a nurse. who immediatly sets him in a metal pan ON THE FLOOR. Everything they throw out goes in buckets, no trash bags or anything, just buckets.

The smell of the OR is terrible and when I first walked in it took a minute before i could breath. as they are stiching up the first lady they bring in another one. no clean up between procedures, they just start the next one. They show the mom her baby and take him away weigh him and wrap him in a plastic blanket then they give him to his grandmother and father, who are sitting on a cement floor in the "waiting room". Directly outside the OR the family will sit on the floor waiting.

Somehow all of this works, its shocking but it works, 1.8 billion people live here and live like this and go to hospitals like this, and it works. The driving is something that you would never see at home, and yet they have less car accidents. Nothing in the hospital is steril and yet people live. It works, and its amazing.

On the way back from the hospital it looked as if school had just gotten out, there were lots of children in uniforms. I had to take a rickshaw back alone, because Zelda was staying to go somewhere with the sisters (nurses) they dropped me off at Lakshmi hospital, I was a little confused and disoriented at first, but I found my way back. I'm really starting to like it a lot, maybe even love it. Tomorrow morning we're leaving for Kovalum.

Breakfast: Noodle patties, with milk, sugar, banana, and coconut
Lunch: noodles, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, and peppers. and mango chutney
Dinner: Noodles, and mango juice.