Just Jeshi: Karigiri Hospital and Mammalapuram (Day 5 and 6)

Friday we visited the Karigiri Hospital for the treatment of leprosy. ( AND WE FINALLY GOT TO WEAR OUR BYU CHUDIDARS AND TUNICS!) It was built in the 1950s, and to be honest, walking through the halls of the hospital was like taking a time machine back to the 1950s. Even the surgical instruments seemed a bit medevil. We (Janeen, Paige, Kristin, and I ) followed a nurse around. I never learned her name, but we called her Sister. She has been a nurse for 38 years and she retires this August. She showed us around the medical wing. There were many patients with diabetic ulcers there. The hospital takes in a variety of patients now, but it is still well known for treating leprosy, researching leprosy, and educating others about leprosy.

Paige * Janeen * Sister * Me * Kristin
Sister was so cute. When we asked her if we could take a picture
with her, she agreed and then proceeded to put on her hat, badge
earings, etc to ensure she looked her best. I loved learning from her.

My Professor, Cheryl and I in front of the College of Nursing

Lecture

The med cart

I told you these looked medevil. They use an autoclave (which seems
ancient), and then they wrap the sterile instruements in newspaper.

Sister treating Gita's wound.

The hospital room is open to the courtyard outside.

In the past leprosy was not treated in traditional hospitals. It was similar to the segregation in the South, but it was people affected with leprosy and not African Americans. Those with leprosy were called "Untouchables" and many people were destitute with nothing left. Their family's shunned them, their community's shunned them, they lost jobs, friends, etc. We visited a leprosy colony that is associated with the hospital. This colony was different from the others we visited. There weren't families-- these people lived all alone. It was really hard to see the major deformities of a lot of these people and to think that they had no one to love them and care for them. We sang hymns with them and talked with them in our broken Tamil. I loved singing hymns for them. The spirit was so strong, and I loved when they sang in return for us. Also, birds pooped on us here. It rained bird poop.

Something I should clear up is that the patients we visit in the colonies for the most part do not have active leprosy microbacterium. Many of these patients have been treated for leprosy and been cured-- but return to the colonies because the colonies become their community and family. Most of the work we do with the patients is health maintenance and treatment of ulcers. The ulcers still occur after the leprosy has been cured because the nervous system is not regenerative. Once a nerve is neuropathic, it cannot regain its feeling. These patients are still living in harsh conditions that easily damage neuropathic limbs. This is most of the work we are doing. This means that we will most likely not contract leprosy while we are staying here.

We had a few lectures on leprosy and had many of our questions answered. I learned that leprosy is actually droplet transmission, not airborne (correction from this post previously). If you want to know some signs to look for in a leprosy patient, check for these symptoms:

1. Anesthetic Patches (hypo-pigmentation of the skin that has lost feeling to the senses).
2. Enlarged Nerves (this can only be felt on superficial nerves)
3. Acid Fast Bacilli

On Saturday we took a trip to Mammalapuram which is a shopping town near the Bay of Bengal. The group of us visited the Sea Shore Temple. We saw some ancient sacrificial alters and rooms and I'm not sure if I'd call them cool, interesting, or creepy. We'll stick with interesting. We did some shopping and let me tell you, I've become quite the barterer. I can talk down a price super well. Cheryl, Madalyn, Kendra, Jaclyn, Janeen, Dani, and I (the group of us that stayed together while shopping) ate some lunch at Moonrakers. I got a chocolate milkshake. But it wasn't really a chocolate milkshake we're used to in the states. It was more like chocolate milk with ice cubes. It's so hot here that ice cream doesn't really exist. But I ate some french fries and spaghetti and didn't complain one bit about my ice cold chocolate milk. The french fries were glorious and the spaghetti was pretty good too. It had a bit of a kick to it-- they may have added some cayenne pepper or something. Then we road rickshaws to Ideal Beach and met up with the others from out group. I've stood on the other side of the world and my feet have touched the other side of the ocean. Oh my goodness. It was great. Jaclyn, Dani, and I ran a mile along the shore. I haven't run since arriving in India. It's much too hot and humid. It's getting into the hundreds during the days. Running on the beach was easier because there was a good breeze and it was much cooler than inland where we are staying. We all cooled down in the water, even though we could't go in very far. The sea was angry. It was so fun and a much needed break from the hard work we've been doing everyday.