July 6, 2011
I would say that today has been productive. In the morning, I interviewed an HIV and TB patient with a stroke. Assessing his stroke score was nearly impossible as he was extremely drowsy and would not listen to me. We got another patient in the ICU, and another in the cardiology department. The chief of the cardiology department speaks English well and was so warm and welcoming to us. For the first time since our being here, we were complimented on how well the questionnaire was written and how detailed it was (props to Scott!). It was so reassuring to hear in this foreign world when sometimes I wonder if they know what we are trying to do. The cardiology doctor was so excited to learn methods from Scott that we wondered why we hadn’t come to this department sooner.
Our patient was an older man with left-sided weakness, but he was able to follow all of my commands. As mentioned in our “About Us” section, Scott and I brought 100 pairs of reading glasses (donated by his parents through The Reading Glass Project) to give out to the elderly here. Today was the first time we brought them with us to hand out. We fitted the wife, and the moment she put on the glasses her face lit up because she could finally see again. She was so excited, and her eyes were so round and innocent, like a doll’s. Word spread that we were giving out free reading glasses, and we were swarmed by nearly all of patients in the cardiology department. We were crowded in the corner of an outdoor hallway next to a metal gurney with no mattress, handing out glasses like they were the hottest commodity in town. However, we did not bring enough with us and wanted to make sure that all the family members of those participating in the study received a pair, so we had to sneak out and ignore everyone who was asking. I felt so bad because there was clearly a need for the glasses that wasn’t being met.
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| Stroke patients' family and their new glasses |
Back at the neurology department, we visited the families we had interviewed and asked if they needed glasses. Almost all of them did. One of the old ladies was so cute about it. We fitted her with a pair glasses, which she said was clear, but I wanted to make sure so I moved up a size. She put it on, and though my translation does not to justice to her surprise, she said, “I can’t believe it! This one is EVEN CLEARER than the last!” I laughed so hard because she was so overjoyed with her new sight and her enthusiasm with the glasses. We gave 5 more out, and the appreciation and happiness were so strong, they were almost palpable. None of these women could see anything up close and who knows for how many years. I feel like we gave them back 10 – 20 years of their vision. I can hardly describe how their faces changed the moment those glasses were put over their eyes. They just brightened up, like a child’s on Christmas morning. It’s funny to think that there are rows of glasses hanging on racks at local drugstores like CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens back in the U.S., mostly untouched without their knowing their need and value in developing countries such as Vietnam.
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| One of the first women we interviewed |
Scott loves kids and befriended some of the children running barefoot around the neurology ward. He somehow charmed them with the tags from the glasses. For each pair of glasses we handed out, Scott gave the little boy a different colored tag. The boy collected all of them and was so excited for each color Scott gave him. Scott said that one man's trash is another kid's treasure. And it truly was. He hung on to them, fanned them out, and showed off all the beautiful colors. Who knew that handing out reading classes would serve so many generations of people.
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| Showing off his treasure |
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| Children in the hospital |
After lunch, the four of us headed out to the Traditional Hospital for the first time. This hospital mostly uses Eastern medicine to treat their patients, but I think they also use modern medicine. Many of the patients from the General Hospital get sent here to recover. The Traditional Hospital was a pleasant surprise. It was much cleaner and newer, it was less crowded, and much quieter than the General Hospital. Everyone seemed a bit happier and healthier. We were introduced to the main doctor there, and he was helpful and welcoming. We interviewed 2 stroke patients. Our translators, Ngan and Tien, have really gotten the hang of the interviews and can complete the questionnaire in no time. I examined a pleasant old man, who had a mild stroke, and when I asked him to smile and show his teeth, he let out a huge, “HA HA HA,” which was completely unnecessary. He was in such good humor, though, and he got the whole room cracking up. Patients and nurses from the hospital came and crowded around the windows and doorways to watch Scott and me examine our two patients. We felt so relaxed after our experience with the Traditional Hospital, we decided to celebrate at a coffee shop called Tropical.
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| In front of the Traditional Hospital |
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| Scott and the translators |
Tropical was the most beautiful coffee shop we have seen by far. Yumi Coffee has got some serious competition. Bamboo trees were growing tall outside of the shop, and the exterior was fashioned from a dark wood. The inside was even more magnificant. It was a two-story shop furnished with dark woods and warm colors. There was a large flat movie screen on the first floor. Flowers and funky vases decorated the place. We went upstairs and lounged in some leather chairs, ordering, of course, sinh to (smoothies) and some food.
We had our second English lesson with Ngan and Tien. Scott went over words to describe the coffee shop with Ngan, while I went over pronunciation and questions with Tien. The other customers were probably wondering what we were doing because we were hissing and making all sorts of funny sounds. Scott was helping Ngan with the “s” sound, and he was trying to show her by hissing like a snake. Ngan was trying to teach Scott the Vietnamese “ng” sound which sounds like Chewbacca from Star Wars. I was trying to teach Tien how to pronounce the “x” sound by making him say “eKs.” We sounded like animals from the zoo.
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| English lesson at Tropical Coffee Shop |
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