Karen -Week Two

10/21/10
We continue to be busy at the clinic. We saw 16 patients yesterday, which is not a lot for 2 of us for a full day, but they all come at the same time! I asked about making appointments, but that seemed a foreign concept – always first- come first- served. Tom and I are finally getting used to having our patients wait. Some hang around after they are finished anyway, so they don’t seem to mind. Even the toddlers are waiting patiently. Most of the patients arrive by 8:30 or 9:00. We rarely get patients in the afternoon, so we are usually finished by about 2:30.
We are enjoying our patients. We had 5 new patients yesterday, so we continue to grow. I am so glad that I am here for 2 weeks, because I have the same patients coming back this week and I can really see progress. I have one woman who is only 2 weeks after her stroke, so this week she is coming every day. She is very motivated and her family is very supportive. She arrives smiling, works hard, and leaves smiling and is making progress daily. It is gratifying to know that this would not happen if we(Global Therapy Group)were not here providing this service.
I have also had a chance to visit with our host family and our translators. On Tuesday I sat down to talk to the translators about my expectations, etc. and I specifically chose to sit in a low child’s chair. One of the interpreters commented to the others in Creole and they all started laughing. The only words that I understood were “voodoo doctor”. When I asked him about it later he said that I looked like a voodoo doctor because a doctor would always sit in a low chair. Of course I had to ask the question “Is that a compliment or an insult?" He laughed and said “Neither, just an observation”.