I’ve taken a break from blogging for a day or so. So, I have a little to catch up on. Yesterday I started getting some GI upset, fortunately not the Cipro-taking kind. I’m thinking my bland American stomach is being thrown into convulsions from an exclusively Indian food diet.Yesteday we rounded in the NICU. It’s pretty amazing what they are trying to do with limited resources. I’m still surprised that first line therapy includes amikacin. What would that be–a dry martini, shaken not stirred?
Second line includes piperacillin and ciprofloxacin. In a neonate. They obviously have not read the literature on beagle pups and cartilage. We’ll call that infant formula–second best to mother’s milk.
Overnight, the NICU sent a baby out to mom, and then got a SGA pre-term twin that weighed 850 grams. The baby was intubated, but they couldn’t give Survanta. Why is that? Survanta costs 13,000 rupees (US$300)…per dose, which is way too expensive for a typical Indian family.
Out on the wards, the young girl with pneumonia was going home today. Choice of antibiotics Zyvox (linezolid). Cost? 40 rupees (about US$1). Compare that to our cost of US$40…per pill. We’ll call this fortified mother’s milk. Or maybe a Rum and Coke.
Also on the Peds Wards today, we saw a case of Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, calf pseudohypertrophy, Gower’s maneuver and all. This is one of those cases which we never see admitted to inpatient at Rainbow, though I’m sure it exists. We also saw a probable case of cerebral palsy/developmental delay. I thought about how much stuff and resources we would send these parents home with in the US, and wondered what kind of support they would get here in India.
Rest assured, we are not just working. Yesterday we went sightseeing to Auroville, a eutopian, non-denominational settlement outside of Pondicherry. It was founded on the principles set forth by Mother and Sri Aurobindo. In the middle of the settlement is a Banyan tree, and right next to it is a huge, Disney-esque meditation chamber. Think Epcot center except with gold discs. It is supposed to be reminiscent of the divine consciousness. It’s surrounded by brick “petals”, and to get into it you go down a ramp, then up a set of stairs. Of course they make you remove your shoes and socks, but they also make you put on a pair of white socks which they provide.
You then start your ascent by a ramp that slowly spirals along the outside of the ball to reach the meditation chamber. The inside of the meditation chamber is all white, with 12 white pillars, white carpet, and a huge crystal ball on a golden stand. A ray of sunlight shines down from the ceiling. Even when it’s full of people, when everyone’s quiet, it’s a very cool, experience.
