Last day at ICDDR,B

Another week full of hard yet rewarding work is officially in the books!

 

Yesterday I had a lovely meeting over tea with the head of the Center for Nutrition and Food Security (CNFS), Dr. Tahmeed Ahmed. After I gave a verbal report of the information I had collected and summarized in my case study based on his personal nutritional research and my own observations, he was full of wonderful compliments and suggestions. He noted that, with the small amount of time I spent at the center, I have managed to compile a wonderful amount of information which he is very pleased with. He pointed out that the study I wrote concerning malnutrition protocol is the perfect size for a newspaper report. He suggested I get in touch with the Washington Post or another well-known news company in which I can publish a small piece of work. Offering any help I may need with the process, Dr. Tahmeed spoke of the three main ways this article would be beneficial: education to the public of malnourished children in developing countries, wide spread publicity and further support of ICDDR,B, and a nice kick start that will benefit my professional career no matter what I decide to do.

 

In all honesty, my immediate thoughts were, "The Washington Post?! I can't do that!! I'm not qualified to do anything like that!" After reflecting on a few things I began to realize that other attributes aside from credentials which define a person tend to act as the driving forces of their ultimate success; motivation, personality, communicability, compassion.   I noticed I had put restrictions on myself based on what other people may conclude solely from my education, age, and professional experience. If I had held this negative "can't do" attitude prior to applying for my internship with ICDDR,B I'd be sitting on my bum in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania wishing my summer wasn't so boring. After all- I'm not 21, not a medical student, not working on a masters or PhD, all of which are guidelines to be accepted to ICDDR,B field experience. Life's too short to naïvely answer questions we don't know the true answers to yet; go find the answers you seek on your own. The answer to every question not asked will always be "no". To conclude, I've decided I'm going to go for it and do the best I can to get in contact with the Washington Post.

 

Fast forwarding..

Today marks my last day at ICDDR,B. I cannot believe a month has gone by so quickly! I withhold an array of mixed feelings to say the absolute least. I am sad to leave the people I have grown so close to and learned so much from within this past month, yet I am eager to come home for many reasons in contrast. The bittersweet taste of "goodbye" sits loftily in my mouth as I receive hugs and well wishes from my colleagues and fellow international students at ICDDR,B. My work here is officially done this go round!

 

Feelings of excitement have been filling my mind when I think of home and returning to the States. I'm eager to see friends & family and I can't wait to eat fresh fruit, salads and meat without the submissive thought of getting sick down the road. Since I haven't worked out pretty much the whole time I've been here, I am getting extremely antsy to start running and doing crossfit again as soon as I get home! I am also eagerly anticipating the completion of my presentation on the case study I have written on social factors pertaining to severely acute malnourished children in Bangladesh. I look forward to presenting my findings to the Mechanicsburg Rotary Club and the George Mason University College of Health and Human Services department upon returning.
 

I walked around the hospital today filled with nostalgia as I snapped a few more pictures of the many familiar sights. I am hopeful you will enjoy these faces and sights one last time just as I did this afternoon.

 

Courtyard area in front of the Center

Mid-morning tea time in the Café

My lovely roommate Natsuko :)

 

A mother in the NRU

My dear friend Samia

Putting flip flips on

Nothing but smiles here!

Little boy copying his mother! Very funny

I surely will never forget those beautiful Bangladeshi eyes

The bulk of the NRU staff I worked with

I am uncertain when my next blog post will be. I am ready to come home and allow each unique experience to soak in before I am able fully decipher the multitude of their impact on my life. As realizations and lessons flood my mind upon my return, I will most definitely post about them! Stay tuned :)

 

Anticipating being reunited with the ones I love,

 

-C.

 

You're Right

 

 

It's Tuesday and officially "hump day" in Bangladesh!

It has been a while since my last post and I've got to admit, I've been somewhat timid to write a new one. I feel as if my day-to-day grind throughout the last 3 days or so has been quite mundane compared to my first weeks here in Dhaka. As well, I'm getting very accustomed to the sites, smells, and sounds that previously left me speechless. Though I am getting very used to the culture of Bangladesh, intermittent shocking images never fail to present themselves! 

Walking back to my flat from Lavender this past Saturday afternoon I was left with more irreversible images. On the side of the road in front of me, I happened to see a man with elephantiasis that sat begging for money. Elephantiasis is a tropical disease, scientifically known as Lymphatic Filariasis and is most commonly recognized by side effects of abnormally enlarged body parts. The disease is transmitted by mosquitos that are infected with active parasite larvae which are then deposited into the host and travel to the lymphatic systems where they grow into adult worms. I previously learned of this disease in a global health course and was speechless to see a textbook image come to life in real time right before my eyes. Since I've been in Bangladesh, I have had many experiences similar to this where textbook images are suddenly right in front of me. I must say, these sights leave me close to utter disbelief at what my eyes are telling me. 

About a mile down the road, another interesting sight was observed near my very own street. I rounded the corner to road 70, one that intersects mine, and was shocked to see a shirtless elder woman in a drive way about 10 feet from me taking her pants off. I didn't know how to act! It's frowned upon for a woman to show her legs in this country, yet an elder woman was walking around almost completely naked right in front of me!! What in the world... I wish I had some reasoning to share with you all, but I have none. I walked right on by trying not to notice, just like everyone else, as I searched my mind for answers that never came. Maybe she had a mental illness? A skin rash that needed immediate relief? God only knows!

 

At the Center, Most of my time has been filled with hours in the air conditioned library on the fourth floor working on my case study. Since I am leaving the country earlier than I initially planned, the process of completing my "mini-study" has been in full swing this week. I have collated all of my questionnaires, growth charts and information on each child into a Word document and will begin the writing process later today. I plan on finishing the written section by tomorrow and will turn in the final copy to Dr. Sayeeda for review Thursday morning. I'm looking forward to finishing my first (somewhat) official case study!

 

I constantly surprise myself with the amount of information I've become so familiar with while working at ICDDR,B and I am incredibly thankful to be here each and every day. I'm baffled when I look around, for I am surrounded by world renowned researchers, doctors, scientists, epidemiologists, and humanitarians from all corners of the globe. The plethora of information at my fingertips is mind boggling and I never thought I'd be intrigued by SO many things!

 

When I decided to study Global Community Health and Nutrition this past year at George Mason, I had confidence in the ideas I had of what my future may look like and where this unique major could possibly lead me throughout my life. On the contrary, I've come to realize I withhold such few tangible perceptions as to what I want to do with my professional life. My inconstant and unfixed cognizance has left me overwhelmed and at a loss of presumptuous direction.

Initially I felt quite uneasy about this disorientation of thoughts, but after parsing my mind and having wonderful conversations with fellow global health colleagues at icddr,b I am quite content with my confusion. Nick, my roommate, gave me some wonderful insight from personal experience and mentioned the value of not having sure direction and being interested in an array of topics. After all, I'm only 20 years old. 

 

Though many people may closely relate my young age with my feelings of invincibility, I assure you it comes purely from my attitude and perception of life. I know I am capable of doing anything I wish and I plan on following my heart and passions no matter where they may take me. After all, the mind is the driver behind the wheel of life. Thoughts are manifested and made visible in the actions you take, so when you put restrictions on what you think is possible those restrictions become your reality. Where your mind goes, your life will follow. Stu once said, "You create your own potential", and I couldn't agree more with him!
 

 

 Enjoy the new day and go do something you once told yourself you couldn't!! It's exhilarating when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself.

 

Much love,

-C.

Connecting the Dots

Hello to all!

 

Before I tell you about my awesome day!...

I would first like to say "Thank you" for all of the support and love I have constantly been receiving from so many of you throughout my time abroad so far. I am humbled by all of the kind words, prayers and love being sent my way. Your support has had a HUGE impact on me and I am beyond grateful for each and every one of you. Cheers to you all!!

 

At the moment, I'm sitting at the wooden desk in my room sipping on some tea as my Friday comes to an end while I enjoy the quiet hum of my air conditioning mixed with the ceiling fan. Time to reflect on the past two days:

 

Thursday I spent the majority of my day at icddrb working on NRU interviews, journaling and reading up on acute malnutrition protocol before heading out to dinner. Around 7:30pm five of us met up and walked a few blocks down the road to a wonderful Korean restaurant called Goong, "The Castle". We stepped up a flight of stairs and into a beautiful, authentic Korean dining area. Upon arriving at our table our waiter brought each of us a small cup of warm pumpkin soup and a beautiful bite-size, spiral-shaped slice of tomato that was marinated in a sweet soy sauce. I could tell I was going to like this place! After ordering, we were given complimentary fried vegetable & fish cakes accompanied by a sweet and spicy chili sauce. It was to die for! Not very long after the appetizers came and went, our main dishes arrived. WOW was everything wonderful! The complimentary dessert was my favorite part; home made puffed rice cakes with sugar, apple slices, and sweet cinnamon apple cider.  Mmm mmm mmm! Come to think of it, I wish I would have taken my camera with me because the presentation of each dish was absolutely beautiful! Following dinner, I  ended up staying in the apartment and relaxing for the rest of the night.

 

Today (Friday) I slept in until 10:30am then made my way to the kitchen to boil water for tea. After a relaxing and uneventful morning/early afternoon, I was picked up by student services in front of my apartment to make a trip to Lavender -local market- to buy groceries for my roommate Natalie. Since she is still recovering from her hospital stay, I offered to do her shopping for her and was generously given a ride to and from by student services.

 

Following the trip to Lavender I met up with my friend Samantha and walked over to the district beside ours, Banani, to go to our local tailor who had hemmed one of my skirts for me. It turned out perfectly, as expected! Before trekking back to Gulshan, we stopped in one of the local bakeries to buy an assortment of cookies and a small fresh fruit cake. One thing Bangladesh is known for that many people do not know are the wonderful Bakeries in town! If you ever come to Bangladesh, be sure to stop at a popular local bakery.

 

We began walking back towards Gulshan and couldn't help but stop at our favorite stores on the way: Aranya and Jatra- which happen to be in the same building. For better or for worse, I spent more Taka than planned, but managed to get plenty of beautiful fair trade & handmade items for myself as well as friends and family members. As we continued on down the dirty roads through the Gulshan 2 circle we made another pit stop, this time at Lavender so Sami could get a few things.

 

Our final destination was La Femme, the beauty salon we enjoyed getting cheap pedicures at last week. La femme is a ladies only salon that offers an assortment of services: hair cut/color, pedicures/manicures, waxing, threading, massages, and piercings. This salon caters to many locals and is extremely popular amongst expats because of the cheap prices and quality of service. I initially heard of La Femme from my wonderful friend Nofi, who has lived in Banladesh for over a year now and works with BRAC bank (NGO).

 

The main reason in coming to La Femme today was so that I could...

 



 

GET MY NOSE PIERCED! They pierced it with an earring gun! The woman shoved that thing right up my nose and BAM it was over in a second. Sami got pictures of the whole process so once I get them from her, I will share them with you all. Now I'm finally starting to fit in with the locals! ;) 

I spent the rest of my evening relaxing with Nick and Natalie at our dining room table. Natalie is feeling much better from her scary allergic reaction and I was pleased to have a wonderful conversation with her that left me laughing more often than not. Throughout the conversation she couldn't thank me enough for saving her life, and honestly I didn't know what to say. I definitely don't feel responsible for saving her, even though she most likely would have died had I not been there to take her to the ER. I couldn't possibly take credit for what happened last week because I know God used me that day alongside many others -the men who gave us their rickshaw, Jill's suggestion to go to the hospital, the amazing doctors and nurses- in order to keep Natalie alive. It's certainly a treat to look back on situations and see how you just so happen to be at the right place at the right time. As well, If you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time there's usually a lesson to be learned, so pay attention.

The night before I left for college, my father and I sat out on our front porch until 2am talking about infinite topics. One thing he mentioned to me that night was that life never quite makes sense looking forward. He said that we can only follow our heart and knowledge at any given moment because that is what we are given in the present time. He told me of the unexpected and unplanned paths his life had taken and the dots that he could now connect looking back on them. You cannot recognize it for what it is just yet, but in this very moment as you read this blog post something beautiful is happening in your life that can only be recognized and withhold purpose to you when viewed in retrospect.

I challenge you to give up the fight of trying to "figure it all out" and simply let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.

Always in love,
-C.

Field Day and Happiness

Yesterday was absolutely amazing!

I woke up and made my way to the bottom floor of the guest house at Matlab for breakfast. The chef brought out some traditional bangladeshi dishes (chapattis with vegetable sabji, Bengali kheer) as well as a hard boiled egg, toast with butter and orange jelly, and fresh bangla bananas. What a spred!

 

With a very full stomach, I made my way over to the hospital where I met with the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) nurses I had met the day prior.



Walking from the guest house to the hospital

View from my balcony

The nurses walked me all across the Matlab campus and into the different wards while teaching me of the many practices and interventions throughout each hospital area. Amongst the places I went to at the hospital, the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) ward was my favorite!



Mother in the KMC with her premature baby

Colorful blankets drying outside the KMC

The view from behind the KMC ward overlooking flooded rice paddies

At the KMC, preterm and underweight neonates are placed on the bare chest of their mother between her two breasts which act as a natural incubator for the baby. Upon entering the room, we were to take our flip-flops off and put hospital-issued flip-flops on to ensure a clean environment for the critical status of the premature neonates. The room was hot and humid to accommodate the tiny babies and left me dripping in sweat after just a few minutes of standing in the room.  The nurse told me that the mothers spend 16 out of 24 hours every day laying down in this position to ensure the life of their child. Because this is such a demanding task for the mothers, they receive support and encouragement from the nurses in the ward.  In many developing countries such as Bangladesh, availability of incubators in village areas is unheard of. KMC is practiced in an array of developing countries and has proven to save the lives of many preterm babies. Just another simple life-saving solution for the developing world!

Front of the KMC ward

I also visited the Neonatal ward, MCH ward, delivery room, diarrheal disease ward, breastfeeding counseling room, Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) ward and learned of the many interventions Matlab has to offer to its patients in these areas.

Poster with different delivery positions

Delivery room

Part of the hospital

Neonatal ward

After making my way around the hospital, Dr. Fazal brought me to his office and offered me a trip to visit two of the field sites in the area. Happily accepting his offer, I hopped in a van with a nurse and male village based community health research worker. We bounced around inside the van while it flew down the narrow dirt road that led to the first field site, a village based community center. When the van came to a halt, we climbed out and walked along a dirt trail past make-shift homes and women washing clothing in a small dirty lake. When we arrived to the little village community, there was rice, corn, peppers and other crops laying out in baskets and on tarps to dry.

Small path leading to the village

Rice, corn and other crops drying in the sun


I stepped inside the small community room that was made out of metal walls, a tin roof and dirt floor. Inside, mothers sat with their children on plastic chairs and wooden benches that surrounded a small wooden table where a village health worker was filling out papers, administering vaccinations, and educating the mothers. I tried paying attention to the nurse and worker I traveled with while they explained the protocol to me, but the children outside kept sticking their smiling faces through the windows and giggling.

 

Courtyard area in the village

Adorable Bangladeshi boy that kept following me

After walking around the village area a bit more, we headed back to the van to make our trip to the second field site. The second site we went to was down another road that was extremely narrow and elevated from the water filled rice paddies below. The site had a totally different set up. It consisted of three small brick buildings that had been there since the 1970's: two clinical wards and one office building. This small complex is one of four subcenter clinics in the Chandpur area surrounding Matlab. Each subcenter caters to about 28,000 patients.

Entrance to the office building

Training/Meeting room



Take-home delivery package for village deliveries

Entrance to the clinical building

The van ended up having to maneuver off the side of the narrow dirt road multiple times on the way to and from the subcenter clinic so rickshaws, CNG's and tractors could drive past our van that were coming from the opposite direction. The only problem was that the road consisted of a dirt mound built up from the rice paddies and had no shoulder to pull onto so that cars could go by. This ended up being quite interesting!

View from the traffic jam

Hogging up the road

One of many traffic jams on the narrow road

My little fan club

When I returned at 1:30pm and met with Dr. Fazal to review the field sites, he mentioned that he was leaving Matlab to return to Dhaka at 3pm. He asked if I wished to return as well and I decided to take him up on the offer. I had planned to leave Matlab the next day, but riding back with the doctors was cheaper because there were more people in the car to share the fee with and I had seen the aspects of Matlab that I had wished.

After lunch, I made my way back to the guest house to pack up my things. I began thinking to myself... "Do I really want to leave today? have I really seen everything I wanted?" As my thoughts continued I entered my room to find 3 more black spiders crawling on the wall. decision MADE. No way in hell was I spending another night in that room!

The ride back took a total of 6 hours due to immense traffic in condensed areas along the way. I enjoyed wonderful conversations with the 3 doctors I traveled with throughout the excursion. Conversation topics consisted of love, arranged marriage vs. American-style marriage, what happiness truly is, psychology and sociology, the difference between sacrifice and compromise, the simplicity of the Bangladeshi culture, and so on. When I got back to Dhaka I took a nice, hot shower and enjoyed a huge spoonful (or two... or three...) of the natural peanut butter I had bought the week before. I never thought I would miss Dhaka, but I sure did. It was good to be back!

This story im about to tell is somewhat out of place in this post, if considering chronological order, yet it speaks volumes of the Bangladeshi culture and I cannot omit it:

 

On our way to the second field site at Matlab the community health worker asked me what I thought of the culture and the country so far. I told him the most astonishing thing to me about Bangladesh was the happiness of the people. I mentioned how so many people were undoubtedly poor, yet they were so rich in all of the valuable ways in life and all adorned genuine smiles everywhere I went. He replied by holding up his pen and saying to me, "Youre exactly right. We are very happy to have anything, even if it is close to nothing. For example I have this pen. I love this pen and it works great, and that makes me happy. If I had 50 pens this one would lose its meaning to me. Just because one pen makes me happy does not mean I would have more happiness with more pens"

Breathtaking view from the first night at Matlab

Cheers to the joyful people of Bangladesh! May we all withhold the gratitude for the simplicities in life that these beautiful people embrace on a daily basis

-C
 

Officially Homesick

Today I left Dhaka at 7:30am to drive 4 hours to Chandpur where Matlab sits. The drive was incredible! We drove through narrow crowded alley ways, one-lane winding roads that were on dirt mounds amongst rice paddies, large bridges with boats of all sorts underneath... you name it, we drove through it! With about 20 minutes left of the ride, we had to drive the car onto a ferry to make our way across a shallow river to get to the final road that led us to Matlab.

When we pulled up in front of the guest house, it was moderately raining. I made my way inside the 3-story grey building to the small front desk where I  filled out a page of paperwork concerning my stay. A bellman carried my bag above his head as he led me up the stairs to my room on the third floor; two beds, a small balcony and a bathroom.

When the bellman closed the door on his way out, emotions flooded me. I immediately began wondering why I had come and felt utterly alone and just so far away from home and everything familiar. To make matters worse, I immediately saw 3 large fuzzy jumping spiders just like the one I killed in my shower last week in Dhaka. Each time I tried to kill one, it kept hopping away and I had to chase after it with my heart beating out of my chest. This officially pushed me over the edge. My two biggest fears were literally coming to life right in front of me: spiders and being alone. My bedroom was literally my own personal hell.

Avoiding an emotional meltdown, I kept myself busy by unpacking the very few things I had with me. 10 minutes later upon finishing, the same lonesome feelings came back. I remembered the bellman had mentioned something about notifying the cook that I was here so that he would make enough food for me come dinner time, so that was my next task. All I wanted to do was keep busy and avoid being alone because I knew I would bring myself to tears if I listened to the little voice in my head that kept telling me how far away from home and how out of place I was.

The bellman that helped me earlier ended up taking me to the guest house dining area on the bottom floor, which consists of three rectangular tables with chairs. After notifying the cook I was there, the bellman offered me tea and biscuits. We made some small talk through our accents to one another and decided that he would show me to the hospital around 2pm.

At the hospital I met with Dr. Fazal, the head doctor at Matlab. Oddly enough, I do not have a supervisor here yet so I spoke with him about observation opportunities around the complex during my stay. He called in two soft-spoken Bangladeshi nurses from the Maternal and Child Health ward and introduced me to them. For tomorrow, I will meet with them at 9:30am in Dr. Fazal's office and go from there. Official plans while I am here are still in the works.

My meeting only lasted about 15 minutes, which left me an enormous amount of time until 7:30pm when dinner was going to be served in the guest house. Unsure of what to do, I walked along the brick trail that led back to the guest house and sat on a concrete bench that looked over the rice paddies beyond the complex. I have to say, it was quite beautiful.

Once again, I was on my own and my thoughts began to wander. I felt tears well up inside of me and figured I should stop trying to be so strong and just go to my room and let myself cry it out a bit. After all, were only human.

I decided to call my mother after shedding some tears, which seemed like a great and calming idea at the time, but initially just made me cry even harder when I heard her familiar and loving voice. I also spoke with my father, who is always full of wisdom and logical ways to end silly emotions that tend to overrun our thoughts. I am so thankful for my parents!!! We decided that 6 weeks is an extremely long time to be away from home, let alone to be out of the country for the first time on your own in Bangladesh! After throwing around some ideas, the decision has been made to cut my trip short. Instead of 6 weeks, I will leave after 4 weeks. My new departure date from Bangladesh will be the 22nd of this month; 12 days from today.

I initially did not want to do this because I felt as if I was giving up or letting people down, but who do I have to prove? I have been here for almost three weeks now and have seen and done SO many things. I am way outside of my comfort zone, which was one of my main goals in coming here, alongside learning more about the global health field. I didn't want to have an easy breezy, comfortable summer filled with a random waitress job in Mechanicsburg while I'm 20 years old with so much opportunity right in front of me.

I have learned more than I could have ever imagined and experienced a plethora of things I will never, ever forget. With that said, I still have 12 days here; I'm not leaving tomorrow! I still need to tough it out and there are still an incredible amount of experiences ahead of me. After all, I am at Matlab now, in a totally different area than I was prior. After getting some emotions out today and getting my head straight, I'm finally feeling like myself again.

I saw the sun begin to set around 7pm and decided it was probably the best medicine for my soul. I made my way back outside to the cement bench I was on earlier just in time for the sunset to begin. Different shades of cotton-candy magentas and blues filled the sky and reflected perfectly off of the rice paddies below. Muslim sunset prayers that were being sung were resounding all over the fields and my whole body began to relax and fill with happiness. I couldnt help but laugh to myself at the array of emotions I had gone through in just one day.

What a truly beautiful mess we are.

-C.

Expect the Unexpected

This morning I awoke naturally at 7:30am but decided to fight my body's decision to get up. I forced myself to go back to sleep and when I woke again, it was around 10am. No way was I going to wake up at 7:30 on a day off! (hartal day)

 

Around 1pm Nick, Samantha, Natalie and I walked to Banani to get a bite to eat. Natalie is a new PhD student that is living in my apartment with Nick and I. She just arrived yesterday and today was her very first day adventuring out into town! It was revitalizing to walk around with her and hear the excitement in her voice as she asked questions. It reminded me of how excited I was when I first arrived and everything was overwhelmingly different from what I knew.

 

We walked to a greek restaurant that was located within a hotel in downtown Banani. When we walked up to the second floor and into the restaurant, it was drastically fancier than we had anticipated. The staff was dressed in matching uniforms, smooth jazz was playing in the background, the tables were all neatly set, and the walls were a crisp white in contrast to the black accents amongst the restaurant. We each enjoyed separate dishes of pasta, shrimp, chicken kabobs, vegetables, tzatziki and pita.

 

After lunch we walked farther into Banani to another hotel that had a local coffee shop inside where Nick decided he was going to do work. Natalie, Samantha and I bought a brownie and then proceeded to head back towards our district. In search for a yoga mat for Sam, we made our way through a few stores and an outdoor market in the Gulshan 2 circle. With no luck, we then walked around the circle to our favorite market, Lavender, to get food for Natalie. About 15 minutes into shopping, Natalie came to Sam and I and asked us if her face was swollen because she felt a little funny. She did seem to have a little bit of swelling, so we decided to pay and make the 10 minute walk back home.

 

As we walked down the familiar street back to our apartment, we all began discussing the possibilities of the reaction Natalie was having. She had no known food allergies or sensitivities to anything. A few ideas fluttered around in conversation: heat rash, travel stress, pollution, food allergies, normal allergies. We concluded it could be an array of things.

 

When we arrived back at our apartment together, just Natalie and I, her condition had gotten drastically worse and was progressing very quickly. After sitting her in front of the AC in my room with the fan on with a cold compress on her swollen face, I managed to call icddrb student services. I explained the issue and that it was quickly taking a turn for the worse. I was advised to take a rickshaw a few blocks away to the ER at the United Hospital.

 

I helped Natalie walk out of our apartment and onto the street where we hoped to quickly find a rickshaw. Typically, about 5 will flock to us when we walk out asking where we want to go, but this time there were none in sight. Having a hard time walking, she sat down on the curb while I ran to the street corner to find a ride. Just as I began making my way to the end of the street, two men riding a rickshaw towards us saw what was happening, got off their rickshaw and offered it to us. After giving us their rickshaw, they asked us where we needed to go and translated to the rickshaw walla where the hospital was. I am constantly blown away at the loving people in this country; I have had so many memorable experiences with truly loving and caring Bangladeshis.

 

The 5 minute ride to the ER felt like 30. Natalie was having trouble breathing and seeing because the swelling was getting so progressively negative. When we finally arrived, I hopped off the rickshaw and ran to the ER doors to yell in to tell them someone was having an allergic reaction and was having trouble breathing. Quickly nurses ran over with a wheelchair and got the half-conscious woman out of the rickshaw and into the hospital. The doctors questioned me about the afternoon and what had happened. I was asked to fill out some paperwork following the doctors questions when Jill, the wonderful woman in charge of student services, arrived in the waiting room.

 

About 10 minutes later, the doctor came out from the ER ward and told us that Natalie had very low blood pressure, a fever, had gone into anaphylactic shock and needed to be transferred to the ICU!! WOW. Thank God she got to the ER when she did! She will be spending the night in the ICU and will most likely be released into the main hospital ward or discharged from the hospital tomorrow depending upon her recovery.

 

I was absolutely shocked as to how fast things escalated and was SO thankful that the hospital was close by. I couldn't believe how calm I was through the whole situation and am so blessed that God has given me such serenity in situations like this. I am absolutely unsure where my ability to deal with uncomfortable and nerve wracking situations comes from, but I am beyond thankful for it! Most importantly, I am happy that Natalie is stable and doing much, much better. What a way to spend your first day in Bangladesh, huh? What a trooper.

 

Since Jill and I had plenty of time to talk while waiting in the ER and ICU rooms, we had the chance to talk a great length about a plethora of topics. The most exciting news we spoke about was my finalized trip to Matlab! I will be leaving tomorrow morning at 7am by an icddrb van and should arrive in Chandpur within 4-5 hours! YIPPIE!

 

Well it's just about 10pm here in Dhaka and I still need to pack and shower in preparation for my departure tomorrow morning. I hope you all have a wonderful Monday and I look forward to sharing more stories, pictures, experiences and thoughts with you as my time in Chandpur unfolds!

 

Always in love,

-C.

The Glass is Always Half Full, Even When it is Half Empty

Man oh man! Where do I begin? It has only been three days since I last wrote, but I feel as if an eternity has gone by!
 

This past weekend was non-stop and full of fun, adventurous things! shopping, rickshaw rides in the rain, pedicures, trips to the local market, yummy local cafés, going to a tailor to get pants made, the American Club...my mind is going off in a million directions! Instead of talking through my weekend in chronological order I am going to share random stories, thoughts and experiences that have made me feel an array of emotions lately.


 

To kick off the randomness of this post, I REALLY have been craving a fresh, crisp salad! In Bangladesh it is not advised to eat any raw vegetables, so a salad was just simply not in the cards for me. Or so I thought! I went to dinner with my friends Nofi and Nick Saturday at the American Club and guess what?! They had fresh, safe to eat salads! I got a large Greek chicken salad and thoroughly enjoyed every bite. Craving satisfied :)

 

I also have been craving peanut butter! Not the crappy hydrogenated Jiffy kind, but REAL natural peanut butter. Saturday I didn't feel like making the 15 minute walk to the local market I usually go to, so I decided to check out the small market at the end of our road that I kept hearing about. I was enticed by the shelf filled with various international chocolates at the entrance of the store, but managed to hold out and continued looking around. The shelves were filled with many foreign items as well as packaged goods and various kinds of rice. I made my way over to a small refrigerator and started searching through the random items inside. A grey container with clear plastic packaging tape over the lid labeled "peanut butter" caught my eye. I asked the store keeper if it was good and he proceeded to tell me that it was homemade and all the foreigners loved it! Without knowing what it looked like or what the heck was inside, I decided to give it a try. I already had an episode of food poisoning once since I've been here and I'm still alive, what's another go? I brought the odd grey container back home and dipped a spoon into the homemade nut butter and WOW was it good! Who would have thought? Another craving satisfied.

 

Backing up a bit... on the way to work while we were stuck in traffic on Thursday I noticed a man carrying a bunch of chickens in a large, round, weaved basked on his head. The chickens heads were all bobbing up and down in every direction 360 degrees around the basket stacked maybe 3-5 layers (of chickens!) high. I really couldn't tell if they were dead or alive!  Shocked by what I was seeing, I asked the people in my van what was going on. A man who has been living here for three years answered my question by telling me that they were all alive and were tied around the feet so that they couldn't fly off. I was blown away!! There is always something interesting to look at here, that's for sure.

 

Today (Sunday) at work, I managed to finally figure out some more details about my trip to Matlab! Tomorrow is another hartal day so I will not be able to travel. No worries though because the guest house in Chandpur is booked until Tuesday night anyway. Therefore, I will be traveling early Tuesday morning to the field site where I will remain for the next week and a half to two weeks. I am SO ready for a change of scenery! The fast paced chaotic life in Dhaka has been exciting but I'm more than ready for some sunsets over rice paddies and everglades! Bring on the rural area of Chandpur!

 

While following Dr. Sayeeda for rounds today, I found myself speaking in Bangla to many of the patients; saying hello, asking them how they are doing, what their names were, how old they were. The conversation would go perfectly fine until those three questions were answered and the patient tried to continue talking to me, in which I then no longer understood anything they were saying. I would then tell them, "Ami Bangla jani na", or "I don't speak Bangla", which absolutely threw them off. When they got confused and asked me why I was just speaking Bangla to them and then all of a sudden couldn't, all I could manage was to tell them that I only knew a little. From there on out, I chose to share smiles instead. After all, I think we can all agree smiles are better than confusion. They also ward off blank stares! Imagine that. I also got to thinking that no matter the difference from one culture to the next, a smile is always understood. Smiles know all languages and relay kindness and understanding no matter the circumstance. "A smile is the universal language of kindness".

 

Recently, I have been missing home quite a bit. I wouldn't necessarily label these feelings as "homesick" because I feel that word is too strong. My heightened senses are fading back to normal and I am becoming more and more comfortable with my surroundings. Walking down town to the market is no longer an adventure, but a trip that is filled with familiar sights and sounds. People pointing staring and talking, chaotic roads with no rules constant honking and people everywhere, rickshaw walla riding head on at me in the streets waving and asking me if I want to ride their rickshaw, beggars running over to me expecting money, naked children playing on the streets next to their tin-walled homes, vendors shoving books and flowers in my face that wont take "no" for an answer, goats and wild dogs roaming the streets, random people taking pictures of me, men riding on mopeds and motorcycles holding their babies on the front while their wives sit sideways on the back, young Bangladeshi men trying to impress me with their choppy English, dirty streets filled with compost trash and human waste, the absolute need to eat hot steaming meals to avoid sickness, and the tangible pollution that constantly forms a blanket over the city. Many people say you go through waves, so to speak, when you spend a lengthened amount of time abroad and I am most certainly experiencing that. Though I am getting used to things, I still have an immense appreciation for Bangladeshi culture and life. Though chaotic and crazy, It works. It is unique and I love it simply for what it is.

 

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from a popular singer/songwriter that I love. I remember reading this a few years back and being in total awe of each word. Funny how I have turned to it years later as refuge for my frustrations and how closely it relates to how I am feeling at the moment:

 

"The next time you don't understand someone's style, language, or way of being, I invite you to pause and be grateful for having eyes and ears to see and hear them. Then take a moment to celebrate their interests the way you would hope they celebrate yours. You don't have to share their beliefs to be genuinely stoked for them. The world is a party waiting to happen. All you have to do is shout "Surprise" and give them some applause for doing their best with what they've been given"

-Jason Mraz

 

 

Cheers to another day in this beautiful life we share. Celebrate life today, every second of it.

 

Smile! :)

-C.

We Are All The Same Blood

Before I get crackin' on this blog post, I'd like to first  make a shout-out to my beautiful, amazing, loving mother! She celebrated her 50th birthday on the 3rd of this month!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! If you're in Mechanicsburg, take a short trip to my house and give her all the love and hugs I so badly wish I could...

Thursday began much better than the rest of the week! No spiders, no food poisoning.. I was finally feeling like my peppy self again! Work was quite busy right from the start of the day. I managed to type up and organize all of my tedious information concerning the mothers and children in my case study thus far. Whew! Still a lot of work to be done, but I'm more than happy to get the ball rolling.

 

After lunch time in the canteen I began coordinating with student services and Dr. Sayeeda about making a trip to Matlab sometime early next week! Words could not possibly describe the excitement I have for this trip. I feel like I am getting ready to go to Bangladesh all over again! And in a way, I sort of am.

 

To fill you all in, this is the description of Matlab as told by ICDDR,B:

 

"ICDDR,B maintains one of the richest, most comprehensive and longest running, longitudinal data resources in the developing world, producing regular accurate demographic and health data for rural Bangladesh. With over 40 years of continuous demographic information on a population of over 200,000 people, Matlab is our major rural field site, and major public health resource for the world. The site is a model for public health strategies around the world. Public health decision makers often refer to Matlab to understand underlying factors that are important for making decisions regarding intervention design" (iccdrb.org)

 

Matlab is located in the rural area of Chandpur, Bangladesh and is surrounded by rice paddies as well as other rural farming areas. This trip (two weeks, give or take) will open my eyes to the truest colors of this beautiful country. Where I am in Dhaka is very unique to Bangladesh, but is the capital city and only a small sliver of the whole cake. Most of the country is rural and reflects the landscape that Matlab is submersed in. Though I have absolutely cherished all of my experiences in Dhaka so far, I cannot wait to go to the rural area of Chandpur and experience the traditional culture of Bangladesh.

 

Most importantly, I am eager to learn more about the prevention side of the problems plaguing this country. Aside from its' world renowned research, Matlab contains a Community Health Research Branch that focuses on maternal and child health in the community as well as community based interventions.

From spending time at the icddr,b hospital in Dhaka and learning about treatments, I have discovered my interests lie in preventing problems before people reach the point where they need a clinic. Nearly all of the patients that come through the doors of the icddr,b hospital have health issues that are 100% PREVENTABLE!

I will most likely be leaving for Matlab Monday morning :) As always, I will keep you up to date!

 

Thursday wound down as I spent my last 45 minutes conversing with the staff members and mothers in the NRU. Apon, the baby boy with the HUGE smile, is being discharged Sunday because he has met his suggested growth and weight marks set by the NRU physicians. Since Thursday was most likely the last time I would see him or his mother, I took the time at the end of my day to make sure I handed the pictures of Apon I took last week to Bokul, his mother. Upon receiving the computer-paper covered with a black and white photo of her smiling baby boy, Bokul's face lit up and she was immediately showing everyone in the NRU. 

 

I started to get a sinking feeling; this was one of the first mothers I formed a relationship with and today was the last day I would see her, most likely for the rest of my life. By translation help from a staff member, I told Bokul what a wonderful loving mother she is, that I will miss seeing her and Apon, and that I enjoyed getting to know them. After a few minutes of jumbled Bangla, Bokul had unknowingly spoken some of the most touching words I have ever heard, ones that I will cherish for the rest of my days. The staff member translated back to me that Bokul enjoyed being around me simply because I treated her the same even though she is poor, dirty, uneducated, and from the slums.

 

The staff member, after translating what Bokul had said, pointed to me and said, "You know, you have red blood, I have red blood, a black man has red blood. We all have red blood. We are all the same, we are all human. God views us all the same, therefore we are all the same". 

 

My heart was immediately full. I had just spent a whole day filling out paperwork, feeling inadequate and as if the work I was doing was only for my benefit and wasn't changing anything in the lives of the people around me. What a great reminder as to how important it is to constantly treat people with compassion and love. I am persistently reminded each and every day that even though we may feel as if we are not making a difference in other peoples lives, we are absolutely having an effect on others through our relationships and encounters with them.

 

Be love.

-C.

 

Food Poisoning and Shower Catastrophes

Yesterday was possibly one of the worst days I've ever had. I woke up at 6:30am with a horrible stomach ache and spent literally the whole day going back and forth from my bed to the bathroom. I didn't eat anything all day and could barely keep down the homemade oral rehydration solution (ORS) I drank. Trying to stay hydrated was definitely a challenge and I'm sure that's why I slept most of the day in between consistent vomiting and diarrhea episodes.  The worst part was no matter what position I laid down in, I could not get comfortable. My stomach hurt no matter what I did and I had to just let it run its course. From the way this sickness came on so fast, I believe I contracted food poisoning of some sort. By about 8pm, I finally found a position to lay in where my stomach didn't hurt; on my back with my feet in the air resting on the headboard of my bed. Standing up was another story...

I woke up this morning feeling better but still exhausted and totally drained. Something inside me convinced me to get up, shower, and head to work. After two hours at the icddrb, I decided to get a ride back to my flat because I just couldn't hang. My head is still in the clouds. Simple tasks, like walking up flights of stairs, leave me winded and my heart beating extremely fast.

Last weekend I bought a green coconut from a fruit stand down the street but hadn't gotten around to opening it and drinking the water inside. It is such a blessing I procrastinated opening it! Coconut water is filled with plenty of electrolytes and naturally occurring hydrating complexes, so I figured today was the best day to bust into the tasty, hydrating water. My Opa (grandpa) suggested I leave the coconut in the fridge so that when I did open it, the water would be cold. I am so thankful for his suggestion! I opened and drained it this afternoon and enjoyed the cold, fresh, coconut water inside. For now, I'm sending myself some positive thoughts for a better evening.

Monday, on the other hand, was an exciting day! It began with a large, furry, jumpy, black spider on the ceiling in the shower that I very anxiously killed all by myself with a tissue box. I am deathly afraid of spiders and am pretty positive out of all the experiences I've had in Bangladesh so far, killing that damn spider was by far the most nerve wracking moment. Laugh all you want, but it was terrifying.

When I arrived at icddr,b on Monday, I went up to the library and began to work on a few things. While I was sitting down in one of the lounge chairs, a man came and sat two chairs down from me. I glanced over at him out of curiosity and noticed he was just sitting there, staring straight ahead.  I followed his line of sight and saw another man taking a picture of him next to me. I am uncertain if I will ever get used to things like this! It is not uncommon though.

After getting some work done in the library, I headed down to the long stay ward to interview two of the mothers (with translation help from Dr. Adib) which are a part of my case study. So far, I have four children that are a part of my study. Each child that I am following is under 6 months and is suffering from a combination of acute watery diarrhea, fever, and severe acute malnutrition. I will be following each child from their acute phase in the long stay ward until they are released from the NRU. I will be tracking the nutritional interventions used as well as the child's progression throughout their stay. When all said and done, I'll be writing a case study that I will submit to my supervisor outlining my findings.

After work, Nick and I walked down to Lavender (local market) in Gulshan Circle 2 to get laundry detergent for our housekeeper as well as a few snacks for ourselves. Covered in sweat from the heat and humidity outside, I decided to hop in a shower when we returned. The bottom of my shower is a tub that is shaped like a half pipe, and ive been very weary of slipping and falling on many occasions because of its odd shape. Well, it was my lucky day. While I was washing my face, I lost my balance and stepped backwards onto the slanted side of the tub. I tried to catch myself by grabbing onto the shower curtain, but fell backwards and  ripped the curtain off of the plastic rings it was being held onto and broke ALL of the plastic rings. Needless to say, I landed on my back in the  middle of the bathroom floor covered in the shower curtain, laughing hysterically. It all happened so fast and I couldn't help but absolutely lose myself in laughter! The whole situation was hilarious, especially because I still needed to wash the conditioner out of my hair and the soap off of my face. I managed to hang the curtain back up haphazardly and decided to call it a day. Between the spider scare and the epic fall, Monday started and ended with memorable shower incidents.

Each day unique in its own respect, I've enjoyed them all so far. I hope whatever you may be up to, you are enjoying yourself  as well.

Sending love and gratitude to each of you!

-C.

A Day in Pictures

Sunday rolled around with plenty of work to be done at icddr,b. Since I managed to snap an array of wonderful pictures, I have decided to let them do most of the talking in this post. I hope to give each of you a better understanding of my days here at icddr,b:

The entrance to the centre

This mothers' name is Bokul and her son, Apon, is 4 months old. Apon is suffering from severe malnutrition and stunting. Her husband works by making rice milk powder and she lives in the suburbs of Dhaka. She has one other child, a 6 year old boy, who wants to be a doctor when he grows up. She has not had any proper schooling.

This is a shot of Dr. Chisty leading morning rounds in the long stay ward. As you can see, he is surrounded by junior doctors and nurses who are intently listening.

This little girl was at the Long Stay Ward with her baby brother and mother. Since her mom did not have anyone else to watch her, she brought her daughter to the hospital as well. Her brother is suffering from severe acute malnutrition. At first glance, you may think this girl is around 4-5 years old... guess again! She was a stunted child and is actually 9 years old. She seemed very interested in me, like most people here, and followed me around the ward as we finished up rounds.

My supervisor, Dr. Sayeeda Huq 

This is what all of the hospital beds look like. Each has a small mattress with a hole in the middle

for waste purposes; buckets are below the beds to catch the waste that falls through the hole. New plastic coverings such as this one are placed atop the mattresses and cleaned as new patients arrive.

 

A mother in the long stay ward with her child

Looking down the hall in the LSW

Mother: Majida, 17 years old. Father: Shumar, 21 years old. Married for two years. Their sons' name is Masud, 8 months,  and is suffering from severe stunting and acute malnutrition. I will be monitoring Masud throughout my stay at the centre. He is currently in the acute phase and the parents have agreed to go to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit following the acute phase.

 

Working hard, or hardly working? You decide

Mother, Rehana, in the NRU. Her son, Tofajeel is 2 years, 3 months. Her husband is a fisherman and she has 7 other children-- the oldest is 24. She was married off at age 12 and has had no formal education. Her daughters have been educated up to class 3 and her sons have been educated up until class 5.

Shundu Apon! Apon and his mother were pictured earlier. This adorable baby lights up any time I walk over to him, tickle his belly and say his name in a high pitch tone. This mother is absolutely wonderful with her child. I had a staff member translate for me and tell her I think she is a wonderful mom. She replied by saying thank you, but although she is a good mother and does everything she knows, she still fails to ward off malnutrition. I cannot wait to learn more about the public health field so that I can fix problems like this one.

A new baby in the NRU getting saliva swabbed for testing

A beautiful Banladeshi girl

Mother and child. This mother is the same age as me, 20.

This girl was hit by a rickshaw while running across rush-hour traffic and was left with a broken leg. She is in the NRU with her mother and baby sister- who is being treated for malnutrition.

A few of the mothers and myself. This is the only place in the world I will be considered "tall". I am 5'4.. These mothers were most likely stunted as children, just as their own children are now. The nutrient deficiencies and malnutrition problems consuming this country are unmistakably visible everywhere.

 

 

Many of you may be wondering how people react when I take their pictures; to answer that question, most of them have never seen a camera (let alone a digital one) and are extremely thrilled to see pictures of themselves and their children. I have built up relationships with most of these beautiful people and have made a deal with them to get black and white printed copies of the pictures for their own keepsake. What a rewarding, simple task.

 

 Though I have not particularly shared information with you all about the clinical research and protocol here at the hospital, I assure you I have learned infinitely more in the past week than I thought possible. If you have any direct questions for me, please do not hesitate to send me an email at ceberly@masonlive.gmu.edu ! You will not be bothering me by any means and I have a decent amount of free time on my hands each day. I would love to answer your questions!

 

I am currently sitting in the library on the fourth floor and am about to walk down to the long stay ward to meet with Sayeeda for morning rounds. Another day in the life!

 

-C.