5/11/2007

Hello all,

Most Hindus and Buddhists believe that they will reincarnate hundreds if not thousands of times throughout their existence.  They sin and accumulate negative karma but counteract it with acts of dharma (religion).  If someone manages to counteract all of their sins through great works of dharma and accumulate enough merit along the way… they will escape this world of suffering and be absorbed into paradise.  This is no simple task so it might just take one person a thousand lives.

I was glad that I was wearing track pants and not my usual work overalls.  It was hot and sunny and I ran as fast as I could.  While in the jeep returning from Darjeeling a crackly phone call came in  “Suren’s wife…in labor for two days…..very high blood pressure…can you please hurry.”  After the jeep reached the end of the road I started my all out sprint to Daragaon.  Sweaty and huffing, I found Lamu 35 minutes later laying on the floor in labor.  The contractions were 4 minutes apart.  Luckily all of our supplies were near by and I had everything necessary.  Our healthworker, Kausila had been there since three in the morning helping but the baby just wouldn’t come.  Amanda was still in Darjeeling, so I was the interim midwife. Continue reading One Thousand Lives

4/3/2007

Hello all,

Caravans of yaks have carried salt across the Himalayas since before recorded history.  Salt was used as currency to buy tools, tea and fabric.    Without salt the incredible curries laden with handfuls spice would have remained bland and unpalatable.

Amanda’s hands are clammy inside her recycled latex gloves.  Ranjana lost her first 2 babies prematurely at 6 and 7 ½ months.  She is in labor prematurely again, now for the third time.  Sweating and crying she hopes that this one won’t be lost too.  Three babies at Eden Hospital died in the night due to nurse negligence.  Having already had to resuscitate one stillborn that morning, Amanda prays with tears in her eyes that she won’t have to resuscitate Ranjana’s too. Continue reading Salt of the Earth

3/16/2007

– The books I mentioned last fall are printed and have been shipped to everyone who ordered one.  There are still many left.  If you would like a copy and to support our work, please read the note at the bottom of this letter –

What happens when society, the state government, the federal establishment, large amounts of American Aid and the United Nations fail?  You call in the vigilantes. Continue reading Food for Thought

2/21/2007

Hello all,

The first time we flew into the Himalayas it was the middle of monsoon.  Having heard that the high peaks often rise far above the weather systems we gazed out the window of the plane hoping to catch a glimpse.  Sure enough Everest was jutting up like a large black shark’s tooth… cold, remote, jagged and fearful.  There were many icy friends in its company but they were separated by deep rocky valleys.  Our eyes strained to take in all the view from the tiny 747 window. Continue reading So Many Villages

1/14/2007

Subjects 1 and 2

Two women are laboring in side by side beds at Eden Hospital. The first has been in labor for 3 days and is overwhelmed with a host of complications. Trying to bring life into the world for the first time has been a fight for her. Amanda is working with the other nurses desperately trying to help her. For 9 months and a few extra weeks she has been expecting this child. The cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck 3 times. Her hopes pass away along with her first born son. Continue reading A Tale of Two…

1/2/2007

Hello all,

Sometimes you have to wonder who you really are. We are used to playing a lot of roles in the subcontinent… construction worker, teacher, villager, Christian, jungle doctor, midwife, etc. It seems that every time we think our job description has definite borders, we have to cross into new territories.

On Christmas Day, sitting in her village house, Chandra Maya had an aneurysm at 65 years of age. We were celebrating with friends in Darjeeling at the time. She was left in a vegetative state, the men who carried her to the city said she was little more than dead weight. Even though she was lucky enough to reach the hospital and meet a doctor there was little chance of recovery. The men strapped her up again and carried her back up the trail. I was back in the village when she returned. The family called me down to check her blood pressure. Upon reaching the house, it was evident that something wasn’t right. “Ryan Sir, we think that chana might have just died. Will you check for us?” Continue reading Signs of Life

Early December 2006

In the village our cabin is just down the hill from a temple shrouded in jungle foliage.  In Darjeeling, our apartment is down the hill from a TV tower and a satellite dish.  The ancient trees with hanging vines are substituted here by electric poles with dangling wires.  Sonam Sangbu Sherpa is a retired mountain guide who has climbed most of the significant Himalayan peaks.  There is a picture of him shaking Sir Edmund Hillary’s hand hanging on the wall.  He lives on Tenzing Norgay road.  We are renting a small apartment from him.  Chaurasta, a large open promenade, is just down the street.  Yesterday the Darjeeling police were putting on an exhibition.  Ten Nepalis were dressed in Scottish attire marching around playing dirges on, honest to God, bag pipes.  Nearby two girls are walking side by side in full black Muslim burkas.  Continue reading Far Flung Christmas

11/27/2006

It was hard to imagine why everyone was sitting around having light jovial conversation and drinking sweet milk tea. Didn’t they know that it was time to spring into action? Didn’t they know that time was of the essence? Amanda had visited a few days previous and done a prenatal on Sukmaya. She was pretty undersized for her dates, had a bad cough but nothing else seemed suspect. Then she delivered a premature baby 2 months early. No women were at home. She was too embarrassed to call for help. She labored alone and lost almost a liter of blood and hadn’t stopped bleeding. The baby lived 30 minutes. Eight hours later she was exhibiting all the signs of early volume shock. I was terrified, the family continued to casually drink tea after hearing my grim prognosis. Continue reading Sukmaya

Namaste, Jai Mashi, Tashi Delek, Hello or whatever suit your fancy,

The streets of India are a predominantly olfactory experience. Masala and curry toasting in warm oil waif out of small houses. As soon as you find yourself thinking about devouring aloo dum, the odor of human excrement floating in the open sewer slams you in the face. A chai seller’s aromatic spices simmer in fresh milk on a smoky charcoal stove. The acrid smoke of burning plastic wrappers mingles in and taints my watering mouth. Adorned with mallas of fragrant flowers, the temples emit sweet incense fumes. Rotting leftovers from hundreds of offerings linger at its steps. The transition between sweet, sour, putrid and tantalizing takes little time. Often times all are experienced at once. Continue reading Scent of a Different Color

10/14/2006

There was a lady dressed up in a belly dancer’s outfit selling ‘Turkish Delight’. We were in Istanbul. When she saw Asher she said, “Oh my God he is flowers!” I’m pretty sure that was a compliment. We weren’t back on Indian soil more than a few hours before Asher was taken from us. Strangers abducted him and held him up high, and took him into unfamiliar buildings to show him to friends. The owner of a restaurant took him while we are eating and fed him for us. Bengali tourists, many of them, snapped pictures of him posing with their families. As a random lady walked past she touched his cheeks, pulled her hands to her mouth and kissed them and finished by raising open palms skyward. Continue reading Abducted by Strangers