Tag Archives: Acupuncture Relief Project
A Case of Ankylosing Spondylitis- Nerd Geeks Unite in Nepal!
In the treatment room, I am greeted with a slender, smiling face. Eager and animated, he doesn’t wait for my introduction, he dives right into perfect English. I admit, I am excited to have a break from the time-lag of interpretation. My interpreter looks momentarily shocked. My patient is a twenty-five year old pre-med student […]
Laughter in the heart of Nepal
Every now and then, the strain of working six days a week in a different culture, in a different language starts to wear on my spirits. I find myself a little less jovial, a little tense, and sometimes even morose. Usually on those days, my patients arrive with an excellent sense of humor. Call it […]
Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones…
… but words can never hurt me. The teenage years appear to share a universal language of challenge. I remember my high school math teacher, giddily proclaiming that math overcame all language barriers across the globe. It seems the emotional roller coaster of self discovery and shifting towards an adult self shares its fair bit […]
Under Pressure
Today is Wednesday, the day I juggle two outreach clinics in one day. The clinics sit about twenty minutes apart by motorcycle. The morning clinic is in the village of Sipodol, nestled between green mountains and terraced fields. The afternoon clinic is in the bustling urban metropolis of Bhaktapur. It takes Sachyamohan and me forty-five […]
Rooftop Clinics and Motorbikes
Ramesh kickstarts his motorbike and looks at me expectantly. “How should I get on?” I ask, thinking about Nikki, our clinic director, instructing us not to wrap our arms around our interpreter when riding the motorbike. “Don’t grip with your knees,” Nikki said with a grin. I look at her blankly, thinking that you ride […]
My First Day at the Vajra Varahi Clinic
Coffee in hand, I stroll downstairs into the Vajra Barahi Health Clinic’s waiting room to prepare for my morning. Before the clinic bustles into life, I have the privilege of traveling out to a nearby Newari village and treating Asa Maya, a sweet, elderly woman, who recently had a stroke. I have been hearing about […]
Getting Ready For Nepal – Part One
A couple weeks ago I received an email from my team leader. She jovially introduced herself and offered to field any questions about packing, travel, and anything else that might help prepare us to provide medical care in Nepal. She reminded us of the suggested packing list provided on the Acupuncture Relief Project’s website. And […]
Stick Out Your Tongue 