Today was our first non-medical and rest day. We started our
day by attending Sunday mass with the Bethany Medical Center workers. It was a
beautiful ceremony with hymn singing, quotations from the bible, and
testimonials. We contributed a collective testimonial of our time thus far in
Anaikatty and sang “Amazing Grace.” (Later on, we were to discover that the
M1’s last year also performed an instrumental version of “Amazing Grace” at
Sunday mass—how coincidental!)
We then spent most of the day relaxing—reading, napping,
eating. In the hours before the sun went down, we took a walk down the main
road, into the main village of Anaikatty. Since it bordered the state of
Kerala, we walked across the bridge and over the state line! Some of us came
back with fruit or souvenirs, and most of us came back with some more sun and
exercise. Then, we feasted on mangoes and called it a night.
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Since I wasn’t able to give my testimonial during mass, I
will comment here on what this trip has meant to me. While much of my time in
India has mirrored our collective testimonial—of being welcome into a family
and community openly, of witnessing great care for patients’ medical and
holistic care, of being adaptable and dedicated to learning—one of the greatest
lessons I’ve learned thus far has been that the same care and dedication must
be applied to our home, not just in international situations.
Coming to Bethany Medical Center, I have admired the care
that our doctors have given to their patients. They have given their careers,
and some their lives, to care for the health of the rural and tribal
communities. They have expanded their specialty knowledge into the much needed
primary care field. Spending time with these physicians and watching them
provide much needed care has encouraged my long-desired goal to emulate their
path and serve internationally. However, I have also realized that, for them,
they are serving domestically and caring for their people at home. Within this
short time, I have seen similarities between the rural and tribal areas of
Southern India and the poor rural and urban areas of the United States. I have
come to realize that these areas need medical workers to care for them with the
same passion and dedication that I have witnessed in India. And that whatever
my future plans, my duty as a medical student now is to take what I have
learned and apply it to my own communities in need.
-Vickie
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