Today was quite the day!
At dawn, I made the trek from my house to the main road in order to hop on a local bus (a trotro) to begin my 3-hour commute to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. I engaged in conversation with the driver on the fourth (and last) bus I was on and he told me his sister lived in Connecticut. He was thrilled to learn that I had spent four years in school in a state whose existence many Ghanaians were ignorant of. We exchanged numbers and he promised to put me in touch with his sister. The taxi driver and I had found a personal connection!
Kamini Doobay, Class of 2017, wrote this mix of poetry and prose after joining the treatment team for a 10-year-old boy with cancer. This is the second of a 2-part entry. Read Part 1.
In between cycles of chemo, we saw glimpses
of our macho man.
He circled around the nurse’s station, telling jokes,
playing games, demanding a date to go home. (more…)
Kamini Doobay, Class of 2017, wrote this mix of poetry and prose after joining the treatment team for a 10-year-old boy with cancer.
His parents called.
They called every now and then –
to share new stories, to ask about fundraising events
they could attend, or simply to say thank you again
and again for saving their son.
They often sent fruit baskets, holiday cards and photos
of Joe playing ball, winning awards or just giving us
that innocent smile – one we know so well,
one that barely left his face,
even when he was going through hell.
This afternoon, I went to the Tower building to meet Dr. Cardinale Smith, an oncologist with palliative care training who focuses on lung cancers. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak to members of my class last semester about her experience in dealing with cancer patients, but I wanted to find out more about how she decided on her specialty. We had, what was for me, a very enlightening chat that piqued my interest in oncology. I am looking forward to exploring this more.
Kamini Doobay, Class of 2017, wrote the following poem shortly after Schizophrenia was covered in class and she saw a patient with the disease in the hospital. From the author: “This is my attempt to write a narrative poem about a patient based in a time/culture when typical antipsychotics dominated and when there was much less awareness and understanding of the disease. Though the medications have improved and lives are better, we are far from perfect.”
Today was quite the day!
