I've been a med-student for 2 weeks now. I've enjoyed most of it. However my least favourite part of the day –everyday- was passing from one building to another, because I had to pass by the hospital.
I was surprised to find a huge garbage dump a few metres from the hospital. Why was I surprised? Name a public hospital in Egypt that does not have a dump in front of its doors!
I tried to stay pos
itive!
So this morning, I had this little exam to sit for, and at times like these, my mind traps each and every negative thought found around me and entertains them until they become big bulky mountains of pure misery. But there was a BIG positive thought in front of my eyes. They were removing the dump! Yaaaaay!
I rushed to the examination hall completely sure that by the time I finish the exam, that dump would be history.
Well, I was wrong.
They did remove a lot of the garbage but there was still a lot. It was still smelly and surrounded by a halo of flying insects.. and other things that we can’t see.
Stop and stare!
You’ll find a bunch of cats looking for food in that dump and when they’re full they’ll seek shelter from the burning sun.. right there.. by those patients there.. sitting on the pavement!
And then a taxi drives by.. and honks the horn repeatedly.. then shouts like a wild gorilla.. at a nurse.. who in return shouted back very loudly. The nurse was pushing a wheelchair.. with a person laying with his head dangling back. I think he was unconscious. But that’s ok. I’m pretty sure he can wait in the sun until the taxi driver and the nurse decide to wise up.
These scenes leave me depressed and emotionally exhausted. And perhaps that is why I tried not to give them much thought so that I would enjoy the thrill of the first week in college. But when I visited my preparatory school and spilled everything out between the hands of my favourite teacher and one of the most inspirational people I’ve seen, she guided me to the fact that these scenes might actually make me put the patients into consideration when I’m planning for my future. It won’t be only about how many degrees I get. It would be how much care I give!
I hope that my sensitivity to suffering wouldn't grow so that I would be a failure, nor would it disappear so that I would be cold.
So this morning, I had this little exam to sit for, and at times like these, my mind traps each and every negative thought found around me and entertains them until they become big bulky mountains of pure misery. But there was a BIG positive thought in front of my eyes. They were removing the dump! Yaaaaay!
I rushed to the examination hall completely sure that by the time I finish the exam, that dump would be history.
Well, I was wrong.
They did remove a lot of the garbage but there was still a lot. It was still smelly and surrounded by a halo of flying insects.. and other things that we can’t see.
Stop and stare!
You’ll find a bunch of cats looking for food in that dump and when they’re full they’ll seek shelter from the burning sun.. right there.. by those patients there.. sitting on the pavement!
And then a taxi drives by.. and honks the horn repeatedly.. then shouts like a wild gorilla.. at a nurse.. who in return shouted back very loudly. The nurse was pushing a wheelchair.. with a person laying with his head dangling back. I think he was unconscious. But that’s ok. I’m pretty sure he can wait in the sun until the taxi driver and the nurse decide to wise up.
These scenes leave me depressed and emotionally exhausted. And perhaps that is why I tried not to give them much thought so that I would enjoy the thrill of the first week in college. But when I visited my preparatory school and spilled everything out between the hands of my favourite teacher and one of the most inspirational people I’ve seen, she guided me to the fact that these scenes might actually make me put the patients into consideration when I’m planning for my future. It won’t be only about how many degrees I get. It would be how much care I give!
I hope that my sensitivity to suffering wouldn't grow so that I would be a failure, nor would it disappear so that I would be cold.
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