Day 4 in India

Today was funny because it started off very slow and then when we finally started doing something, we had too many places to be! Fluid time is an interesting and sometimes frustrating concept here. We had heard that time here is not the same as in the US, people are very responsible and competent, but culturally the whole concept of time is different. For example, the clinic hours state that they are from 9-3 and then 7-9. However, we rarely arrive until after 10, but it is not a problem here. We then will sometimes be at the clinic until 5 or 6, and then return after 8 and stay until 11! Coming to the eye doctor here is an all day appointment. Patients will arrive in the morning and get the initial paperwork. They then will be seen by us for initial auto-refraction and screening in the order they came. They then return to the waiting room and will be seen by one of the Dr Sinha's. This set of events occur over several hours. Brayden loves the patients here because they are all very respectful and do not get angry when they have to wait. Some patients will be screened, and then Dr Sinha will go do surgeries for several hours before returning to finish their eye exam. However, this does not appear to be a problem for them, they sit in the waiting room watching Indian Serials (VERY dramatic soap operas, Laura gets a great view of the tv from the auto-refractor and has picked up some good acting tips. :) Some of them will visit with each other, charge their cell phones and bring multiple family members with them, making it a regular party! The clinic hours are very convenient, Brayden thought that his job had convenient hours for people, as they stay open until 7, however, the AB Eye Institute rarely closes before 11!

Anyways, so yesterday we experienced more fluid time as we arrived at the clinic around 11, and then had little to do until 1 or 2. At that point we changed into scrubs to watch cataract surgeries. Things continued a little slow as the surgical room as set up, but then suddenly everything got very busy. Dr Sinha performed an extra-capsular cataract surgery, a technique we had not seen before. It is amazing to see the tiny details and high level of skills these surgeries require. After the first surgery, Dr Sinha left, and another Doctor came in. At this point, they began doing free surgeries for poor patients. This was where it got hectic! The surgical center has two beds side by side, so while the Dr and staff were performing one surgery, they were setting up the other bed with the next patient. As soon as one surgery was over, the doctor and staff switched to the other side of the room and quickly did another surgery During this time, the first patient was switched out with a new patient, and by the time that was done, the doctor and staff were again ready to operate! It was amazing how quickly they worked, they performed 6 surgeries in 45 minutes! Wow! After the procedures, we went upstairs to watch a green laser procedure to treat diabetic retinopathy. By this time, it was after 7 pm! We went home to have lunch (!) and then returned to the clinic to complete the evening appointments. Brayden made the keen observation that many of the patients in the evening speak English, making our job simpler. Dr Sinha agreed, noting that many of the patients during the day are from villages outside Patna, while many of the evening patients are highly educated and from the city and work during the day. Last night we worked with some very friendly patients, including a family where we saw both the grandfather and granddaughter. The grandfather was well over 80 but did not look it. The people here all look very young and age very well. Something we really like about India is the strong focus on family ties. Laura read in the Hindustan newspaper yesterday about a famous Indian cricket player who is doing volunteer work in an assisted living center. When asked why he chose to volunteer with the elderly, he stated, "I am hoping that youths will see what I am doing and decide to stay with their parents instead of moving away so they can take care of them when they are old." An interesting focus, since in American culture many people move away to assert their independence, whereas in India celebrities are endorsing continuing to live with your parents to honor, respect and care for them. We have also had many discussions with Grandma Sinha where she discusses the importance of children staying with their parents. She says that younger Dr Sinha takes very good care of them, as she took good care of her children while they were young. We love the family values here, as they align with our own strong feelings towards our families.

Something that we have noticed is that although Patna is very poor, we have not seen a single beggar here! In some of our other travels sometimes it becomes difficult because we will be swarmed by people begging for money. We are not sure if it is because Patna is not a tourist destination or if there is a cultural component, but there is not a beggar to be seen. The people here are very kind and something we have loved to see is how happy they are. It was amazing in the slums to see tons of people within such small quarters, living in small shanties that did not all have roofs, however, they were laughing and playing together. The parents were caring for their children, and Laura helped many fathers who brought their children for vision screenings who had no vision problems, they just wanted to make sure they were doing all they could to take care of their children. What a wonderful people they are, it is amazing to see how happy they are with so little, we can definitely take a lesson from them!