Day 1: Sorted, heated, crushed, and mixed over a dozen herbs for a Ayurveda concoction. The cinnamon smelled so delicious! Met with professors from Mysore about the development of a questionnaire that will estimate a person’s prakruti; this project was met with reserved enthusiasm, since it is a complex and subjective assessment that may not easily be translated into formula. Ate lunch at the clinic director’s home; appreciated the neat layout of salt and spice on a banana leaf, and how my arrangement got the messiest over the course of our multi-part meal. More herbs work. Fell asleep before I could enjoy tea and dinner!
Day 2: Visited rural hospital in Kerala that runs a formidable sickle cell anemia program. They have genotyped nearly 80% of the indigenous populations for sickle cell anemia, developed a specialized prevention and treatment program for sickle cell crises, and counsel carriers and affected individuals on how to avoid passing on the disease (don’t marry another carrier or affected person). Not surprisingly, counseling against disease-producing marriages has been largely unsuccessful and created a lot of stigma, especially for young females with the diagnosis. On the bright side, the treatment program is running well. Also, their screening activities and community awareness programs are chipping away at the stigma and disease burden – hopefully.
Day 3: Off. Slept, ate, read, chased after internet during sporadic flashes of electricity. Very exciting!
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