Knowledge does not only come from reading books.

Yesterday we saw a 60 something woman who was having abdominal pain and headaches. She was eating one time per day, cooking for 16 extended family members and seemingly ashamed of taking time to come to seek care when there was so much work to do at home. We offered her a glass of water which she promptly drank and subsequently doubled over in pain. To her, this was another episode of abdominal pain but for us, this was not an average every day event. We kept her for observation while we ran through differential diagnoses…peptic ulcer, gastritis, biliary colic, cancer, pancreatitis, bowel obstruction.  In my mind, the point was that this woman experienced this pain every time she drank water without food as she did so often because food is so scarce. She lived through the pain so she could continue to care for her children and grandchildren; taking care of hesrself was the farthest thing from her mind. 

The dedication to caring for one’s family I see daily here amazes me. Not only to your own family but to the family members who cannot care for themselves and even for other children who have lost their families to illness. The matriarch of the family puts her needs aside to make sure her family is taken care of, most likely until the day she passes away. It really makes me think about how we treat the elder generations in the United States. The inadequate treatment of those living in care facilities has always caused me much distress. These are the people who should be respected for being the wisest; those who have been through wars, catastrophes, historical events, multiple presidents and have witnessed the changes that have shaped our current societies views and beliefs.

I think one thing I have always loved about traveling is learning from the elders or hearing stories passed down from generation to generation. Recipes, medical treatments, home remedies, understanding of the culture and common misconceptions are all examples of things we can learn from the elders in our communities. It makes me wish my grandparents were still alive so I could ask them all the questions I was too young to know I needed to understand back then. There is so much for us to learn in our lifetime, I don’t want to miss out it. Knowledge is power, this I know for sure.