Good News! And more 'Field Experience'... and More Happy Tidings

Remember that nutritional intervention I was telling you about for which one of my supervisors was applying for World Bank funding, and for which I had worked so hard on the presentation? Well, she e-mailed my other supervisor a few hours ago from Dhaka and WE GOT THE FUNDING! 150 US Gs. Wild eh.

I am sooooooooooooo pleased. This is not "oh we can run some gels now" -it's "we can save babies' lives now". Not that there's anything wrong with running gels -basic science is of course very important (and I know, indirectly, can save plenty of lives), but as any honest researcher out there will admit, there are 2 kinds of basic research: the ones with the actual innovative questions that mean something for something else (probably account for 50% or less of the research out there), but then there's the "me too" research -let's isolate this part of this protein (which has been done already, but we'll phrase it differently and give it a different name from that other guy)... But anyway, I'm thrilled for those babies -the intervention will provide nutrition for 300 infants in a Karachi squatter slum that they might have a chance at developing a proper body and brain.

Tonight we ordered in: Pakistani Nandos, and it was pretty delicious (especially those spicey wedge fries), and just chilled in the res (me and 3 other girls... yes we are an ex-pat crowd, but you know, there's no use hating on ex-pats just because they're ex-pats because firstly, I'm one of them, and secondly, they are really sweet girls and we have a lot of fun together, and we all need an outlet for our otherwise hidden frustrations -i.e. wearing a shalwar kameez every day, the power of the dupata, the constant oggling, and the generally relatively suppressive social norms for women in this country, I'm not going to lie).

Yesterday, I visited 2 of the 'civic' / government hospitals in Karachi:

1. the Sobhraj Maternity Hospital (founded 1928 in Saddar, with rusty railings and bars on all the windows, the standard crowds of people waiting outside in the heat amidst paan-sewage puddles and dust, and crowds inside... yet they have a path lab, x-ray lab, delivery room, ante- and post-natal care rooms -I got a peak at all of them... the kicker is the seal of government corruption though -you walk into the Medical Superintendent's office -a well-greased looking man -and his secretary is this dude who types very slowly with 1 finger of his right hand... yeah, in this glorious technological hub that is South Asia, the dude that doesn't know how to type gets hired as the MS' 'secretary'. Ha. Ha. Ha.)
2. Qatar Hospital (funded by the government of Qatar obviously, and it's much better than Sobhraj, though still rather run-down and ill-kept, and is in the heart of one of the poorer towns, Orangi Town...)

You feel like you're in the Third World when you see these hospitals. Now we understand better why families try to leverage taking part in our study to get some medical care from AKUH -good for them! Except we don't provide it... so ultimately, kinda sucks for them, because then they don't get food for baby and they won't get quality care regardless. Yes, I take issue with the fact that we don't take care of the baby's healthcare expenses while they're enrolled in our study, but what to do: T.I.P. Hey you bioethics people, what's your take on this one? I really want to know.

Tomorrow morning off to one of the more complex slums -Orangi Town -and then Friday, a macro-slum: Thatta (which is a 2-hr drive away from Karachi, in the interior of Sindh)...

Anyway, I hate to say it, but I'm not really into blogging today. Maybe it's because I started watching Season 1 of "House", which is really great -though not as juicy as Grey's, definitely way more medically accurate, and I can actually understand what they are talking about post-Med-1... so it's a bit of a review / "refresher" before I begin Med-2... well, better get to bed. A couple of hectic days lie ahead (for which I am of course grateful, but I need my rest if I'm to survive them!)...

I thought I'd resist saying anything here, but well, I'm human too and if I brought you here, then you're a friend... in the spirit of good news, I found out a few weeks ago that a creative-reflective piece I wrote sometime over the last few months has just been accepted for publishing, and it was the first time in my life that I actually began crying spontaneously (the cliche "tears sprung into her eyes" was totally applicable) -you know why. Writing is my passion. It's how I share my Truth with the world, so... well, it's exciting to know you get to share it with more people right, and that maybe they will fall more in love with themselves and with others because of it. Isn't it always about love?