Sangam.org - Ilankai Tamil Sangam
Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA
Kaiser Permanente in Batti
Received Thursday Jan 27, 2005 early AM San Diego from Sarah Beekly, MD, Kaiser Permanente, N. California from the NorthEast of Sri Lanka; What a great lady! :
It
is
with
reverence
for
the
people
of
Sri
Lanka
that
we
write
to
you
today,
the
one
month
anniversary
of
the
Tsunami.
Today
is
a
national
day
or
mourning,
and
yet
for
those
in
the
relief
effort,
the
work
continues.
Hernando,
Vaji
and
Svasti
have
traveled
to
Colombo,
and
Mahir
and
Paul
have
arrived.
At
this
point
our
preparation
for
the
transition
is
our
main
priority,
but
we
continue
to
both
visit
the
camps,
and
to
further
develop
potential
options
for
Kaiser
Permanente’s
long
term
projects.
Resting
in
a
refugee
camp,
Cheddi
Palayan
Wednesday
began
with
a
2
½
hour
drive
to
a
new
camp,
Kirumichodai,
which
holds
375
people.
This
camp
is
one
of
the
most
isolated,
and
we
were
told
that
it
had
not
been
visited
since
Jan
9th.
On
the
drive
there
we
passed
one
of
the
few
aboriginal
villages.
Being
a
people
of
little
technological
sophistication,
that
is
very
in
tune
with
their
natural
surroundings,
and
made
note
of
the
many
odd
behaviors
of
the
animals
in
the
weeks
prior
to
the
disaster.
There
are
stories
of
cobras
moving
in
a
mass
exodus
to
the
mountains,
and
so
when
these
people
saw
the
animals
running
inland
even
prior
to
the
first
wave,
they
followed.
From
a
village
of
45,
only
one
life
was
lost.
Their
neighbors
had
not
fared
so
well,
and
the
remaining
families
are
in
the
camp
we
were
about
to
visit.
Kirumichai
was
one
of
the
very
first
camps
established,
and
is
expected
to
become
one
of
the
semi
permanent
sites.
It
is
a
full
1
½
hour
from
any
significant
settlements
or
services,
and
accessible
only
after
a
20
drive
down
a
muddy
road
that
is
most
likely
impassable
in
wetter
weather.
It
is
also
1
km
from
the
closest
natural
water
source,
and
so
the
population
there
is
completely
dependant
on
aid
for
all
their
most
basis
needs.
Upon
arrival
we
were
delighted
to
find
that
within
the
last
week
a
volunteer
physician
had
taken
up
residence
at
the
camp.
He,
like
so
many
others
here
with
similar
stories,
had
heard
of
the
tragedy,
booked
a
flight
and
presented
his
services
at
the
Sri
Lankan
Red
Cross
office.
He
had
not
yet
been
able
to
inform
BDHearT
of
his
presence
there
and
was
more
than
grateful
for
the
visit.
He
asked
only
for
the
loan
of
an
ophthalmoscope
and
otoscope,
and
that
we
relay
to
the
responsible
parties
that
the
food
delivery
was
2
days
late,
and
the
population
was
at
there
very
end
of
their
rations.
The
women
of
the
camp
quickly
surrounded
us
and
asked
for
"family
planning"
assistance,
and
so
we
set
up
a
clinic
with
the
few
supplies
we
had,
making
a
note
to
both
bring
more,
and
to
speak
to
the
women
privately
at
future
camps.
For
those
women
who
we
could
not
provide
with
medication,
Christine
conducted
a
very
light
hearted
and
interactive
talk
on
non-medical
approaches
to
family
planning.
The
laughter
that
she
was
able
to
elicit
was
therapeutic
to
us
all.
On
a
more
serious
note,
with
these
families
unable
to
get
adequate
medical
supplies,
that
there
will
be
many
unplanned
and
even
unwanted
pregnancies
in
the
months
to
come.
Our
second
visit
was
actually
a
follow
up
at
Vattuvan,
a
camp
of
441
people
that
we
had
first
visited
4
days
prior.
Of
two
patients
with
pneumonia
one
was
better
and
one
was
worse.
The
second
was
given
a
shot
of
Rocephin
from
our
private
stock,
and
instructed
to
travel
to
the
local
clinic
for
further
care.
Whether
the
etiology
of
her
deterioration
was
non-compliance
with
her
medications;
progression
of
bacterial
disease,
or
TB,
there
was
no
way
to
distinguish
without
the
diagnostic
tests
that
were
only
available
2
½
hours
drive
away.
On
a
more
positive
note,
we
had
come
equipped
at
last
with
malaria
rapid
detection
tests,
and
could
test
and
well
as
treat
the
(as
yet)
occasional
case
we
saw.
The
goal
of
our
team,
and
part
of
BDHearT's
mission,
is
to
integrate
our
care
with
that
of
the
local
medical
system
as
quickly
and
seamlessly
as
possible,
and
so
these
diagnostic
test,
our
daily
epidemiologic
surveys,
and
daily
phone
calls
to
the
District
Medical
Officer
both
before
and
after
our
visits
were
imperative.
A
perfect
‘moment’
of
such
integration
presented
itself
half
way
through
our
clinic,
when
a
hysterical
crowd
rushed
in
with
a
bloodied
6
year
old.
The
wooden
school
desk
became
an
exams
table
with
the
sweep
of
an
arm,
wound
dressings
and
pressure
applied
to
her
profusely
bleeding
scalp
laceration,
and
the
paramedic
who
had
joined
us
for
the
day
assessed
her
vital
signs.
Our
Sri
Lanka
nurse
elicited
the
history
from
the
sobbing
family,
and
it
quickly
became
evident
that
she
needed
a
transport
to
the
local
hospital.
Just
as
we
were
about
to
shut
down
the
clinic
and
serve
as
her
ambulance,
an
OXFAM
jeep
drove
up,
and
offered
to
drive
her.
This
provided
the
opportunity
for
Christine
to
counsel
her
family,
and
they
were
clearly
in
a
panic.
With
quiet
kindness
and
respect
Christine
listened
to
the
mother’s
story
of
having
both
her
33
day
old
and
3
year
old
children
torn
from
her
arms
by
the
first
wave
of
the
Tsunami.
Supporting,
validating,
and
guiding
the
mother
toward
resources,
Christine
touched
upon
one
of
Sri
Lanka’s
greatest
challenges
for
the
future,
the
psycho-social
recovery
of
the
people.
For
ourselves,
we
were
blessed
by
being
able
to
visit
the
child
today
in
the
Batticoloa
General
Hospital,
and
be
assured
of
her
recovery.
The
work
here
is
hard,
and
the
tragedy
enormous.
Yet,
we
have
been
given
the
privilege
of
being
able
to
provide
truly
essential
medical
care,
and
there
is
no
greater
reward.
Christine
and
I
would
like
to
make
one
last
note
of
gratitude
for
all
the
support
that
we
have
received
from
Kaiser
Permanente
and
our
families.
We
are
especially
grateful
for
the
expertise,
leadership,
and
genuine
kindness
of
Dr
Hernando
Garzon,
and
would
like
to
acknowledge
the
solid
foundation
that
he
established
for
our
program
here
in
Batticoloa.
| POSTED JANUARY 30, 2005 | The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Ilankai Tamil Sangam, USA, Inc., its members, or its affiliates. |
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