Some medical stuff done, some remaining



All the blood work initially requested by the Peace Corps has been drawn.  I am just waiting on the late (polio titer) results.  That test has to be sent away, so it might be a few days before I get the results.  Not sure how much this is going to cost, something I will report later.

This week I have an outpatient test as part of my physical.  I’m not going to say what it is, but men and women over 50 can sympathize.  After I get all the results, hopefully before Christmas, I should be able to complete my my medical tasks.

Then Peace Corps medical can start looking at the results and ask for additional information and such as needed. For example, it looks like one of the vaccines that I got in Ghana did not take, so I might need to get another shot or two.  Future Peace Corps volunteers know that after the initial round of medical tasks are completed and reviewed by the nurses there may be additional tasks requests.  It is all part of the process.

Still, medical clearance is moving along – so I’m hopeful.

Theresa’s death


This week is also the anniversary of my wife’s death – four years now.   It seems that it will always be with me.  It is casting a certain mood over the Christmas season this year.  I’ve talked with other widows and widowers who have more experience at this than I and they say what I already know – life goes on, but it remains hard.  Certainly, the difficulties in my life are insignificant compared to others – such as citizens of Aleppo or South Sudan.

I’m not looking for sympathy, or even for the feeling to go away.  This is a significant part of my life.  We all have had events that shape our thoughts and our life.  The difficult spots help us empathize with others, an important trait for everyone. 

For me, these events drive me to try to make the world a better place, even if it means that my life is not always easy or comfortable.  I’ve seen too much suffering and injustice in the world to be able to sit life out. 

Again, there are many people who are doing great work and have many reasons to stay and work close to home, which is great.  Going into the Peace Corps or other work abroad is not saying that there are no problems in America, or that I don’t care about issues at home.  It is to say that many people can work locally to make the world a better place and still continue their normal lives.  I think that is great.  Others, find the best way to improve the world and to improve the image and influence of America abroad is to work for world peace and friendship directly – which is also fine.

Love always,

John

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yam harvesting

Image
Roger and I went to farm to harvest yam on Saturday morning, September 13, 2014.  In Ghana a yam is a root crop that is different from a sweet potato.  We have sweet potatoes here as well. Yam recently harvested Preparing a yam for boiling The yam has a white flesh – softer than a white potato. In this area the yams are planted between April and June.  Harvest continues into December and January depending on the weather and pigs getting into the field. The plant is a vine – which is grown on stakes rather than allowed the spread out.  The plants are placed on a raised bed about 2 feet high.  The beds are surrounded by flat trenches.  This allows the rains to flow around, but not wipe out the yam crop.  Intercropping seems to be common practice with yams planted in the raised bed, soybeans around the edges, and rice in the trenches.  The occasional corn or okra plant is also among the yams – although the bulk of those crop...
Read more

Pito – brewed millet

Image
Corn, rice, and millet are the common grains grown in my region of Ghana. All three are used food, but millet is also used to produce the local brew – pito, or daa in the local language. “N nyu daa” - in Dagaree means “I drink pito.” There are several varieties of millet grown here – a red and white varieties have loose heads. These are used for pito and other foods. There is also a smaller seed variety with a tight head of seeds that is mainly used for porridge. (Don't have a picture of that variety yet.) In all varieties millet grows on a stalk with the grain head at the top of the stalk. White and red millet in the field Two bundles of while millet to be used for seed next season Converting a grain to alcohol is a common practice in various cultures. It provides a way to capture and digest the nutritional value of the grain. In some places, like Germany and the beer brewing monks, the making a beer was a way to preserve the harvest. In Ghana the millet is ...
Read more

Ghana Archery and Travel to Tamale

Image
Ghana Archery Roger and I were walking to see a man in the community early last week and he happened across an arrow head. It was a long thin metal piece that would be attached to then end of a shaft. That got Roger talking about archery and got me thinking about another blog post. He explained how the arrow worked while we walked and promised to show me a bow and arrow when we got back to his house. He talked about the old times when they made poison. The process involved collecting plants and such things and placing them in a pot which is buried for a year. The poison was used on animals and people in the ancient times. That got me thinking about the information that has been and is being lost in the community from the older generation. Yesterday, I was sitting talking with some of the older men and they were talking about how the grandfathers could dig up the roots and such to make medicine for a variety of illnesses. They told me that the knowledge and practice of m...
Read more