Project RuSu 365
Henri Cartier-Bresson said, "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.", so bear with us...
Russian indignities.
I sneaked my point & shoot into the hospital I just visited for a consultation. This is the corridor outside the traumatologist's office. The gurneys in the rear look like chain link fencing on wheels with a thin, 1/4" pad on them as a mattress. By western standards, the place is filthy & most of the people are rude. Couldn't get a shot off in the reception area which looks more like a prison than a hospital. Built in 1763 by decree of Catherine the Great as a hospital for the poor, this isn't nearly as bad as most hospitals in Russia.
I'd have avoided it like the plague except that one of the only hand specialists in the entire country is here. For 3 months I've had a problem with my thumb & since we returned from our holidays it suddenly locked in position. I'd been to every specialist imaginable most of whom diagnosed it as arthritis (though all my other fingers are fine). When I asked the orthopedist if would always be this way he answered, "God knows". Finally, one of my doctors ordered an x-ray. The x-ray technician looked at my thumb (before taking the x-ray) and said, "It's arthritis - what, you don't understand/can't accept that you're an old lady & that's just how life is!"
To set the record straight - yes, I am over 50, but I didn't quite think I was ready for the graveyard yet. I was so outraged that I went to the head of the clinic who, to make a long story short, gave me a referral to this hospital.
Thankfully, the doctor I saw was nice & knowledgeable. She could only smile sardonically when told of the arthritis diagnosis. Seems there are tears in the tendon that enable the thumb to move. I need to have an ultra-sound next week to confirm (this lovely facility doesn't have one), but because nothing was done 3 months ago when the problem appeared, I'm told there's a 99.9% chance I'll need surgery. No details about that thus far.
Nothing special about this photo - just a slice of Russian reality. Thanks for letting me sound off. (Feb. 3, 2011)
2.28.2011 Update: So far I'm in a cast. Another ultrasound next week should tell whether or not I need surgery.
russian hospitalhospital corridorhospital 4 moscowmoscow hospitalrusurusu photography
Jerry Barton
on February 17, 2011Sharing reality is also important. Here is wishing that you get good treatment and rapid recovery.
Hershy
on February 17, 2011This is the problem when proper diagnosis is not done in time! Hope all works out well for you.
Art in Photography
on February 6, 2011Oh my goodness. What a nightmare!
fotoeffects
on February 5, 2011I like this shot...really captures the hospital ambiance. Cannot believe someone actually called you an old lady...at 50! I am 68 and I'd be offended if someone called me an "old lady." Hope you get your thumb back to normal.
Janet McQueen
on February 5, 2011Excellent shot, so glad you snuck in your p & s... I am so sorry for your frustrating experience & so hope you may have found a way to heal your thumb. Thank you so much for this glimpse into life in Russia, I'd love to see/hear more about the reality of your life in this country we know nothing about. Your story has sparked a renewed appreciation for so many things that we take for granted in Canada, one of them being our health care system. Take care... & let us know how the ultra sound goes....:-))
photofreak
on February 5, 2011Interesting photograph. I'm sorry to hear of how you were treated and that you may need surgery as a result. I hope things work out well for you. I've had three experiences with hospital abroad, UK and Greece and was treated very well and very quickly and at no cost. I was extremely impressed with their health care system, In the UK I was suffering from food poisoning they sent an ambulance and I spent the day in the hospital, this would have been thousands in the U.S.
Andrea Kaus (ChaosGraphics)
on February 5, 2011This is a great shot as it evokes a real feeling and emotion, even if it isn't a pleasant one. I hope your thumb doesn't need surgery. I agree -- 50 is hardly old.
nelli
on February 5, 2011A reality shot!
Curtis Budden
on February 5, 2011I think this slice of Russian reality makes for an excellent photo, and the background story reminds me of some of my own experiences with hospitals in Russia. I once had to spend an entire morning at the toxicology department in a run-down provincial hospital in Cheboksary in an effort to get a student released (she had had way too much to drink the night before) in order for her to travel back to Canada that day. It wasn't a pleasant experience. I'm sorry to hear about how you were treated, and I do hope that you've now found a good doctor and that you'll get the treatment you need.
Chuck Beehner
on February 5, 2011Great photo, glad you snuck in the P&S. This rings true for national health care, seems we may be going this way ourselves...