Well, I have done it. Made it through 3 months of the working in the most dysfunctional clinic I have ever worked in. But I am left feeling very grateful that I was able to have this experience. And now that it is almost time to leave I wish I could stay a little longer. I am making headway and seeing positive change and would like to see it happen for real. But that would require another 5 years, and, although I could live here that long if I had to, I would much rather be home.
Reflecting back this has been a little bit like pregnancy, only backwards. What? you ask. Well for most women the first and third trimesters are much tougher than the middle one. For me, here, the first and last thirds were good, bordering on great, but that middle part really sucked. I do feel, just a little bit, like I was eventually being used by some of the permanent docs to stir things up that they didn't feel comfortable stirring up, and this actually served to make things less pleasant for me because I was constantly being reminded how bad things were there. On the other hand, I can definitely leave Tohatchi Health Clinic knowing that I had a big role in improving things for both the patients and the staff, and that is ultimately satisfying.
Yesterday, the clinic staff gave me a little ovation and had a nice breakfast, complete with Spam, before we started seeing patients. I presented the stained glass piece I have been working on, and it was well received. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the final piece, but it did turn out nice if I do say so myself. I saw a few final patients and was then sent to Gallup for my final paperwork and sign outs. It was such a typical example of excessive paper work to no obvious purpose I had to laugh. I was sent hither and yon to be told I didn't need to be there, or that I had the wrong paperwork, and eventually the consensus was that I didn't really need to do anything at all except give back my name badge. For that I could have charged 4 hours work, but I didn't, of course.
I did have a few nice conversations with some of the docs there who expressed how happy they were that I had had the guts to stand up to the powers that be and not put policy in front of patient care. They encouraged me to come back and I just might take them up on it. Maybe. After I get a chance to clear my head.
Rich came out to visit last week and we had a great time. He got to do his personal tour of Canyon de Chelly on Friday, then we went to the Totah Festival in Farmington, NM, which was a great combination of Powwow and crafts. We toured the Aztec Ruins (not really Aztec, of course, they just happened to be in Aztec, NM. We got to actually walk through ruins that people lived in over 1000 years ago. Then we took a short walk through the NM badlands, Bista something, which is eerily like a moon scape. We did some work on Bertha too. This is a really nice part of the country to visit and check out. Blue, red, white, and black rocks, ruins from the earliest organized settlements, mountains, of sorts, and some really nice people. But I don't think I would want to live here. I would miss being able to garden and having nice big trees to sit in the shade of.
Tonight we went to the Navajo Nation Fair in Window Rock, AZ. About 30 miles from here. Had my last mutton on fry bread for a good long while. That's probably a good thing. And went to my last powwow for a while. I am still in awe that on a Saturday night there were all these folks, from 3-83, dressed in traditional regalia, dancing for hours on end together. What a beautiful sight. And not one I can share. I decided to put away the camera and soak in the emotion all for myself.
Tomorrow me and Nancy will finish loading up Bertha. We will take Otis to the dog park one last time. And we will begin our journey home.
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