mardi 26 mars 2024

HUMAN TOUCH WHERE YOU DO NOT EXPECT IT, EXCELLENT CARE AT THE OUTPATIENT RADIOLOGY CLINIC OF UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

I had a fantastic encounter at the University of Miami Outpatient Radiology clinic, an experience that one could describe as truly exceptional in a medical setting!

As part of my wellness check, conducted once every two years, I underwent a review of my heart function, this time using a CAT scan and a Calcium Score. The results were not just as expected, but even better – they were excellent, showing no signs of cardiac circulatory diseases.

While the technology was impressive, what truly stood out was the human touch. The two nurses who attended to me explained the procedure with great care, and the technician who operated the machine was incredibly professional. The supervisory nurse was very attentive and caring as well. One of the nurses, a young woman with a three-year-old daughter, had left Cuba shortly after completing her high school education. She was so sweet that I jokingly inquired whether there was any possibility of cloning her. All three of them treated me like a visiting dignitary (perhaps I am one, hehe). It didn't feel like I was there for a medical test, but rather like I had been welcomed into a friend's home. The sweet young nurse even took me to the cafeteria as I wanted a cup of Cuban coffee after the test.

Today, I received the most advanced medical attention, not because of the machines, air-conditioning, or cafeteria, but because of the human element provided by the two nurses and the professional technician. I am not sick or ill, but the test was for preventive purposes, and this is the kind of wellness care that we should offer everyone, regardless of age, nationality, financial status, or social standing. The human element of this encounter was the best.



Tuve un encuentro fantástico en la clínica de Radiología Ambulatoria de la Universidad de Miami, ¡si es que se puede describir alguna vez un encuentro médico como fantástico!

Como parte del chequeo de bienestar, que realizo una vez cada dos años, me hicieron una revisión de la función de mi corazón, esta vez utilizando una tomografía computarizada (CAT scan) y un índice de calcio. Los resultados fueron como se esperaba, incluso mejores de lo esperado, ¡excelentes, mostrando ningún signo de enfermedades cardiovasculares!

Si bien la tecnología fue impresionante, lo que realmente destacó fue el toque humano. Las dos enfermeras que me atendieron explicaron el procedimiento con gran cuidado, y la técnica que operó la máquina fue increíblemente profesional. La enfermera supervisora fue muy atenta y cariñosa también. Una de las enfermeras, una joven con una hija de tres años, había dejado Cuba poco después de completar su educación secundaria. Ella fue tan amable que bromeé preguntando si había alguna posibilidad de clonarla. Las tres me trataron como a un dignatario visitante (tal vez lo sea, jeje). No parecía que estuviera allí para una prueba médica, sino más bien como si me hubieran recibido en casa de un amigo. La dulce enfermera joven incluso me llevó a la cafetería, ya que quería una taza de café cubano después de la prueba.

Hoy, recibí la atención médica más avanzada, no por las máquinas, el aire acondicionado o la cafetería, sino por el elemento humano proporcionado por las dos enfermeras y la técnica profesional. No estoy enfermo ni me siento mal, pero la prueba era para fines preventivos, y este es el tipo de atención de bienestar que deberíamos ofrecer a todos, independientemente de la edad, nacionalidad, situación financiera o estatus social. El elemento humano de este encuentro fue lo mejor.


من یک تجربه فوق‌العاده‌ای در کلینیک تصویربرداری بیمارستان دانشگاه میامی داشتم، تجربه‌ای که می‌توان آن را به عنوان واقعاً استثنایی در یک محیط پزشکی توصیف کرد!

به عنوان بخشی از چکاپ بهداشتی من، که هر دو سال یک بار انجام می‌دهم، یک بررسی از عملکرد قلب من انجام شد، این بار با استفاده از اسکن CAT و یک امتیاز کلسیم. نتایج همانطور که انتظار می‌رفت، حتی بیشتر از انتظار بودند - عالی، نشان می‌دهند که هیچ علامتی از بیماری‌های گردش خون قلبی وجود ندارد!

هرچند که فناوری شگفت‌انگیز بود، اما آنچه واقعاً متمایز بود، لمس انسانی بود. دو پرستاری که به من خدمت می‌کردند توضیحات را با بسیار دقت توضیح دادند، و تکنسینی که دستگاه را اداره می‌کرد، بسیار حرفه‌ای بود. پرستار نظارتی نیز بسیار مواظب و مهربان بود. یکی از پرستارها، یک زن جوان با یک دختر سه ساله بود که کوبا را به تازگی پس از تکمیل تحصیلات دبیرستانی ترک کرده بود. او به اندازه‌ی کافی خوش‌خیم بود که شوخی کردم و پرسیدم آیا امکان کلون کردن او وجود دارد. همه سه تا با من مانند یک مقام مهم مهمان رفتار کردند (شاید من یکی باشم، ههه). احساس نمی‌کردم که برای یک آزمایش پزشکی رفته‌ام، بلکه مانند این بود که به خانه‌ی یک دوست خوش‌آمدیده شده‌ام. پرستار جوان خوش‌مزه حتی من را به کافه‌خانه برد، زیرا من پس از آزمون یک فنجان قهوه کوبایی می‌خواستم.

امروز، من توجه پزشکی پیشرفته‌ترین را دریافت کردم، نه به دلیل دستگاه‌ها، تهویه مطبوع یا کافه‌خانه، بلکه به دلیل عنصر انسانی که توسط دو پرستار و تکنسین حرفه‌ای فراهم شد. من نه بیمار هستم و نه بیمار، اما آزمون برای اهداف پیشگیرانه بود، و این نوع مراقبت از بهداشتی است که باید به همه ارائه داده شود، بدون توجه به سن، ملیت، وضعیت مالی یا وضعیت اجتماعی. عنصر انسانی این تجربه بهترین بود

vendredi 22 mars 2024

SECOND DAY OF NOWRUZ HAPPY DAYS

I enjoyed very much the first day of Nowruz, sending and receiving greetings and exchanging photographs and seeing many a haft sin tables and to see the happy faces of so many of my Iranian friends . The entry of Nowruz in Iran coincided with 1106 pm the day before where I was .. so the night was short one for me..as if by coincidence I had to attend to the medical problems of people near and far and felt exhausted by the time the second day of Nowruz came around and I wanted a day of rest 

I decided to do a spiritual cleansing. First of all I shut myself in my room with a view of the trees still green in their brilliance and observed silence for a long time , then listened to soft music of the sufis, which the Buddha Bar recordings had released. Read a little bit of the book by Amin Malouf of the Leo Africanus fame. As the mind calmed down and fortunately there were very little disturbances by the phone and messages and I decided to light some sage, the oldest plant on the earth, say the Indigenous people. The smoke wafted through the room and I felt a cleansing in my body and in my mind. 

I thought of  my dear friends in Mashhad, Tehran, Tangiers, Paris, Miami,Little Rock, St. Martin, Havana, Mexico City, Malaga, Toledo,  Melbourne, Haifa and Cochin

I introduced Nowruz to many of my friends who had no prior knowledge of this ancient festival. I told them to watch the White Balloon the very first Iranian movie that I remember watching of Jafar Panahi and Abbas Kiriastami. Then I thought, whatever happened to the little girl, innocent and confused and frightened in that movie, Aida Mohammadkhani. 

Mohammadkhani received her master's degree in clinical psychology from Alzahra University. She received her PhD in 2018 in Cognitive Neurosciences in the school of cognitive sciences at the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM). Her research focused on the orexin system in opioid addiction. From 2015 to 2017 she was a visiting scholar at Rutgers University in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Aston-Jones. Currently, she is a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Stephanie Borgland at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute of the University of Calgary

Do I need to tell you that Iranians are impressive ?












mardi 19 mars 2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO THE 300 MILLION CELEBRATING IT TODAY

HAPPY NOWRUZ DEAR FRIENDS OLD AND NEW, CLOSE TO MY HEART IN EVERY WAY  OR FAR AWAY IN DISTANCE AND OBLIVION

In a few minutes, the vernal equinox would appear over this spot on this planet, delivering Nowruz. I am awake and I am thinking of my friends in Iran and also to my yet to be friends in the Kurdish lands, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and the Parsees of India and the Iranian Diaspora around the world.

A new migrant has arrived in Sydney, this Nowruz full of nostalgia. Tomorrow I will talk to another, reluctant to leave the ancient land of the Persians.. The world benefits from your tragedy, of oppression and emigration but an integration into the sophisticated world you so deserve. I am happy for Australia, the country that gave me my personality.

Tyrants will not give up power willingly and people of Iran, Cuba, Burma the three countries close to the heart of this Australian are full of fire to light them up!

Let each day be a New Day, whether in Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz or Mashhad or in Bombay or Rangoon or Habana, Kuala Lumpur or Melbourne. Let us hold on to each other, we need each other .. when all of us are free, we are free…













lundi 18 mars 2024

A WONDERFUL NOWRUZ TO ALL FRIENDS AND LOVERS

A WONDERFUL NOWRUZ TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHEREVER YOU ARE, WHETHER YOU ARE IRANIAN OR NOT.. SPRING IS BEING PROMISED BY UNCLE PIRUZ


All lovers of Iranian cinema would be familiar with Jafar Panahi and Abbas Kiriastomi. Their collaboration The White Balloon was the first Iranian movie that I remember seeing, It kindled in me a long lost attachment to Iran kindled when I was just six years old when my father brought me an edition of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat 

I am so far removed from Iran in this land of heathens who show no interest in the cultural history of ancient people, these people themselves being very new in their pretensions. 

In 2024, Nowruz, the Persian New Year, will begin at the exact moment of the vernal equinox on Tuesday, March 19 at 11:06 PM Eastern Time (New York, Miami, Havana) Nowruz is the first day of spring and marks the end of winter and the beginning of renewal for nature. The word Nowruz means "new day" in Persian

On this day, coming back from taking care of the indigenous people who live in the national park near here, I would put on new clothes, a shirt which I had kept aside with a poem of Hafez imprinted on it, a gift much appreciated of a student who arrived to do a PhD in Ohio.  I sent a poem by Sa’adi without mentioning the author to some of my Iranian friends and all of them knew who wrote it, such is the high level of intellectual curiosity in that most educated country surrounded by darkness of the centuries past (except equally enlightened Israel)

I would like pay homage to my friends who have disappeared behind the veils of oblivion and especially my friend from Karaj for whom I eagerly waited many years ago at an International Airport

So my dear friends, lovers, sisters, wives, daughters, mothers ..I wish all of you a wonderful Nowruz holiday and tomorrow night please send me a message of no words and silence but just thoughts and it would arrive at the doorstep of my heart. Thank you .





mardi 5 mars 2024

AS 15TH OF MARCH APPROACHES, OH ET TU DEMOCRACY

 

Iran held an "election" a couple of days ago. The people who were not allowed to run or select candidates, showed their voting power by not voting. The turnout in Tehran was a mere 24 per cent. But then again the Islamic Republic does not claim to be a free or democratic regime but a theocracy.

I had been in countries during Fair and Free elections were held, as long as the people vote for the people the government has already chosen for them. One good example is the one party states where your choice is between this and more of this.

A true threat to Democracy looks in the USA where slavery metaphorically is not abolished at the ballot box. Like the politicians in that country say, God Bless America

God is too busy blessing America that it or he or she seems to have forgotten Zimbabwe where the corruption and human rights have taken a dive to a new low .. but that continent where hope was shimmering a decade or so ago, Ghana has just passed a law that makes homosexuality and gender identification a crime punishable by jail sentence .. Which century are they living in ?  Shake hands with your sister country Uganda and other freedom loving countries such as Somalia, Eritrea.. coming to think of it, is there a single moslem majority country in Africa or the Middle East or Asia which is vaguely democratic ? Tunisia pearl of the Ottomon Empire is slipping fast to join Pakistan at the other end 

I have seen true socialism work but in small tribal societies..

as ides of march approach, let us wish our planet not a healthy air but a good dose of sanity of thinking, and to vote for demogoguery but make common sense an educational requirement..

THE LABYRINTH OF SOLITUDE. THIS TIME IN MARRAKECH MOROCCO



Some books and certain authors enter your life at transforming moments and remain there, even as fashions change and seasons shift from torrid summers to autumnal tranquility.

I first encountered The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz long before he won the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the fourth Latin American writer to accomplish this feat. Perhaps it was during my time as a budding clinician at the teaching halls of the University of Melbourne, where I still carry the influence of those days, while also indulging in the oenological science of my home state, Victoria.

Australia, with its scientific influences more prominent than literary ones, proved to be a fertile ground for me at that age and time. Prior to that, I had ventured to the USA, completing part of my medical training at the University of Miami School of Medicine. It was there that I incidentally fell in love with Yucatan and the city of Merida.

I often pondered the perennial question: why do immigrants to the USA often negate or even hate their country of origin? Is this a peculiar immigrant phenomenon or a reflection of the United States of America itself? Why do Mexican immigrants and their descendants in the USA not celebrate Montezuma but instead seek their cultural identity in the Pilgrims who arrived in Plymouth two centuries later to found the USA?

In the land of the Free, are people truly free? Octavio Paz, Mexico’s ambassador to India, who wrote books of poetry during his time in the land of the Monkey God, could perhaps explain what freedom truly means.

Years later, a friend from Tabriz in Iran admonished me, saying, 'You truly do not understand what freedom is all about because you have never been superficially or deeply denied it.' I responded, 'No, my dear, I do understand what you mean.' To many Americans, freedom is merely the choice between Del Monte tomato sauce or Heinz tomato sauce. For me, freedom is the ability to be the person I want to be, breaking loose from all societal barriers. I learned this during my turbulent years of formation, reading the works of Octavio Paz.

I learned to enjoy solitude without loneliness, seeking meaningful connections rather than searching for love. It doesn't have to be an intellectual conversation, but rather a connection to the mythical world we all share. Last night, it was Wissal, a young Arab Moroccan, with a constant smile, standing in front of a restaurant, urging passersby to try its delicacies. As Octavio Paz cautioned, do not objectify this person, do not make her 'The Other,' but accept her in this short interaction as she is. It was a beautiful moment, never to be repeated with Wissal but perhaps with others. Thank you, Octavio Paz.




mardi 27 février 2024

ONE LIFE STARRING SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS ABOUT SIR NICHOLAS WINTON WHO ORGANIZED BRINGING OF 669 JEWISH CHILDREN OF PRAGUE , EVADING THEIR DEATH IN THE HANDS OF THE NAZIS

ONE LIFE , MOVIE ABOUT SIR NICHOLAS WINTON (WERTHEIM)

MOVIE STARRING ANTHONY HOPKINS, LENA OLIN, HELENA BONHAM-CARTER


Eventhough he was born a Jew, he never practiced, disillusioned by prayers of religious people on both sides of the War for their Gods to help them. Humans create wars, not Gods and Humans must find the solution. A righteous man does not look away

Winton was not declared a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in Israel due to the Yad Vashem policy, which states that only non Jews who risked their lives in order to save Jews are to be declared Righteous Among the Nations. As an adult, he was not active in any particular religion.In a 2015 interview, Winton told Stephen Sackur (Hard Talk on BBC) he had become disillusioned with religion during the war as he could not reconcile religious movements "praying for victory on both sides of the same war". Winton went on to describe his personal beliefs: "I believe in ethics, and if everybody believed in ethics we'd have no problems at all. That's the only way out; forget the religious side.

I saw the film at a small French town, Quiberon, where at this time of the year, only few permanent residents remain, while waiting for the summer onslaught. Eventhough I had heard of this story, the powerful portrayal by Sir Anthony made me heave with remembered sadness accompanied by constant tears.

In that theatre, there were only two jews and the rest were secular French who seemed to have been moved by the story, but the emotions felt by me sure were different. It was not just a story for me, these jewish children saved, 669 of them, I may have come in contact with some of their families , for me , they were also my family. I could feel the apprehension of the children leaving their parents not knowing that they will never see them again (most of their parents perished in German concentration camps), it reminded me of the grandparents of my friends with numbers tattooed in their hands in distant Australia, when on sunny afternoons, we children played and the older tattooed ones chattered in Yiddish.  

Rene Char was well celebrated in France, an intellectual, jewish and a poet who suffered the trauma of the Second World War and I remember reading somewhere a line from Rene Char, I, said the man, I am a Jew. I also remember a similar utterance by a character in a novel by Roberto Arlt, an Argentine literary influence of the XX century.

I was thinking of all these, in the silence of the car as the sun was setting off the Côte Sauvage. What is my nationality ? I am an Australian, born incongruously in a forgotten spot of Portuguese empire, with a father who fought for the liberation of Burma, a doctor to the poor and a friend of the indigenous peoples, around the world, having had a chance to work and live in various countries including Sweden Australia UK Cuba Jamaica USA etc etc etc..

Then as Rene Char had said, I said to  myself, My nationality, Sir, is I am a Jew.

Filming at the Prague Railway Station 
Sir Nicholas Winton (Wertheim)



UNA VIDA, PELÍCULA SOBRE SIR NICHOLAS WINTON (WERTHEIM)

PELÍCULA PROTAGONIZADA POR ANTHONY HOPKINS, LENA OLIN, HELENA BONHAM-CARTER



Aunque nació judío, nunca practicó, desilusionado por las oraciones de personas religiosas de ambos lados de la guerra pidiendo que sus dioses los ayudaran. Los humanos crean las guerras, no los dioses y los humanos deben encontrar la solución. Un hombre justo no mira hacia otro lado

Winton no fue declarado Justo entre las Naciones por Yad Vashem en Israel debido a la política de Yad Vashem, que establece que sólo los no judíos que arriesgaron sus vidas para salvar judíos deben ser declarados Justos entre las Naciones. Como adulto, no practicaba ninguna religión en particular. En una entrevista de 2015, Winton le dijo a Stephen Sackur (Hard Talk en la BBC) que se había desilusionado de la religión durante la guerra porque no podía reconciliar los movimientos religiosos "que oraban por la victoria en ambos bandos de una misma guerra". Winton continuó describiendo sus creencias personales: "Creo en la ética, y si todos creyeran en la ética no tendríamos ningún problema. Esa es la única salida: olvidar el lado religioso.

Vi la película en una pequeña ciudad francesa, Quiberon, donde en esta época del año sólo quedan unos pocos residentes permanentes, a la espera del embate del verano. Aunque había oído hablar de esta historia, la poderosa interpretación de Sir Anthony me hizo sentir una tristeza recordada acompañada de lágrimas constantes.

En aquel teatro sólo había dos judíos y el resto eran franceses laicos que parecían conmovidos por la historia, pero las emociones que sentí yo seguro fueron diferentes. Para mí no fue sólo una historia, estos niños judíos se salvaron, 669 de ellos, es posible que haya entrado en contacto con algunas de sus familias, para mí, ellos también eran mi familia. Pude sentir la aprensión de los niños dejando a sus padres sin saber que nunca los volverán a ver (la mayoría de sus padres murieron en campos de concentración alemanes), me recordó a los abuelos de mis amigos con números tatuados en sus manos en la lejana Australia. , cuando en las tardes soleadas los niños jugábamos y los mayores tatuados charlaban en yiddish.

René Char fue muy celebrado en Francia, un intelectual, judío y poeta que sufrió el trauma de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y recuerdo haber leído en alguna parte una línea de René Char, Yo, dijo el hombre, soy judío. También recuerdo una frase similar de un personaje de una novela de Roberto Arlt, influencia literaria argentina del siglo XX.

Estaba pensando en todo esto, en el silencio del coche mientras el sol se ponía en la Costa Salvaje. ¿Cuál es mi nacionalidad? Soy australiano, nací incongruentemente en un lugar olvidado del imperio portugués, con un padre que luchó por la liberación de Birmania, un médico para los pobres y un amigo de los pueblos indígenas de todo el mundo, habiendo tenido la oportunidad de trabajar y Vivo en varios países, incluidos Suecia, Australia, Reino Unido, Cuba, Jamaica, EE. UU., etc., etc.

Entonces, como había dicho René Char, me dije: Mi nacionalidad, señor, es que soy judío.


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