Dr. Han plays the violin

Dr. George Han

I sat down in the waiting room again this morning (see previous entry). It was the last day for one of the North American physicians named George Han, who had worked in Botswana for almost a year. To commemorate the occasion, and he had volunteered to come in and play his violin for the Baylor Clinic’s patients and staff.

It was only 7:20 but the clinic was bustling. Patient registration and triage was beginning, and nurses and physicians were darting from room to room escorting patients and retrieving charts. The youngest kids were scurrying about laughing and squealing, playing some simple and no doubt universal game that I long ago forgot how to play. Several older children and caregivers around me were looking over the medical records they had brought. I felt a bit bad for them, for we health care providers make the description of even the simplest sickness incomprehensible to the lay reader. (Jargon makes us sound and feel more expert, I suppose.)

One child was not playing or reading. He simply rested his elbow on his lap and his chin on his open palm, and looked at me inquisitively.

George had asked me to take pictures and video of his performance and so I stood up as he started to play. The crowd, hearing the music, went wild. Like me, they seemed to prefer the fast parts. I was near certain that the appreciation for fast violin ensured that the crowd would love bluegrass, and this left me with a feeling a kinship. As I slapped my thigh and tapped my toe to the beat, I did not feel at all too far from home.

Thank you for the music, George…and everything else you did for the children of Botswana. [George is joining the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service in the upcoming weeks.]