Walking with my leg held high

So as most of y’all know, I got attacked by a dog about 10 days ago. I had 12 stitches, but now things are fine. My stitches were taken out, and the doctor says that things are healing great. I am thankful that the dog only bit my leg, instead of taking out chucks of flesh from my leg (as he did 6 months ago, when he attacked a little girl and her mother). I have kept, and still have a very positive attitude about the whole thing, but have been taking notes about things that I have taken advantage of in the states.

Every day since being bitten something has opened my eyes. I remember thinking, while on the gurney in the ER, how lucky I am that I can afford to go to the doctor. I mean, within 10 minutes of having my leg chomped on, I was receiving medical treatment. I am one of the privileged in the WORLD who can receive medical treatment without a hassle. Many Bolivians (and Americans for that matter) are not as privileged to receive medical treatment. This may be due to financial matters or, in the case of rural areas, the complete absence of medical facilities.

Here in Cochabamba, and as is the case in many cities, the private clinics seem to be the facilities, where a patient will receive the best treatment. However, as mentioned early, not everyone is privileged enough to receive that “quality” of treatment. Thus, many Bolivians must result in waking up early and waiting in lines hours before the center opens, just to have a chance at receiving treatment. One of my profesoras even told me that in extreme cases, individuals decide to sleep outside the doors all night long, to increase their chances at receiving medical attention.

Another thing that caught my eye is that in the mornings/afternoons, my hermano boliviano takes me to school, so as not to put to much stress on my leg. But, in the evenings I take it upon myself to walk home (seeing as how I am really stubborn and I KNOW I can do anything). The voyage to my house is quite an adventure. Instead of having a nice paved road, I have to hobble my way over cobble stoned roads, avoid sudden potholes, and keep an eye out for random dangers in the streets. I have must be on the look out for what I like to call “drive bombers” who, I swear, seeing me (a guy using a crutch/cane) and I swear try to hit me.

It’s strange. That in the past 14 days I have only seen one other individual using crutches. But even more shocking is that I have seen maybe 2 elderly individuals with handicaps. I haven’t seen one child with any type of handicap. After feeling comfortable enough to ask one of my profesoras, I was told that families with children whom have handicaps, see these children as disgraces. At times the family begins to think that they have upset the Pacha Mama (a spirit that many Bolivians believe in…very similar to Mother Earth), and as a punishment the Pacha Mama has given the family a child with a handicap.

The hardest thing for me right now, is walking around my neighbor hood and the city. Everywhere I go, I notice that people are looking at me. I am not sure if it’s due to my brightly colored SEU shirts that I am wearing, or because of the crutch/cane that I am using. I wonder if these individuals look at me and think “He has crutches. He must have received those at the doctor’s office. He must be rich.”

Altogether, over the past 11 days, I have come truly started to realized how privileged I am. Now, the question that has been on my mind for the past few weeks is, “What can be done to help spread the privileges that I have?” Any and all ideas are more than welcomed.