The Pacific Ocean - looking north
Sunday, 02 March, 2008, 4:20pm
I feel the breeze from the ocean; I hear the waves gently crashing at a distance; and as I open my eyes I can see the light-blue waters of the ocean. The sun seems to be playing with the clouds as he hides and reappears minutes later. As I look at the ocean I can see a ship slowly disappearing into the horizon. I wonder about its destination and simultaneously, I wonder whether or not the captain can see the medical school, as I can see his ship. Is he looking at us through the same prism through which I see him? In other words, does he see what I see? Who knows, perchance the waters on which he is navigating his ship are not as calm as the waters surrounding the medical school. Perhaps his only aim is to keep his ship afloat. It is possible that he might also be nervous because he is navigating on Cuban waters bordering the waters of the United States. There is only a distance of about 90 miles between the USA and Cuba, yet they are completely different worlds; night and day. The breeze continues to blow, the waves continue to crash and the sun just has a few hours left to play before he, too, disappears into the horizon. It is a beautiful afternoon.
I am studying the nervous system at this moment and as I close my Guyton & Hall Medical Physiology book, I think of the two events that stand out during the month of February 2008.
The Event of Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
At 11:50AM I entered my History and Medicine class on the 5th floor of the basic sciences building. Everything seemed normal to me, students were attending classes on a normal schedule and professors were teaching just like any other day. Our History and Medicine professor, Ana Margarita Baez, greeted us at the door and as usual, started class by reading featured articles related to the topic that would be discussed in class. This time, however, she read the front-page story of the Granma, a Cuban newspaper. We listened quietly as she read to us the news that Fidel Castro was no longer the president of Cuba. The shock that my classmates and myself experienced was short-lived, because the truth is, we believed this to be inevitable.
To this day, no changes have occurred since the news was made public. When you walk the streets of Havana you see very little difference. People continue with their daily lives, professors continue to teach and I continue with my regular class schedule. Life here seems to continue at the usual pace, as before.
The Event of Friday, February 26th, 2008
On February 26th, the students at the Latin American School of Medicine warmly and vividly welcomed the visit of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope’s secretary. He visited Cuba to celebrate a mass commemorating the 10th anniversary of Pope’s John Paul II visit to Cuba.
As Cardinal Bertone entered the school’s theater, the students, dressed in school uniform and white lab coats, applauded and remained standing for an extended period of time. Reporters from around the world crowded the halls of the theater. The pulsating energy of such a visit was palpable and special; perhaps because such has not been seen or felt in 10 years, the last time Pope John Paul II visited Cuba.
During his Speech, Cardinal Bertone thanked the Cuban people for their continued efforts in the promotion of health and wellness despite their economic difficulties. Cardinal Bertone’s visit was mainly to ask us to “look for the truth” and to remind us that we ought to use science to “…save lives and not to destroy them.” He told us to “learn to assist the sick during his/her moments of crisis” and to “recognize the patient’s human dignity.” In essence, that we need to do our utmost in an effort to provide medical “attention that comes from the heart so that the other [the patient] experiences its human richness.”
The month of February was indeed a great experience. I entered it with eagerness, and what it culminated into, was moments followed by moments of patience, inspiration and humility.
Sincerely,
Ramón Alejandro Bernal
Ps. I would like to thank my friend Kirk Facey, from New York, for editing my monthly updates. Kirk will be starting his basic science courses at the Latin American School of Medicine in April 2008.
