Mani
Heading up a trip means not only caring for 8-18 clients but also keeping an eye on 15-80 Nepali staff. At lunch I looked over to see Mani, one of our wonderful sherpa client escorts, scratching his stomach. Then I saw him do it again…and something looked wrong to me. I called over in Nepali, “Why are you scratching there? Do you have a wound?” Mani has a fantastic smile–a smile every group notices and loves–but this time his grin was sheepish as he nodded “yes.”
I walked over and asked to see it, so he raised his shirt for 1.5 seconds to reveal a 5″ patch of scaly psoriatic skin–and scratched again. “Stop scratching. Let me see that.” Sure enough, that does not look good. Our trip depends on the health of our Nepali staff. In addition to always bringing some tasty snacks to keep them happy, I keep an eye on everyone’s health–especially because I know that Nepali men are unlikely to even mention any kind of health issue. They don’t complain, and they also don’t want to take any chance of being sent down and losing work.
Me: How long have you had that?
Mani: Two to three months
Me: It itches?
Mani: YES!
Me: Did you go to the doctor?
Mani: Yes.
Me: What did he say?
Mani: It’s an ear.
Me: An ear?
Mani: An ear.
Me, confused: An ear??
Mani: An ear.
Someone else: A snake.
Me: Oh…nag (a snake), not nak (an ear). Okay.
Me again: A snake?? (still confused)
Mani: Yes.
Someone else: Who did you show it to?
Mani: The shaman.
Me: Ohhhh. Now I understand. The shaman said it was a snake spirit?
Mani, growing more sheepish: Yes.
Me: Has it gone away?
Mani: No.
Me: You need to go to the local hospital and ask them.
Others: Yes, you need to go to the hospital.
Mani: I did.
Others: What did they say?
Mani: They gave me some medicine cream.
Me: Did you use it?
Mani: Yes. Then I lost it.
So it goes in Nepal. Dawa and I dictate his future course of action because he’s only 20, and we’re responsible for him:
1. No scratching–it will spread.
2. This is hydrocortisone cream–use it 3 times a day.
3. Day after tomorrow when we reach Lukla, you go to the local hospital for a professional opinion.
4. When you have a problem, don’t hide it. We carry all this medicine for ANY problems, for our Nepali staff too. You’ve been carrying a full first aid kit for 10 days–let’s use it. You are a sherpa (higher up on the team hierarchy). You have to set an example. If you don’t tell us when there is a problem, a porter certainly won’t tell us. Got it?
Mani understands–and so do the rest of the team who have heard it all and seen us give him the medicine.
Me: Anybody else have a problem they haven’t told me about?
Someone: Yes, sister.
Me: Really? What is it?
Someone: This guy just spilled hot oil on his foot at lunch and has a burn with blisters….
Me: What???
And so it goes….I’m not a doctor, but I play one on the trail. Or maybe I play mother, because for the next three days I’m regularly asking, “Did you use the medicine?”, “Is it still itching?”, “Have those blisters opened up? Try not to break them…”