Every Day is Magic: Ada Limón
In her 2015 collection, Bright Dead Things, a National Book Award finalist for poetry, Ada Limón writes of moving to Kentucky: “Confession: I did not want to live here.” It’s perhaps not a surprising sentiment coming from a coastally oriented person who was raised in Northern California, attended college in Seattle, and then spent over a decade in New York City.
But Limón and her husband, Lucas, have been in Lexington for seven years now and the effects of settling into this place are noticeable in her new book, The Carrying (Milkweed, Aug.). It’s a phenomenally lively and attentive collection replete with the trappings of living a little closer to nature. While Bright Dead Things is marked by a preponderance of light, such as images of fireflies and neon signs, The Carrying features numerous appearances by various trees, birds, and beetles. Limón also demonstrates a greater willingness to be explicit in naming colors, particularly green. “It’s crazy green, the whole book,” she says. “Lexington is the greenest place I’ve ever lived.” Similarly, where in Bright Dead Things, Limón tells a lot of stories and anecdotes, in The Carrying she is very present in her thoughts and experiences.
As it turns out, these shifts in focus have another, altogether unexpected source. While putting Bright Dead Things together, Limón was diagnosed with chronic vestibular neuronitis, which can cause bouts of vertigo. “If I’m really having vertigo, it’s pretty intense and I really have to focus,”
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Mexico City’s coronavirus death toll may be 3 times higher than official count, report says
“…Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity says it obtained a confidential database providing details on the 4,577 Mexico City deaths in which coronavirus or equivalent designations — such as “COVID-19,” “COV” and “SARS COV2” — were mentioned on death certificates. The certificates are kept in civil registry offices.
In 3,532 of the cases, the report said, the virus was listed on death certificates as the confirmed, suspected, probable or possible cause of death, sometimes in combination with other ailments, such as severe respiratory infections. In another 1,045 cases, COVID-19 was listed as a cause of death, without specifying whether it was suspected, likely or confirmed…’
Mexico registered 149 deaths of health professionals and 11,349 infections
“..While those affected 41% are nurses, 36% are doctors, 20% are other professions, 2% are laboratory workers and 1% are dentists; 19% had obesity, 12.6% hypertension and 7.9% diabetes 7.9%.
Mexicans do not stay at home, mobility increased worryingly in four states despite quarantine
‘Optimistic’ model predicts Mexico will have 6,859 deaths from COVID-19 by August 4
AMLO again questioned the increase in domestic violence during the health emergency…”
Canada, US, Mexico extend border restrictions
“…Essential cross-border workers like healthcare professionals, airline crews and truck drivers are still permitted to cross. Truck drivers are critical as they move food and medical goods in both directions. Much of Canada’s food supply comes from or via the U.S.”
Forced to wait in Mexico, migrant medical professionals become asset in fight against COVID-19
“…Mabel, who has been in Juarez for the past six months, is one of the dozens of nurses, lab technicians, chemists, biologists and even some doctors who arrived in Juarez during last year’s migrant surge. Returned to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program to wait indefinitely for a resolution to their asylum claim, these health professionals have suddenly become a valuable asset in the fight to stop the spread of the coronavirus.A total of 185 Mexican doctors, nurses and nursing assistants in the state of Chihuahua have been sent home after testing positive for the coronavirus. Pregnant nurses and elderly physicians have also been placed on leave and the state …”
UCLA-led study identifies LA neighborhoods most economically vulnerable to COVID-19
“..Latino and Asian majority neighborhoods in Los Angeles County are especially economically vulnerable to disruptions caused by COVID-19, a UCLA study found.The study, which was published April 1 by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative and the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, sought to locate neighborhoods in LA County that are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus because of their large number of at-risk workers.The researchers identified two sectors of the service workforce – hospitality and retail – that are especially at risk for coronavirus-induced layoffs…”
As Latin America Shuts Down to Fight Virus, Brazil and Mexico Are Holdouts
“The leaders of the region’s two largest nations — Mexico and Brazil — have largely dismissed the dangers and have resisted calls for a lockdown…”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/world/americas/coronavirus-brasil-mexico.html
U.S. Latinos among hardest hit by pay cuts, job losses due to coronavirus
“Hispanics are more likely than Americans overall to say they or someone in their household has experienced a pay cut or lost their job because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 19-24…”
International doctors can help the US fight COVID-19. But can they get here?
“…Many are on visas, often working in poor or rural areas that may soon be the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.“We’re at risk for getting the infection, like the doctors in Italy and China,” said Vara Ponnada, an Indian doctor on an H1-B visa in Waterloo, Iowa, where several people have tested positive for COVID-19…”
Coronavirus research: Menlo Park lab using robots, AI to find COVID-19 medication, Peter Madrid, PhD, senior director of applied biosciences
“MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) — As the number of cases of COVID-19 increases, so does the pressure to develop an anti-viral to treat its symptoms. A lab on the Peninsula appears to have developed the right process at the right time to speed up that process.”We’re hoping to be able to take the full discovery of a candidate drug from roughly two years down to six months,” said Peter Madrid, senior director of applied biosciences at SRI Biosciences in Menlo Park…”
Dr. John Torres MD
“Dr. John Torres is an emergency medicine physician in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He received his medical degree from University of New Mexico School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years…”
Link to article
Volunteers step in to keep asylum seekers healthy on border
“TIJUANA, Mexico — When the Honduran boy complained of a toothache, Dr. Psyche Calderon asked the obvious question: “When did the pain start?”
The answer broke her heart.”When La Mara broke all my teeth and killed all my family,” the 14-year-old said.
He said little else about the attack by the infamous Central American gang, La Mara Salvatrucha. Just: “I was the only one that survived.”
Calderon is not a therapist, nor a lawyer or a dentist. She is a general practitioner volunteering her time to provide care for Central Americans stuck in Mexico while they try to obtain asylum in the United States. There was little she could do for this teenager…”
Link to article
Chicago group shows Hispanic medical students a path to medicine
“Growing up in Miami, Florida, Pilar Ortega, MD, had a Latino doctor and grew up in a community that included her family that emigrated from Spain and neighbors from Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Central America.
Advocacy in Action
It wasn’t until she was in college—and then even more so in medical school and residency—that she learned how unusual her situation had been and how acute the shortage of Hispanic physicians and health professionals is in the rest of the country.
While Hispanics make up the largest minority group in the U.S. with between 17% and 20% of the total population, they make up only about 5% of the physician workforce…”
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American farms recruit Mexican veterinarians for jobs as animal scientists — but the real work is milking cows and cleaning pens for low pay
“Leslie Ortiz had just graduated when a recruiter arrived at her Mexico City university looking for veterinarians to work on an Idaho dairy farm.
It appeared to be an opportunity to gain experience, learn English, pay down credit card debt from her time as a student and even start to save.
The offer came with a visa — one issued through a special program for professionals from Mexico and Canada who are needed for high-skilled jobs in the U.S.
When Ortiz, then 26, learned she got the job — an animal scientist at Funk Dairy — she was thrilled. To pay for her flight to Idaho, she borrowed $150 from family and pawned her jewelry, including a gold chainlet with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe she received on her 15th birthday…”
Link to article
Dr. Fernando Mendoza MD Los Alamitos, CA
“…Dr. Fernando Mendoza is a cardiologist in Los Alamitos, California and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Los Alamitos Medical Center and MemorialCare Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. He received his medical degree from David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and has been in practice between 11-20 years. Dr. Mendoza accepts several types of health insurance, listed below. He also speaks multiple languages, including Spanish…”
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UNR Med students mentor next generation of bilingual health care providers
“…Growing up Mexican-American, Diana Padilla did not know any physicians who shared her cultural background.
Now entering her fourth year at the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine, Padilla and fellow UNR Med students and members of the Latino Medical Student Association are helping to bridge that gap by mentoring bilingual northern Nevada high school students exploring careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) health care.
“I’m a Mexican-American, first-generation college graduate and will be the first doctor in my family,” Padilla said. “Before medical school, I did not know a single Latino physician. I loved helping with this program because I wanted these kids to see that people who look like them do make it in this field and they can…”
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Alumna’s photo series reifies dangers of drugs using everyday household items
“Ingredients commonly used in crystal methamphetamine can be found in your everyday household products.
Readily available commodities like isopropyl alcohol, brake fluid and battery cleaner are sometimes used in the synthesis of the drug, said Aydinaneth Ortiz. The UCLA alumna photographed a number of these products for a series titled “Ingredients.” Three photos from the set of eight were on display at the University Art Museum at California State University, Long Beach from January 28 until April 14 as part of the exhibit titled “Call and Response, When We Say … You Say.” With “Ingredients,” Ortiz said she wants to show viewers the dangers of crystal meth, since it is an issue that has impacted her own life and continues to affect many people…”
Link to article
Pre-med students overwhelmingly want greater diversity, study shows
“…Pre-medical students support greater diversity in the medical profession, according to a recent national survey.
The survey, which was published April 15 by Kaplan Test Prep, found that 80% of pre-medical students said the medical profession needs to better reflect the demographics of the general patient population.
Representation of minority groups in medical schools has not mirrored that of the patient population, said Petros Minasi, director of pre-health programs at Kaplan.
About 4% of active physicians in the United States are black and another 4% are Hispanic, while black and Hispanic patients each make up 13% of the patient population, Minasi said…”
“href=”https://dailybruin.com/2019/04/23/pre-med-students-overwhelmingly-want-greater-diversity-study-shows/?utm_source=What%27s+Bruin&utm_campaign=54c2d3cc48-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_04_23_08_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ee621e262a-54c2d3cc48-149572855” target=”_blank”>Link to article
Doctor on Video Screen Told a Man He Was Near Death, Leaving Relatives Aghast
“Julia Jacobs
A doctor on a video conference explained to Ernest Quintana that he did not have long to live. Mr. Quintana’s family members criticized the use of telemedicine in that circumstance.
Catherine Quintana’s father had been in and out of a hospital for weeks, and the family understood that his time was running out
Her 78-year-old father, Ernest Quintana, had lung disease and was struggling to breathe on his own. On March 3, he was admitted to a Kaiser Permanente hospital in Fremont, Calif., for the third time in 15 days, Ms. Quintana said. He had his wife of nearly six decades and other members of his family at his side…”
Link to article
Mexican scientist cures the Human Papilloma Virus
“…Gallegos has treated hundreds of patients with photodynamic therapy over the last twenty years, studying its effects. Now, she has successfully used this therapy to eradicate HPV in 100% of patients who present without malignant legions, and 64.3% of women with pre-cancerous lesions.
Her discovery will have a huge impact, as most sexually active people will have at least one HPV infection in their lives. Current statistics report that 79 million Americans have HPV, with 14 million new infections each year.
HPV is especially dangerous for women, as it can lead to cervical cancer, which, if left untreated, can cause infertility and death…”
A journalist’s journey, guided by curiosity for her father’s illness
“…Now the story of a daughter who grew up on the border between the United States and Mexico. She searches for herself, while also coming to grips with her father’s mental illness.
Amna Nawaz has the latest selection from the “NewsHour” Bookshelf…”
Link to transcript
