conversations in the OR

One of my favorite things about my day is the sometimes random conversations that happen in the operating rooms.  When you put a female American surgeon in the middle of  an operating room full of Hausa men, interesting conversations are inevitable. As my Hausa has progressed, the conversations have become less frustrating and more enjoyable because with my Hausenglish and their Frenchausaenglish we can usually figure out what is being said.

The following conversation transpired while I was tediously cleaning spinach, pus, and inflammatory tissue out of the abdomen of  a patient who waited 5 days after his stomach ulcer perforated before coming to the hospital.

Me: "Why do Hausa people wait so long with severe pain before coming into the hospital??? It would be so much easier to fix if they came right away. And fewer people would die."

A (Anesthesia): "Hausa people consider it a weakness to complain about pain. So they don't, even if it is really painful."

Me: "But we have pain for a reason. It tells us when something is wrong. Pain from a perforated ulcer is SEVERE, I don't understand how you could ignore it.  People view pain differently in America. Americans think they should almost never have to feel pain."

A (as if revealing some very interesting news):  "I read the other day that in Europe they give women pain medicine and even anesthesia for childbirth!! Do you know about that?!"

Me: "Yep, epidurals are a wonderful thing."

A: "But, that's crazy, women are supposed to have pain during childbirth. It is part of the curse of childbirth. You shouldn't take the pain away. And who gives the anesthesia? The obstetrician?"

Me: "The anesthesiologist does."

A: "Oh."

The conversation went on about whether Eve caused Adam to sin because he loved her and if women should have pain during childbirth. The conversation quickly became way too complicated for my Hausa.  I wanted to tell him how many of my patients had epidurals during and after their operations when I was a resident...and that more than half of women who give birth in hospitals in America have an epidural.  Even if I knew how to say that in Hausa, I'm not sure he would have believed me!