Un dibujo chistoso….

Dialysis

Maybe about once a year I get contacted by a social worker, another physician, or a medical student asking me about how they can obtain "services" for a patient -- and illegal immigrant, of course -- who has a medical problem requiring some sort of long-term therapy.

The two most common situations have been the need for hemodialysis and for solid organ transplantation. These patients are really between a rock and a hard place (o si prefieres castellano: con la espalda contra la pared).

If this theme interests you, please see this excellent article in The New York Times from earlier this year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/health/policy/01grady.html?emc=eta1

Scooby Doo

I was visiting some Mexican friends that have been living here in the States for years; in fact, all their three children were born here. They only speak Spanish in the home, so that the children will be bilingual, but when the kids talk among themselves, they use a mix of English and Spanish.

So while I was there, I overheard them talking about their favorite cartoon – Scooby Doo.

One of them kept referring to "El Desgreñado," and I couldn't figure out what she was talking about.

Then it hit me – Shaggy.

Desgreñado is a word that means muy despeinado, or con el cabello muy desarreglado. Shaggy, in other words.