There is no reason people should go without the type of health care needed to sustain life. I felt that health care and health care education was an issue that was at the front of third world issues and something I wanted to focus on in the class. If people in the third world could receive the type of care we provide at Keystone their life chances would increase greatly. I feel that on top of providing health care for the people already infected with diseases, education to prevent the spread of other communicable diseases is needed. People need to understand how to care for themselves in order to prevent future infections, and how to prevent spreading diseases once they are infected. I feel it is important to provide the third world with proper health care and education because communicable diseases already affect so many people, and they need to know how to treat them in order to maintain a higher standard of living. I picked my site because it provided care for everyone equally, and this is the type of treatment I think the world as a whole deserves. I wanted to be able to see the types of health issues that affect people, and how to care for them as best possible. If this type of care were made universal the world would become a better place for everyone. .
Esmeralda Santiago talks about the trouble finding decent doctors to care for her brother Raymond's foot. Raymond's foot was mangled by a bike chain as a child in Puerto Rico, and gave him constant trouble for some time afterward. .
Raymond's foot was still raw and blistered from his accident almost a year earlier. Sometimes, with no warning, he"d develop a high fever, and pus formed in angry bubbles along the scars left by many operations. Mami would rush him to the clinic, where the wound was once again scraped and dressed in bandages. After many such visits the doctors finally told her that it might be best if Raymond's foot were amputated.