Karigiri

Yesterday we took a trip about 20km from CMC hospital to Karigiri, where the leprosy hospital is located. It was established in 1955 to care for the leprosy patients in and around Vellore and as a center for leprosy research. Due to advances in the treatment of leprosy, it has evolved into a hospital with multiple departments for that particular area near Vellore. It is now called the Schieffelin Institute of Health Research & Training Centre, named in honor of Mr. William J Schieffelin, the then president of American Leprosy Missions.
We took a tour of the hospital grounds and learned about the lastest research in leprosy that is currently being performed at the institute. We also toured the building where they make prosthetics for the diabetic and leprosy patients.
Afterwards, we stopped by the outpatient center for another tour of the facilities. One of the physical therapists showed us how he performs a diabetic foot exam and explained the different instruments he uses to assess neuropathy in a diabetic foot. It was an interesting trip and I felt honored to visit the place where Dr. Paul Brand performed many miracles for the leprosy patients during his time at the institute.
Tonight we had a going away dinner at Darling Hotel to talk about our experiences over the last three weeks and to wish everyone good luck in their future medical careers. I feel lucky to have met so many wonderful medical students from different parts of the world and learn from their perspectives on medicine. It was a fun night yet a little sad because we were all going our separate ways. I hope to keep in touch with some of the cool people I met during my time at CMC.