Day 11 - Weekend in Islamabad and Rawalaphindhi
Today we travelled from Faislabad by motorway to the capital city Islmabad and its twin Pindhi. Islamabad is so strange. Its a new city, built on the edge of the himalayas. Its really beautiful, lots of green green parks, and wide boulevards. It looks like some European or American city. Even the traffic is less. But look again. Everywhere, tucked into every bit of green, is shanty towns. Strange mix again of a 21st city merged with a deeloping world city.
Its mostly the wealthier people who live in Islamabad, but all the workers and the usual chaotic, crowded, colourful Pakistan lives in Rawalapindhi.
My next stop, after we had got comfortable in our hotel, was off to a conference In the Pearl Continental to meet Professor Foster.
Professor Foster is a well known Hepatitis C researcher and consultant in London. After he moved from woking in the Royal Free in West London to working at the The Royal London, he noticed a change in his patients. No longer were they all from the drug using population. Suddenly he was confronted by many many ptients from Pakistan. Similiarly to me he wanted to find out more, and has done some imprtant research into the field (see D'Souza et al (2005) Prevalence of Hepatitis C–Related Cirrhosis in Elderly Asian Patients Infected in Childhood Clinical Gastoenterology and Hepatology Volume 3, Issue 9, Pages 910-917 ). So it was great to meet him. He's been at the conference for a few days, Honourable Guest, so he spoke with great enthusiasm about what her'd found out, and I spoke about the sad experiences I had meeting patients and clinicians on the front line.
Then one of orgainisers spoke to me about speaking at the conference on the sunday. Why not, I'd never get such an opportunity otherwise, so I jumped at it!
Its mostly the wealthier people who live in Islamabad, but all the workers and the usual chaotic, crowded, colourful Pakistan lives in Rawalapindhi.
My next stop, after we had got comfortable in our hotel, was off to a conference In the Pearl Continental to meet Professor Foster.
Professor Foster is a well known Hepatitis C researcher and consultant in London. After he moved from woking in the Royal Free in West London to working at the The Royal London, he noticed a change in his patients. No longer were they all from the drug using population. Suddenly he was confronted by many many ptients from Pakistan. Similiarly to me he wanted to find out more, and has done some imprtant research into the field (see D'Souza et al (2005) Prevalence of Hepatitis C–Related Cirrhosis in Elderly Asian Patients Infected in Childhood Clinical Gastoenterology and Hepatology Volume 3, Issue 9, Pages 910-917 ). So it was great to meet him. He's been at the conference for a few days, Honourable Guest, so he spoke with great enthusiasm about what her'd found out, and I spoke about the sad experiences I had meeting patients and clinicians on the front line.
Then one of orgainisers spoke to me about speaking at the conference on the sunday. Why not, I'd never get such an opportunity otherwise, so I jumped at it!
posted by Miss Plum at 9:49 AM
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