美国国家公共电台 NPR For One Father And Son In Puerto Rico, A Storm Was Just The Latest Trial

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It's been six months since Hurricane Maria devastated¹ Puerto Rico. There are still towns without power and water, and Puerto Rico faces a severe doctor shortage. Daily life is hard for many but more so for families caring for people with a serious illness. Reporter Sarah Varney visited with one family in the town of Cayey and brings us this story.

SARAH VARNEY, BYLINE²: To reach the home we're going to in Puerto Rico's central mountains, social worker Eileen Calderon steers³ around piles of dirt and treacherous⁴ potholes⁵ and power company trucks blocking the road. Finally we pull up to a sagging⁶ cement home, the roof done in by Hurricane Maria. Laundry hangs under a tarp, and a cat is tied to a leash⁷ outside the door.

EILEEN CALDERON: (Speaking Spanish).

OSVALDO MARTINEZ SR.: (Speaking Spanish).

CALDERON: (Speaking Spanish).

VARNEY: Calderon has brought a nurse, Anamelia Velazquez, and a primary care doctor, Carla Rossotti, to check in on Osvaldo Martinez and his son, Osvaldo Daniel Martinez. Inside a darkened bedroom, Martinez Sr., the 67-year-old former star pitcher⁸ in the local baseball league, spoons rice and sausage into his son's mouth.

Martinez Jr. lays in a hospital bed. His arms and fingers spasm⁹, and his eyes loll around in his head. He's 37 years old, born in Chicago, a former security guard. Some three years ago after they moved back to Puerto Rico from Illinois, Martinez Jr. started showing early signs of multiple sclerosis, or MS. Over the last year, his world became this room, then this bed.

MARTINEZ SR.: (Speaking Spanish).

VARNEY: Martinez Sr. points to the ceilings that are leaking from the morning's rain and covered in mold. Hurricane Maria badly damaged their home. He says the power came back on about a month ago. And they have running water, so he can keep his son clean. A few times a day he fills a pail, bathes his son, rolls him on his side and changes his diaper.

OSVALDO MARTINEZ JR.: (Groaning).

VARNEY: But Dr. Rossotti, whose company VarMed has been paid by the Puerto Rican government to help take care of him, says Martinez Jr. can't get an appointment to see a neurologist to confirm his multiple sclerosis and start treatment. There's a chronic¹⁰ shortage of neurologists on the island, and the ones who remain have few slots for Medicaid patients, says Rossotti.

CARLA ROSSOTTI: We have a patient that was, you know, stable within his conditions a year ago, and now he's bedridden. And he has dysphagia. Like, he can't swallow. And he hasn't been able to even get that neurologist evaluation¹¹. So therefore...

VARNEY: And you all have been trying to get him a neurologist appointment for a year.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes.

ROSSOTTI: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: But no taking anymore.

VARNEY: People here in Puerto Rico talk about life before Maria and life after. But for many of the island's most vulnerable residents, the storm exacerbated¹² problems that existed long before. The island's financial crisis sent physicians fleeing to the states, but Hurricane Maria fueled the exodus¹³. There's no exact accounting¹⁴ yet of just how many physicians have left the island.

So for now, Martinez Jr. lays in bed, each day and night no different than the next, as the disease lays siege to his central nervous system, disrupting the vital connection between brain and body. Without a confirmed diagnosis¹⁵, he can't get certain benefits. And he isn't taking medication for his condition or his pain.

MARTINEZ SR.: (Speaking Spanish).

VARNEY: The outward perseverance¹⁶ of both men belies¹⁷ the true terror of their confinement¹⁸. As Martinez Sr. describes his son's decline, he tears up. And his son, who can understand everything, rolls on his side.

MARTINEZ SR.: (Speaking Spanish).

VARNEY: "I have to do all that needs to be done for him," he says. But Martinez Sr. is 67 and not in good health himself. He has severe arthritis¹⁹ and a painful bulge²⁰ in his abdomen²¹. During the months they went without power, he says, the hospital bed didn't go up and down. He shows me a photo of his arm, black and blue and swollen²² from pressing against the metal bars of the bed to tend to his son. But it's his son's withering²³ away that tears at him most.

MARTINEZ SR.: (Speaking Spanish).

VARNEY: "If something would happen to me," he says, clasping his hands together in prayer, "I don't know." In Cayey, Puerto Rico, I'm Sarah Varney.

CORNISH: Sarah Varney is with our partner Kaiser Health News.

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 steers   

n.阉公牛，肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• This car steers easily. 这部车子易于驾驶。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fodder fleshed the steers up. 优质饲料使菜牛长肉。 来自辞典例句

4 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

5 potholes   

n.壶穴( pothole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Potholes are also home to tiny desert animals. 洞穴也是弱小动物的家。 来自互联网
• If you're going to enjoy the good times, you've certainly got to deal with some potholes. 如果要享受甜美的胜利果实，当然要应付这些战绩不佳的指责压力。 来自互联网

6 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

7 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

8 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

9 spasm   

n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作

参考例句：

• When the spasm passed,it left him weak and sweating.一阵痉挛之后，他虚弱无力，一直冒汗。
• He kicked the chair in a spasm of impatience.他突然变得不耐烦，一脚踢向椅子。

10 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

11 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

12 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

14 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

15 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

16 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

17 belies   

v.掩饰( belie的第三人称单数 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• His appearance belies him. 他的外貌给人以假象。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The modesty of their home belies their great wealth. 他们简朴的家使人们看不出他们拥有巨额财富。 来自辞典例句

18 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

19 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

20 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

21 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

22 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

23 withering   

使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的

参考例句：

• She gave him a withering look. 她极其蔑视地看了他一眼。
• The grass is gradually dried-up and withering and pallen leaves. 草渐渐干枯、枯萎并落叶。