The Street Child

Surprisingly, I was able to leave work early today. The workload was not too heavy and I finished early enough to go home right before lunch time. I got off at the usual subway station, and started walking towards my house. I realized that there was no food cooked at my house, since I always eat lunch at the hospital's cafeteria, and that cooking something would take me too long and I was not in the mood for it. So, I spotted a McDonald's close by and I decided to go in and have a Big Mac for lunch and then just get home and SLEEP.

As I approached the McDonald's, a street child approached me, trying to sell me some candy. He was enthusiastic about the candy he was selling, and he tried to convince me that it was the best quality candy on the market. I did not feel like eating candy, but I saw desperation hidden behind his smile.

-"Have you eaten anything today?" -I asked.
-"No." -He replied.

So I invited him to lunch at McDonald's. At least I wouldn't eat by myself, which I hate. He ordered a Happy Meal and I got my much desired Big Mac. I was surprised he didn't order more, but then I remembered I didn't have more money on me, so I didn't insist much on him ordering anything else.

We got our food and we sat down to eat. I immediately started to make a visual assessment of his overall health and nutritional status. It's called "Habitus Externus" in medicine. Judging by his external appearance, he belonged to a low-income family, was slightly underweight for his height and age, but fortunately, he did not look malnourished. I asked him about himself. He told me is 8 years old, he goes to school during the day and sells candy in the evenings. His older brother gets him the boxes of candy so he can sell them and contribute some money to the household. He explained that his older brother works as a clown and also cleans windshields at many traffic lights, earning his living with the tips he gets form the drivers. He has a mother who works as a seamstress, and his father comes and goes, sometimes they don't see him for months, but whenever he's at home, he beats his mother and renders her unable to work for a few days, until her wounds are healed and she can go back to work. He also explains he has a baby brother who he adores.

-"Does he hit you?" -I asked.
-"No. Whenever he's home my older brother and I take the baby with us and we sleep on the streets, close to the house, until he leaves again. Then, we go back to the house and take care of our mother, who is usually badly beaten. We have told her to press charges, but she wont do it." -he said while eating his burger.

He explained that he uses the money he makes selling candy to buy his school supplies, and whenever him or his mother don't have enough money to do so, his older brother pitches in so he can have anything he needs to go to school. He is on his school's Honor Roll and he dreams of becoming a doctor one day. He also thanked me for buying him lunch. Apparently, by doing a "Habitus Externus" on me, and judging by my external appearance, he could infer that I didn't have much money and he was thankful that I still went ahead and got him lunch.

-"How do you know I don't have much money?" -I asked.
-"It's your shoes." -he replied.
-"What about them?" -I asked again, shocked.
-"If you had money you would have nicer shoes." -he pointed out.

Dammit, he was right. I am by far, the poorest doctor you know right now. My internship is unpaid and I survive on whatever money my parents can send me from Venezuela, a communist country with a strict currency exchange and with the highest inflation in the world. I also cover extra shifts at the hospital for my coworkers so they can pay me, and sometimes I teach Italian or theater to make extra money. It's almost over though, my internship ends in 6 months, and after that, I will be able to work as a salaried person. It's not like I'm starving, I have enough money to pay for food and bills, and sometimes I can eat at McDonald's or go out with friends, I just don't have income that I can save at this point. In contrast, I have absolutely no debt and my medical school is paid in full, no student loans necessary. Suze Orman would be proud of me. 

We finished eating and we left McDonald's. He gave me a lollipop as a way to thank me for lunch. We shook hands and we both went our separate ways. As I walked away, I felt inspired by this child and his optimism towards life. I also realized that I am, indeed, in dire need of new shoes.