All appointments must be made day of, but when Medina calls in her son with flu symptoms at 8:07 in the morning, the day is already filled up. A sixteen year old girl tries to kill herself, and she can't get in for counseling for another three weeks, which is long enough for her to try again. Rather than filling cavities, adult teeth are pulled. IHS can't set bones or perform surgery, so if you come in for anything more dire than stitches or pain meds, they send you two and a half hours to Rapid City, provided your paper work checks out. And that's only if they have room in their budget. If you break your arm on the 30th of the month, forget it. Insanity, right? How can this occur in 20th century America? For one, IHS is heavily underfunded (it's controlled by the BIA and the federal government). Not to mention, there's two doctors at IHS for the reservation's 8,000-9,000 residents. They're doctors who are here for a year or two to pay off their loans and then they are are their merry way. Sounds a lot like the teachers too. Be thankful today for what you have, and if you're as outraged as I am about the conditions that are in your backyard, spread the word.