When Charles was brought into my exam room, it was obvious he had cerebral palsy. His mother sat down next to me with Charles in her lap.
Me: Sak pase? (What is going on?)
Mom: Li gen criz. (He has seizures.)
Me: Depi kile? (Since when?)
Mom: Depi li fet. (Since he was born.)
Me: Eske nou fe scanner tet li? (Have we done a CT scan of his head?)
Mom: Wi. Yo te di mwen si tet li “fokdup”. (Yes. They told me that his head is “fokdup”.)
Me: Eskize mwen. Mwen pa kompran. (Excuse me. I don’t understand.)
Mom: Li “fokdup”. (He’s “fokdup”.)
Me: Huh?
Mom, in a much louder voice: “Fokdup!”
At that point I realized what was going on. I put my head down and couldn’t help but laugh.
After Charles had the CT scan, the mom was told her child’s brain was “Fucked up”. I am unsure if she knows what this means, but she apparently believes that this is his diagnosis.
