Tuesday, November 10, 2015

A long day.

I'd gone to the nearby hospital to undergo a routine test and had carried mom's urine for analysis to ascertain as to what actually was her medical condition because she continued to complain about heaviness in her abdomen and a total lack of appetite. Her condition has been wobbling since last Friday. It was when I was handing over the specimen that the sister at the lab told me that the sample could not exceed a half hour after collection - another lesson learnt.....lending credence to the saying that 'learning is a continuous process till one's last breath!

Since I'd to pay another visit, a new sample was handed over which indicated that my mom had an infected urinary tract. Her doctor had immediately put her on a week's antibiotic course and it could begin, soon after lunch. He then told me about his 95 year old dad being in the hospital after two successive falls and was being readied for the surgical removal of a blood clot in his brain, consequent to the impact. Meanwhile, mom was beginning to feel a bit better by evening, thanks to the tablets.

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I'd begun the process of renewing my driving licence which is actually due next month but due to a few journeys planned in December, I'd initiated it yesterday itself. Getting past the MVD Inspector was easy as the lady at the nearby internet cafe could pull out the details of my existing one with ease from the Delhi Transport Department's site. Did the ease with which I could have that retrieved irritate the officer because he'd talked of a 45 day wait for obtaining an NOC from my previous licencing authority? He took an inordinately long time to rewrite his earlier directive, even questioning the authenticity of the print out initially!

The attendant medical and the ophthalmologist's certificates were obtained in the course of the day without hassles of waiting for long.

It was at the latter's clinic that I saw an 84 year old, handsome gentleman with a white French beard and in smart clothes but could hardly walk, inquiring with the doctor as to how he could overcome his inability to read the texts that came along with the visuals on television programmes. The doctor had nothing much to offer since his nerve had deteriorated to such an extent that a remedy was bleak, though she put him on multivitamins whose effects were not gonna be discernible, she emphasised.......the old man still seemed to be unconvinced about his sight's irretrievability. As he moved on, I spoke to the doctor about the 'tipping point' that comes to everyone of us which finally flips the will to live and I'd this strange feeling that in this man's case, perhaps, his inability to enjoy his television programmes would eventually fetch him to that point of no return. The doctor was apologetic about having put across her inferences rather bluntly and I'd to assure her that what she did was required to be done because it was better than giving him false hopes and further, bleed him off his savings!

I praised the old gentleman for his zest for living when we met outside the clinic; his grandson was taking him to the car. He gave me a nice smile in return and gripped my hand, firm.

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It's Diwali and as is our tradition, Preetha and her two children were with us for the celebration. The exuberance and the thrill of the children as they burst the crackers and lit the sparklers was infectious. Their father stayed away as he's still not gotten over the BJP candidate's defeat in the recent panchayat elections since he was one of the party's agents during the polls!


Tailpiece.

Was relieved to see mom relaxed and on the road to recovery because it was a tough weekend for her.
      

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