A day that kept me on my toes.

Lekha was primed for an early surgery this morning. Accordingly, I'd woken her up at 5 AM as she wanted to go through her morning ablutions including the customary bath - and to put it in her words, "So that the next few days of no bath sessions can be sorted out to an extent!" A morning cup of tea at 6 was permitted by her doctor and he did tell me that he was gonna perform the surgery under local anesthesia.

By 9, she was taken to the surgical operation theater which was in the adjacent block but what I remember about the migration was that the nursing staff-at-hand and me had to guide Lekha, on a wheelchair, through the upward and the downward gradients of the long corridors. A couple of lifts, enroute, proved handy but the entire 'operation' did take a while.

The businesslike behaviour of the doctors and the nursing staff, at times, makes one wonder as to whether they're devoid of any emotions. But what needs to be understood is that each is playing his/her part in the larger scheme of trying to save lives or setting right the wrongs of a human being through medical means - and in that process, there's no space for sentiments! But comic interludes prevail as a result.

To let you on one such incident, a nurse at the operation theater had called out for me - my personality has morphed into being Lekha's bystander over the last week and the designation shall continue till she walks out of the hospital, as I reckon and have no problems on that score - to thrust a large list of medicines/wound dressers to be fetched from one of the in-house dispensaries and I'd immediately darted away to do the needful lest the surgery got delayed because of my tardiness. During my absence, another set of nursing staff had called out for me for helping to negotiate a post operative Lekha-by-now-on-a-stretcher back to her room and were annoyed that I was missing! Much later, after I'd deposited the stuff from the dispensary at the operation theater and was explaining the reasons for my absence did one exclaim, "Oh, that stupid sister is so impatient. Those medicines and accessories were replacements for the expended ones. She has a penchant for making people run around and seems to derive a vicarious pleasure in doing so!"

The time was a few minutes short of 10 and Lekha was back in her room, post surgery, taking calls on her cellphone!


Tailpiece.

1. She isn't supposed to use her leg-in-the-cast for the next few days and therefore, going to the attached restroom, is an evolution by itself and I must confess that I can be very, very clumsy on such duties! As of now, she's been taken for the Oxygen therapy, while I punch in these thoughts of mine.

2. There never seems to be a dull moment. Ever!

PS.

By the end of the day my toes were aching. I was on them for the whole day, you see!
 

Distasteful and absolutely disgusting!

Saw some of our so called 'worthies' come out with their true colours on prime time television. What drives them to such unacceptable behaviour? If they cannot display civilised and acceptable behaviour, it's high time that they confined themselves to the four walls of their homes and we're neither interested in seeing nor hearing them.

Let me take you through the paces of the unacceptable behaviour:-

 (a) Salman Khurshid on Narendra Modi.

  He calls him 'impotent'. Till now we've been repeatedly told by the political establishment - mainly
  the Congress party and its allies - ably supported by the media, that the 2002 riots of Gujarat was
  aided and abetted by the chief minister and his team. And now, Khurshid is playing an altogether   
  different tune and wants us to believe this story of his. While questioning the all round development
  of the state, he says that Modi is impotent because he couldn't bring the riots under control.

  If that be the case, what prevents us from labelling Khurshid so in his avatar as the foreign minister,
  because he has failed to take any initiative to prevent the numerous Chinese incursions on our
  borders with that country?

  (b) Retired Vice Admiral PJ Jacob on Retired Commodore CU Bhaskar.

   He says that he's incompetent to talk on naval affairs. And he cites the lack of sea time of the
   Commodore! It was a sad and uncalled for comment that smacked of arrogance and definitely, not
   befitting an Admiral of his age and seniority.

   The debate on the 'Times Now', on which the unsavoury comment was made, would have gone on
   a tangent but for the matured and sporting manner that the Commodore had exhibited in handling
   the moment - he just smiled and let the situation pass! What if he'd pointed his finger at the lapses
   on the part of the Vice Admiral while he was in service?


Tailpiece.

People, who've held senior and responsible positions, are expected to maintain a decorum. If they can't, they've no business to speak on our behalf. Period! 

    

Another mishap in the Indian Navy.

INS Sindhuratna, an EKM submarine acquired from Russia in 1988, was about 40 nautical miles from Bombay when disaster had struck. A fire had developed in the battery charging compartment and as per the standard operating procedure, the compartment was isolated so that the fire could be put out with the fire fighting system available in the boat.

Two personnel seem to have got trapped within the battery pit and have minimal chances of survival. It's further reported that five more personnel have been seriously injured who have since been evacuated to the hospital ashore for management.

A situation that appears almost similar to that of INS Sindhurakshak, to a layman - another submarine of the same class - that had exploded and sunk alongside, in Bombay, in Aug '13.

Admiral DK Joshi, the naval chief, has resigned owning moral responsibility for the string of accidents that have rocked the IN over the last six months. While appreciating that his action conforms to the highest of traditions, a lot many questions need to be answered at this juncture as to why the IN has reached such a sorry state. Someone needs to answer and here are the slew of questions that come to my mind off the cuff:-

 (a) Why has the navy not put across its requirements forcefully and cut through bureaucratic apathy towards
       its needs?
 (b) If the submarine acquisition programme - painstakingly scripted by the IN and thereby, a factor of great
       importance to national security - has been stalled, it called for drastic action like:-
     
       (i) Who has been the cause? Is it an individual, a group of individuals or a caucus? Shouldn't the cause
            have been identified, exposed and effectively, neutralised for good by now?
       (ii) Shouldn't mid-course action have been applied as quickly as possible to bring the submarine
            acquisition programme back on track? The bottlenecks of the 'Scorpene project' should have been
            removed and the production given an impetus, for starters!
       (iii) And if there's a bureaucratic stonewalling that's slowing the acquisition process in general, why
             hasn't a remedy got worked out at the highest levels?
   (c) Or have the fifth columnists within the system taken over?

Coming back to the field. My salutes and prayers for all the brave men on board the Sindhuratna. Take care!


Tailpiece.

I feel angry when the media clubs these mishaps in the same breath - the submarine accident due to material failure, a grounding that's purely due to an error of judgement or even a collision that's a combination of an error in judgement and the vagaries of the weather. They don't seem to understand what the navy is all about!  

Why this shoddy approach?

The case against the Italian marines seem to be getting weak. Consider the following factors:-

 (a) The Indian government has informed the Supreme Court that it would not invoke the anti-piracy law, SUA - Suppression of Unlawful acts against safety of maritime navigation and fixed platforms on continental shelf Act, 2002.

 (b) The provisions of the act would have attracted mandatory death penalty against the two Italian marines who'd killed two Indian fishermen in Feb '12. They'd have to stand trial under criminal laws for alleged murder.

 (c) And Italy hasn't wasted a moment. Having extricated its naval personnel, it's requested the court to close the case against the marines claiming that in the absence of SUA charges, the specialised anti-terror probe outfit, the National Investigating Agency(NIA) was legally debarred from investigating the case.

 (d) After recording the Indian government's statement that SUA charges would not be mentioned in
the charge-sheet, the bench referred the NIA's jurisdiction issue to a three judge bench. After Italy files the application, the Indian government will reply to it in a week and the matter will be heard after three weeks.

My take.

There seems to be a lack of sincerity on our part to go through the trial of the Italian marines and take it to its logical conclusion. Why have we let delays plague such an important case? Are we hesitating to take the right action for fear of Italy's reactions? Sad!


Tailpiece.

It would be in our national interest to take the right action. Consequently, it's important that the case is taken to its logical conclusion. Let no one reign free in our waters because our fishermen are no cannon fodder!

The people that I've met thus far.

There are a host of people whom one comes across in the course of a day and many of them charm their way into one's heart with their pleasing manners, coupled with quaint mannerisms. There's a flip side to it as there are also quite a few who're brusque and seem to be saying, "Listen, why don't you stay away. I'm not keen to be friendly with you". Perhaps, the pressures of work keep them grumpy or it's even possible that they've problems in their lives that seem to be insurmountable, for the moment!

Let me concentrate on the former category:-

 (a) Francis and Francis.

 Francis is all of 11/2 yrs and is the latest patient admitted with burns, in the ward. An adorable
 child, who'd spilled a bowl of steaming tea all over his body during one of his pranks. He's being
 attended to by his grandparents and derives his name from his grandfather, Francis as his parents are
 away, in Saudi Arabia, connected with work.What I've noticed is that the child has unusual powers
 to withstand pain because I've rarely heard him cry except for the first day when he was brought in!

 (b) Selvam.

 Panneerselvam, from Thanjavur of Tamilnadu, is the catering assistant who's always happy. Ever
 humming tunes from popular Tamil films - he's an ardent fan of the actor, Vijay - it's a treat to watch
 him go about his job of collecting orders, distributing the food and he even, takes on additional
 responsibility of fetching things like fruits, magazines etc! He has a brother and sister - both married
 - and stay close to his parents, back in his hometown. All of 26 yrs, he says that he'd get married
 only after three years! And his blush is all too visible!!

 He sports a vermillion 'tilak' always and his ears are adorned with studs, which as he puts it, is
 as per present trends!

 (c) Sister Fancy.

 A fanciful name at that but she's the epitome of efficiency and goes about her work with a smile,
 always. She hails from the outskirts of the town and Lekha confirms that she administers injections
 without even letting her know as to when the needle had been inserted. A lovable chatterbox, who
 is on a conversational spree as she goes about her work and one can't help but like her pleasant
 persona!


Tailpiece.

I must also mention the quiet efficiency of my aunt's attendant, Syamala. Her 'usp' is that she knows my aunt's requirements with being told or reminded. Of course, she's been with my aunt for the last five years and she's quite comfortable with Syamala by her side! 

   

My aunt's not so positive outlook.

As I'd recounted earlier, my aunt who's diabetic, has been in this hospital for the last 45 days. The two small toes of her left leg have been removed. Under normal circumstances, things should have been okay and she would have walked out of the hospital by now. But, in her case, the pain lingers on much to her discomfort and at times, it's unbearable for her. And there are reasons for it.

My cousin had advised the doctor that the surgical removal of the affected parts should be kept to the barest minimum as her mom would find it difficult to take it in her stride. And the good doctor - as he'd confessed to me later - let the patient's emotions take charge of his professional thinking for the first time. I was livid with my cousin because I'm of the opinion that the professionals must be given a free hand at their decision making, failing which their thinking can get muddled.

This afternoon, while I was sitting at my aunt's bedside - she's going through another spasm of pain - I'd told her that we all ought to leave the hospital within the next three weeks and I was sure that she'd heal well before that. But her looks betrayed her innermost thoughts. She didn't seem to be convinced about the deadline despite the fact that she's gone on record saying that she'd believe anything that I'd tell her. I'd like to believe that it was a fleeting thought that had come about because of the pain and would pass on to more positive oriented thinking.

The doctor, meanwhile, has decided to take a wholesome review of my aunt's case tomorrow and think of a mid-course correction, if needed. I'm sure that things are gonna go well....they ought to!


Tailpiece.

Her second daughter - with whom she's quite attached - will be coming to look her up tomorrow, for the first time since her hospitalisation. Hope that the visit invigorates her! 

Attendant to Lekha @ hospital.

As per the existing rules of the hospital, a patient must have an attendant at all times. Since my aunt was also admitted in the same ward and she's her attendant, I was under the impression that I could take liberties to shuttle up and down from home to get small but essential work done out there.

But that was not to be as Lekha's doctor had read out the 'riot act' to me.

And so, finally by afternoon, I was at my 'temporary-home-for-the-next-three-weeks' with my overnighter, stuffed with personal effects. It's an all too alien world where a strict regimen is followed with zero tolerance to any nonsense - and rightly so, because people come here essentially to heal themselves and as a pre-requisite they need to lead a disciplined life.

What does an attendant do? Hardly anything, other than whiling away time. I've tried to live my 'normal' life by going for my walk - exploring and understanding the various activities of the hospital, reading a few light magazines and a book that I've brought along with me, watching the television and catch up on my sleep. I intend spending time with the in-house patients during my stay out here and learn more about life in the bargain.

My first impression.

It's like being in a secluded fort in which life has its own pace, while one can feel normal life going on at its frenetic pace just beyond the walls! One's reduced to being a prisoner of sorts!!


Tailpiece.

The strong smell of carbolic soap and phenyl is all pervading, accentuating the fact that one's in an intensely governed medical environment - shorn of all niceties, the hospital.