This post is dedicated to my best friend(you know who you are), and for those who wished my notes to be resurrected.
5 years have taught me that a best friend is someone who drags you out into the light, and shows you where you stand.
there are a lot of 'references to context' in the note below. the names are held back for obvious reasons:
1. news on the television. a few batchmates are in a room at the attavar hospital. the headlines say:
"Cop killed in cold-blooded murder"
K: "how can it be cold-blooded? we're warm blooded right?"
2. A: "da, you think, if i have a son, and you have a daughter, they can get married to each other?"
B: "you are not coming ANYWHERE my son, my daughter, or any other member of my family!"
3. D: "da, i'm gonna have a colonoscopy done.."
A: "oh.."
D: "without anesthesia.."
A: "what? why?"
D: "i want to experience what a homosexual goes through."
A: "oh, ok..
(the next day)
A: " how was it?"
D: (shaking head, pressing lips together)
"not.good"
4. A group of guys are at a bar/hotel and are ordering drinks. a lot of pegs of hard liquor are on the way to the table.
E: "you ordered?"
A: "yeah"
E: "what're you having?"
A: "wine."
E: "what? wine? order something else man. vodka, rum, whisky..."
A: "wine is royal man. the French have it. The emperor Louis the XIV had it during the 15th century."
E: "oh, ok. but i'm pretty sure Louis the XIV didnt drink a 25 rupees bottle of local Golkonda wine.. ok?"
5. one co-intern(f) to another.
I: "why did you decide to do internship here?"
A: " i have friends here."
A: " why did YOU decide to do internship here?
do you have a boyfriend?"
I: "no."
A: " a girl-friend?"
I: "no"
D: " a dog?"
6.senthil's on my bike. i'm riding. we've just missed a bus, a lorry, a bicycle crossing the road, and an old woman. I'm driving at 40 km/hr on a narrow road. he hasn't said a word so far.
me: "senthil, sometimes i have a feeling that i'm a rash driver"
senthil: (pats on the back) "the feeling is mutual dude"..
7.G: "sometimes i have a feeling that i like you..."
J: "*smiles*
G: "but the feeling lasts for a very short time.."
J: *frowns*
8.F : "dude, there's this real cute chick sitting in the lib man!"
A: "oh, ok. which batch?"
F: "dont think she's in my batch man.."
A: "ok then, which course?"
F: "nope, no idea. wait, i'll check"
( he disappears and appears a little while later)
F: " i dont think she's in this college dude. she was studying something totally different. tried speaking to her"
A : "oh, thats strange"
( A and F walk out) meet R.
R: "hey guys! whats up?"
A: "there's this real cute chick inside the lib man. haven't seen her before."
R: " oh, which batch?"
F:"oh, she was studying _______ course"
R: "SH**! thats the dean's daughter! you tried hitting on the dean's daughter? you're brave man!"
F : "!!"
A : (laughs)
9. M: (calling up a close friend who's doing internship in a different state)
(abuses the person N, his family and showers a flurry of bad words)
N( on the other end of the line, amongst family members)
: "ah, yes. home, kmc. (heaves a sigh of relief) i love you too man."
Monday, November 15, 2010
BLACK
this is for the 07 folks, for a while off from your books. the war looms large eh?!)
24 hours of travel. That was as much as I’d been through. Having caught a bus from Pondicherry to Bangalore. And then a KSRTC from Majestic at around 6:30 am which rattled its way through the curvy roads of the Western Ghats. AND which broke down 2 hours before it was supposed to reach Mangalore.
I found myself, a backpack lugging on my shoulders, another at my feet, counting at least 20 oil tanks pass by until another KSRTC bus passed by. Soon after was casualty duty. 7 hours of it. At night. 5 hours of sleep and then back to work during the day time because the Medical Officer needed an extra intern to work during the day. So there I was the
10th of October 2009.
Flat on the bed.
Feeling a little feverish.
Exhausted.
And the lights switched off.
“everybody loves Raymond” was playing in the other room. Ajith’s laughter in bits.
It was then that I felt a flapping, in the room. Like that of a bumble bee or a butterfly. About 5 in 2 seconds. Gentle fragile wings. I couldn’t localize to where it was. But I could swear I heard it. I looked to the area where I heard it last, when suddenly, it darted from one end of the room to the other.
My muscles tensed.
I almost choked on my own breath.
I maneuvered to lie on the bed to get a better glance at it. And lay still.
And then again heard the flapping.
No other sound.
Alright. This confirmed that I wasn’t hallucinating. How could ANYTHING get into my room when the windows and doors are always shut?
I has to be a big butterfly I thought to myself.
Just then something leapt from behind me and sat on my neck, its fork-like legs clasping the nape of my neck,, moving from one side to the other until it threw itself to another corner of the room where it seemed to sit on top of my bag.
My heart suddenly thumped inside my chest, and I got on to my feet, immediately to switch on the lights.
I quickly scanned the room, looking all over where the creature was, but.
Silence.
I had never ever been faced with such a situation. If me or my friends had to deal with animals, they at least would’ve seen it! Here I was dealing with either my mind or an enigmatic creature.
I looked around but found nothing.
I glanced at my bag were I had sensed the movement.
It was then that I noticed the movement. Like the leg of a frog. Slinking over the zip of my bag. Creeping.
My presumptory diagnosis: a frog.
A hyperdynamic frog. And I hated frogs from the core of my being. But it was a THING. It was just this creature to me. A black patch camoflauging to the colour of my bag.
I could discriminate, no arms, no head, NOTHING. OK! I needed help! I called Ajith into my room.
“Dude! There’s this thing inside my room man!”
“what?”
“I dunno! I’m damn sleepy. Its this animal!”
”Like I creature or something. Come and see”
(he gets up and stands at the door to my room)
“where is it?”
“its there man. Somewhere. Just keep looking.”
I was trying to see whether he’d localize it himself. Because it was so bloody invisible. Whatever it was. How could something BLACK, not stand out?
Every ray/beam of light on it seemed to DEFLECT off it. Like it was non-existant t othe human eye. It could COMPLETELY miss your eyes even if it were right in front of you!
“WHERE is it?” ajith asked again.
“I want you to find it yourself man” I told him.
Wanting him to experience the phenomenon himself. Of optical deceit . then I told him.
“look at my bag. The black thing on it?”
“there’s nothing there”
“look carefully. Beside the zip”
“oh yeah! That! It’s a bat!”
I moved my head a little at the knowledge of the nomenclature.
“yeah! There were a lot in the hostel. Its typical”
“what do we do now?”
“lets confirm it’s a bat first. Lets make it move”
I got a broom from the kitchen.
Ajith caught hold of it and stood a meter from the bat. With one swift motion, he swept the broom towards the bat.
It missed.
The bat stayed still.
We were freaked out at the motion itself, that we took a minute to compose ourselves.
“lets try again”.
He pushed the broom towards the bat now. And the next second, the bat jumped off the bag and rolled over to my bed.
We stared at it silently.
It still baffled me. The creature. It was STILL a THING to me. When it first ran across the room, I thought it was a mouse. But now, I couldn’t decipher anything apart from a mouse like head and frog like legs.
“dude, we need to get this out as soon as possible. Its all over your things. You could be infected.” Ajith said.
(yeah right! I thought to myself)
“what do we do?”
“lets open a window. Or the balcony door. It needs to escape.”
“And then what? Let MORE bats fly in? we don’t need an invasion!”
“bah! What are the odds of that happening?”
We didn’t know. Two schools of thought. Two different strategies. One goal.
To get the bat out.
Ajith got a bit daring. He wanted to make the bat fly off and out the house.
He got closer and threw the broom at it once more.
And THIS time, the THING unfurled its appendage, like a wing. Like Batman’s cape of the Nolan series.
And when I saw THIS, I felt every organ in my body contract. My blood stiffen inside its veins and a fear that I never experienced before.
It was then I remembered the initial scene in batman begins., where the young Bruce’s fallen into a small cave. And a million bats fly past an inch from him and he suffers a panic attack.
I don’t believe anyone would’ve understood the scene until he/she experienced it themselves.
I understood then, that a great fear of something develops when you don’t understand it. When your years of experience and memory of a pattern of senses don’t add up to the perception at hand.
While we were taken aback at it having unfurled its wings, it suddenly took to flight.
Flapping extremely clumsily yet, making a flight of absolute noiselessness.
It flew round and round my room. Unable to perceive what the door was open. But the moment it did, ajith and I shrieked and scampered into the other rooms. Excitement coursing through our minds.
The last we saw of the bat was in the living room.
24 hours of travel. That was as much as I’d been through. Having caught a bus from Pondicherry to Bangalore. And then a KSRTC from Majestic at around 6:30 am which rattled its way through the curvy roads of the Western Ghats. AND which broke down 2 hours before it was supposed to reach Mangalore.
I found myself, a backpack lugging on my shoulders, another at my feet, counting at least 20 oil tanks pass by until another KSRTC bus passed by. Soon after was casualty duty. 7 hours of it. At night. 5 hours of sleep and then back to work during the day time because the Medical Officer needed an extra intern to work during the day. So there I was the
10th of October 2009.
Flat on the bed.
Feeling a little feverish.
Exhausted.
And the lights switched off.
“everybody loves Raymond” was playing in the other room. Ajith’s laughter in bits.
It was then that I felt a flapping, in the room. Like that of a bumble bee or a butterfly. About 5 in 2 seconds. Gentle fragile wings. I couldn’t localize to where it was. But I could swear I heard it. I looked to the area where I heard it last, when suddenly, it darted from one end of the room to the other.
My muscles tensed.
I almost choked on my own breath.
I maneuvered to lie on the bed to get a better glance at it. And lay still.
And then again heard the flapping.
No other sound.
Alright. This confirmed that I wasn’t hallucinating. How could ANYTHING get into my room when the windows and doors are always shut?
I has to be a big butterfly I thought to myself.
Just then something leapt from behind me and sat on my neck, its fork-like legs clasping the nape of my neck,, moving from one side to the other until it threw itself to another corner of the room where it seemed to sit on top of my bag.
My heart suddenly thumped inside my chest, and I got on to my feet, immediately to switch on the lights.
I quickly scanned the room, looking all over where the creature was, but.
Silence.
I had never ever been faced with such a situation. If me or my friends had to deal with animals, they at least would’ve seen it! Here I was dealing with either my mind or an enigmatic creature.
I looked around but found nothing.
I glanced at my bag were I had sensed the movement.
It was then that I noticed the movement. Like the leg of a frog. Slinking over the zip of my bag. Creeping.
My presumptory diagnosis: a frog.
A hyperdynamic frog. And I hated frogs from the core of my being. But it was a THING. It was just this creature to me. A black patch camoflauging to the colour of my bag.
I could discriminate, no arms, no head, NOTHING. OK! I needed help! I called Ajith into my room.
“Dude! There’s this thing inside my room man!”
“what?”
“I dunno! I’m damn sleepy. Its this animal!”
”Like I creature or something. Come and see”
(he gets up and stands at the door to my room)
“where is it?”
“its there man. Somewhere. Just keep looking.”
I was trying to see whether he’d localize it himself. Because it was so bloody invisible. Whatever it was. How could something BLACK, not stand out?
Every ray/beam of light on it seemed to DEFLECT off it. Like it was non-existant t othe human eye. It could COMPLETELY miss your eyes even if it were right in front of you!
“WHERE is it?” ajith asked again.
“I want you to find it yourself man” I told him.
Wanting him to experience the phenomenon himself. Of optical deceit . then I told him.
“look at my bag. The black thing on it?”
“there’s nothing there”
“look carefully. Beside the zip”
“oh yeah! That! It’s a bat!”
I moved my head a little at the knowledge of the nomenclature.
“yeah! There were a lot in the hostel. Its typical”
“what do we do now?”
“lets confirm it’s a bat first. Lets make it move”
I got a broom from the kitchen.
Ajith caught hold of it and stood a meter from the bat. With one swift motion, he swept the broom towards the bat.
It missed.
The bat stayed still.
We were freaked out at the motion itself, that we took a minute to compose ourselves.
“lets try again”.
He pushed the broom towards the bat now. And the next second, the bat jumped off the bag and rolled over to my bed.
We stared at it silently.
It still baffled me. The creature. It was STILL a THING to me. When it first ran across the room, I thought it was a mouse. But now, I couldn’t decipher anything apart from a mouse like head and frog like legs.
“dude, we need to get this out as soon as possible. Its all over your things. You could be infected.” Ajith said.
(yeah right! I thought to myself)
“what do we do?”
“lets open a window. Or the balcony door. It needs to escape.”
“And then what? Let MORE bats fly in? we don’t need an invasion!”
“bah! What are the odds of that happening?”
We didn’t know. Two schools of thought. Two different strategies. One goal.
To get the bat out.
Ajith got a bit daring. He wanted to make the bat fly off and out the house.
He got closer and threw the broom at it once more.
And THIS time, the THING unfurled its appendage, like a wing. Like Batman’s cape of the Nolan series.
And when I saw THIS, I felt every organ in my body contract. My blood stiffen inside its veins and a fear that I never experienced before.
It was then I remembered the initial scene in batman begins., where the young Bruce’s fallen into a small cave. And a million bats fly past an inch from him and he suffers a panic attack.
I don’t believe anyone would’ve understood the scene until he/she experienced it themselves.
I understood then, that a great fear of something develops when you don’t understand it. When your years of experience and memory of a pattern of senses don’t add up to the perception at hand.
While we were taken aback at it having unfurled its wings, it suddenly took to flight.
Flapping extremely clumsily yet, making a flight of absolute noiselessness.
It flew round and round my room. Unable to perceive what the door was open. But the moment it did, ajith and I shrieked and scampered into the other rooms. Excitement coursing through our minds.
The last we saw of the bat was in the living room.
A NIGHT AT THE PEDIATRIC ICU
11:45 pm.
1 yr 9 months.
thats the age of Fatima, a pediatric patient wheeled into the Ped ICU at 12:00 am in the night of 5.11.09.
she came, tongue bitten and swollen, a swollen lower lip, hands and legs moving frantically in all directions, pushing and struggling.
status asthmaticus, is what we were told, which led to status epilepticus. a stain of blood over her lower cheek. impules shooting across different areas of her brain. unsettling her. sparking movements beyond her control.
a bed was prepared and tubes inserted into her.
Ryles: To remove what remains in her stomach.
which could be accidently inhaled and drown her.
Endotracheal tube: To make sure that humidified air goes straight to the lungs.
An Oximeter: To measure the amount of oxygen in her blood.
2 pediatric post graduates stood. holding her down. examining her. trying hard to stabilize her. Aditya and I stood, assisting them.
"her ventiation is a problem. we'll need to call anesthesia."
the Anesthesia PG was called.
"her pulse is racing. she has a fever."
a pediatic professor was called.
"her convulsions need to be controlled."
a benzodiazepine was injected.
"her fever needs to be managed"
tepid sponging was done and a paracetamol suppository was introduced.
"she still has those involuntary movements!"
the pediatrics prof calls the Head of the Unit.
12:45 am- 1:00 am.
Enter Paeds HOD.
a gentle manner. a curious diagnostician.
"whey're there alarm bells ringing all over?"
We realize that bells are ringing every second. one for the blood pressure thats plunging(98/56) and the other for low respiratory rate. among others.
And this is only one patient we're talking about.
One head nurse. another staff nurse. they run about, loading medicines, clearing debris, sanitizing the place and pacifying the baby.
an infusion of 20 ml bolus Midazolam takes place.
the child's drugged now. moves slowly.
"yes, go ahead. she needs a clear passage".
the Anesthesiology PG swings into action. is handed over a laryngoscope and flicks it open to use its torch and curved steel limb.
Gains access.
Introduces the endotracheal tube.
Breath.
Air.
Breathe.
The sisters hold the kid down. restraining her with a few straps.
Intoduce and IV line.
Food.
Catheterize her.
Relief.
3:00 am.
the Anesthetist walks in to assess the patient.
And whats more?! EVERYTHING that you do or administer to the patient has to be RECORDED and documented. So the process drags on the hours.
AND the biochemical, microbiological and pathological status of the patient updated as soon as possible.
with the devices helpingm
2 nurses, 2 post grad students, 2 professors, 2 anesthesiologists stand around...
monitoring...
stabilizing...
diagnosing...
(caring?)
ONE patient. 8 professionals for ONE child.
slowly, each one of us left the scene. Overcome by fatigue and sleep. Eyes Shutting.Brains dimming.
the light's fading.
the ICU never sleeps of course. Some one would always be around.
=-------------------------------------------------------------------------------=
the next evening, i saw her again.
Her hand stretched out as though in flight.
Her face a whiff of radiance.
Her back arching forward to reach out to some invisible bird in the air.
"Sir! What is she on? This doesn't look like involuntary movements!"
"She's on ketamine."
*(smile)*
well, of course, when i said i hate pediatrics, i meant, i hated dealing with kids. or anything child-like.
but pediatricians. > \m/ !!
1 yr 9 months.
thats the age of Fatima, a pediatric patient wheeled into the Ped ICU at 12:00 am in the night of 5.11.09.
she came, tongue bitten and swollen, a swollen lower lip, hands and legs moving frantically in all directions, pushing and struggling.
status asthmaticus, is what we were told, which led to status epilepticus. a stain of blood over her lower cheek. impules shooting across different areas of her brain. unsettling her. sparking movements beyond her control.
a bed was prepared and tubes inserted into her.
Ryles: To remove what remains in her stomach.
which could be accidently inhaled and drown her.
Endotracheal tube: To make sure that humidified air goes straight to the lungs.
An Oximeter: To measure the amount of oxygen in her blood.
2 pediatric post graduates stood. holding her down. examining her. trying hard to stabilize her. Aditya and I stood, assisting them.
"her ventiation is a problem. we'll need to call anesthesia."
the Anesthesia PG was called.
"her pulse is racing. she has a fever."
a pediatic professor was called.
"her convulsions need to be controlled."
a benzodiazepine was injected.
"her fever needs to be managed"
tepid sponging was done and a paracetamol suppository was introduced.
"she still has those involuntary movements!"
the pediatrics prof calls the Head of the Unit.
12:45 am- 1:00 am.
Enter Paeds HOD.
a gentle manner. a curious diagnostician.
"whey're there alarm bells ringing all over?"
We realize that bells are ringing every second. one for the blood pressure thats plunging(98/56) and the other for low respiratory rate. among others.
And this is only one patient we're talking about.
One head nurse. another staff nurse. they run about, loading medicines, clearing debris, sanitizing the place and pacifying the baby.
an infusion of 20 ml bolus Midazolam takes place.
the child's drugged now. moves slowly.
"yes, go ahead. she needs a clear passage".
the Anesthesiology PG swings into action. is handed over a laryngoscope and flicks it open to use its torch and curved steel limb.
Gains access.
Introduces the endotracheal tube.
Breath.
Air.
Breathe.
The sisters hold the kid down. restraining her with a few straps.
Intoduce and IV line.
Food.
Catheterize her.
Relief.
3:00 am.
the Anesthetist walks in to assess the patient.
And whats more?! EVERYTHING that you do or administer to the patient has to be RECORDED and documented. So the process drags on the hours.
AND the biochemical, microbiological and pathological status of the patient updated as soon as possible.
with the devices helpingm
2 nurses, 2 post grad students, 2 professors, 2 anesthesiologists stand around...
monitoring...
stabilizing...
diagnosing...
(caring?)
ONE patient. 8 professionals for ONE child.
slowly, each one of us left the scene. Overcome by fatigue and sleep. Eyes Shutting.Brains dimming.
the light's fading.
the ICU never sleeps of course. Some one would always be around.
=-------------------------------------------------------------------------------=
the next evening, i saw her again.
Her hand stretched out as though in flight.
Her face a whiff of radiance.
Her back arching forward to reach out to some invisible bird in the air.
"Sir! What is she on? This doesn't look like involuntary movements!"
"She's on ketamine."
*(smile)*
well, of course, when i said i hate pediatrics, i meant, i hated dealing with kids. or anything child-like.
but pediatricians. > \m/ !!
GRENADE ON THE GROUND.OST
Aditya came up with this real cool soundtrack for the play. If you guys have heard Jim Morrison's "Riders of the Storm", you can identify with this song.
Grenade on the Ground
Grenade on the ground(2)
Into this hand we're borne,
Into this trench we're thrown.
Like a gun without a bore
A soldier out alone.
Grenade on the ground.
There's a nazi on the loose,
Hell bent on Hunting down the Jews,
Make him walk the line astray,
Let your children play.
If you give this man a life,
Sweet memory will die.
Nazi on the loose.
Nazi on the loose.
Boy you gotta love your gun(2)
Take it in your hand,
Then you'll understand.
The world on you depends
Our life will never end.
Gotta love your gun.
YEAH!
Grenade on the Ground
Grenade on the ground(2)
Into this hand we're borne,
Into this trench we're thrown.
Like a gun without a bore
A soldier out alone.
Grenade on the ground.
There's a nazi on the loose,
Hell bent on Hunting down the Jews,
Make him walk the line astray,
Let your children play.
If you give this man a life,
Sweet memory will die.
Nazi on the loose.
Nazi on the loose.
Boy you gotta love your gun(2)
Take it in your hand,
Then you'll understand.
The world on you depends
Our life will never end.
Gotta love your gun.
YEAH!
CASUALTY DAY ONE
we're hanging around the casualty being busy with what it entails us when a neurosurgery PG wanders in. he's a short guy, with a crop of hair that looks like a spikey spider's web.
then suddenly, wheelchair with a patient happens to be rolled in. the patient doesn't seem to be in his senses. he blabbers constantly. i go towards the patient and ask him what happened to him. there's a glee in his eyes and he smells strongly of a peculiar odour.
he doesn't reply and speaks incoherently.
i ask the bystander(the person with the patient): "what happened to the patient?"
he says : "the man fell from a height of 3 floors".
i ask: "was he on alcohol?"
the patient then points to the bystander that he'd like to drink.
i ask again " did he fall from some place or is he drunk?"
patient: "i fell from the sky! i fell from up there!!"(points skyward)
the patient's evidently disoriented, so we call the NeuroSurgery PG to the scene.
he asks the bystander: "when did he fall down?"
ByStander: "3 years back."
NS PG: "give me his reports."
now, the NS guy isn't keen on taking up too many cases. so the NS goes through the reports and decides. "the patient's constantly blabbering. i cant get too much of a history from the bystander too. give a reference to the Psychiatry PG".
Enter Psych PG.
the Psych PG begins to assess the patient.
he rules out psychosis and mania and narrows it down to an organic brain syndrome. a report says that the patient had a sub-dural hematoma in the past. the present condition is a sequelae.
NS pg: "alright, so you'll take up the case".
Psych Pg: " me?! we cant admit him into our department! its an organic brain condition!"
NS pg: " but we cant treat him! i just spoke to Sir. and he said that the patient was on conservative
treatment and he has to continue conservative treatment."
Psych PG: "he seems to have encephalopathy. that is causing all his symptoms. we aren't equipped to deal with that!"
NS Pg: "then treat him conservatively"
Psych PG: "obviously we psychiatrists treat patients conservatively! we put patients on anti-psychotics. what else do you think we'd do?"
NS pg: "either way,we cant admit him now!"
Psych PG: "yeah, so put him on conservative treatment"
NS pg: " yeah. ok.."
meanwhile two female interns enter the casualty, collecting blood samples. they say
"hi victor! hi vijay! "
"hey!"
"so you guys have day duty?"
"yeah"
"do you guys have an umbrella? its raining."
"nope! use your aprons!"
they look around and walk out. the next minute a breathless patient is wheeled in and vijay and i get busy tending to him. during this time , i notice the two interns walk out carrying a black umbrella with them. the patient we're tending to gets a little more critical, and so anup and i spend the next half hour monitoring him.
a little while later, a tall burly looking man walks in, a little harried, and asks the staff nurse.
"sister, did you see my umbrella that i kept outside my room?"
vijayram and i reckon that he's a Medical Officer, suggested by his Demanour.
Staff Nurse: "sir, 2 interns asked us and took it. they went for lunch. they'll be back in an hour"
the MO looked on. Vijay and i couldn't look anymore and we started giggling quietly.
there were 2 other patients who came in disoriented.
on examination, we found them to have crepitations.
one seemed to be on the verge of developing seizures. i was concentrating on catheterizing one patient when the other was being examined by a post-graduate.
(if you want to learn how to catheterize, read my 'unofficial notes')
after about 5 minutes, i found the PG vigorously pressing upon his sternum with both hands clenched.
"get an ambu bag and mask," he told me.
i rushed to get it and he pulled the ventilation mask aside to allow me to use the ambu bag.
perspiration drained his forehead. and he kept pumping his chest. another post graduate joined him later on. each taking turns to revive his heart.
" have you injected Adrenaline?" he asked the nurse.
"yes, " she replied.
15 minutes. and they kept trying to infuse life into him.
feeling his pulse.checking whether his lungs expanded.
but to no avail.
the patient was quiet. blank empty eyes that stared at the ceiling.
finally, after 5 minutes they decided to call it off.
Let go.
there are other lives to save.
we walked away. a curtain concealing the newly dead.
i looked at Vijay and Anup.
There was a faint sense of dejection in their eyes.
i asked Anup. "dude, what did he die of?"
"CRF" he told me.
"but I felt he had pulmonary oedema"
"yeah" VIjay said. "towards the terminal stages, it becomes a multi-system disorder"
"couldn't anything have been done man?" I asked anup, "and dialysis is costly right?"
"dialysis. Yeah. thats the only way out."
we came back and sat at our desks quietly.
the next 5 minutes, we spent in silence.
i cant remember now, but later on i found out that the other disoriented patient also succumbed to renal failure. A
then suddenly, wheelchair with a patient happens to be rolled in. the patient doesn't seem to be in his senses. he blabbers constantly. i go towards the patient and ask him what happened to him. there's a glee in his eyes and he smells strongly of a peculiar odour.
he doesn't reply and speaks incoherently.
i ask the bystander(the person with the patient): "what happened to the patient?"
he says : "the man fell from a height of 3 floors".
i ask: "was he on alcohol?"
the patient then points to the bystander that he'd like to drink.
i ask again " did he fall from some place or is he drunk?"
patient: "i fell from the sky! i fell from up there!!"(points skyward)
the patient's evidently disoriented, so we call the NeuroSurgery PG to the scene.
he asks the bystander: "when did he fall down?"
ByStander: "3 years back."
NS PG: "give me his reports."
now, the NS guy isn't keen on taking up too many cases. so the NS goes through the reports and decides. "the patient's constantly blabbering. i cant get too much of a history from the bystander too. give a reference to the Psychiatry PG".
Enter Psych PG.
the Psych PG begins to assess the patient.
he rules out psychosis and mania and narrows it down to an organic brain syndrome. a report says that the patient had a sub-dural hematoma in the past. the present condition is a sequelae.
NS pg: "alright, so you'll take up the case".
Psych Pg: " me?! we cant admit him into our department! its an organic brain condition!"
NS pg: " but we cant treat him! i just spoke to Sir. and he said that the patient was on conservative
treatment and he has to continue conservative treatment."
Psych PG: "he seems to have encephalopathy. that is causing all his symptoms. we aren't equipped to deal with that!"
NS Pg: "then treat him conservatively"
Psych PG: "obviously we psychiatrists treat patients conservatively! we put patients on anti-psychotics. what else do you think we'd do?"
NS pg: "either way,we cant admit him now!"
Psych PG: "yeah, so put him on conservative treatment"
NS pg: " yeah. ok.."
meanwhile two female interns enter the casualty, collecting blood samples. they say
"hi victor! hi vijay! "
"hey!"
"so you guys have day duty?"
"yeah"
"do you guys have an umbrella? its raining."
"nope! use your aprons!"
they look around and walk out. the next minute a breathless patient is wheeled in and vijay and i get busy tending to him. during this time , i notice the two interns walk out carrying a black umbrella with them. the patient we're tending to gets a little more critical, and so anup and i spend the next half hour monitoring him.
a little while later, a tall burly looking man walks in, a little harried, and asks the staff nurse.
"sister, did you see my umbrella that i kept outside my room?"
vijayram and i reckon that he's a Medical Officer, suggested by his Demanour.
Staff Nurse: "sir, 2 interns asked us and took it. they went for lunch. they'll be back in an hour"
the MO looked on. Vijay and i couldn't look anymore and we started giggling quietly.
there were 2 other patients who came in disoriented.
on examination, we found them to have crepitations.
one seemed to be on the verge of developing seizures. i was concentrating on catheterizing one patient when the other was being examined by a post-graduate.
(if you want to learn how to catheterize, read my 'unofficial notes')
after about 5 minutes, i found the PG vigorously pressing upon his sternum with both hands clenched.
"get an ambu bag and mask," he told me.
i rushed to get it and he pulled the ventilation mask aside to allow me to use the ambu bag.
perspiration drained his forehead. and he kept pumping his chest. another post graduate joined him later on. each taking turns to revive his heart.
" have you injected Adrenaline?" he asked the nurse.
"yes, " she replied.
15 minutes. and they kept trying to infuse life into him.
feeling his pulse.checking whether his lungs expanded.
but to no avail.
the patient was quiet. blank empty eyes that stared at the ceiling.
finally, after 5 minutes they decided to call it off.
Let go.
there are other lives to save.
we walked away. a curtain concealing the newly dead.
i looked at Vijay and Anup.
There was a faint sense of dejection in their eyes.
i asked Anup. "dude, what did he die of?"
"CRF" he told me.
"but I felt he had pulmonary oedema"
"yeah" VIjay said. "towards the terminal stages, it becomes a multi-system disorder"
"couldn't anything have been done man?" I asked anup, "and dialysis is costly right?"
"dialysis. Yeah. thats the only way out."
we came back and sat at our desks quietly.
the next 5 minutes, we spent in silence.
i cant remember now, but later on i found out that the other disoriented patient also succumbed to renal failure. A
FAHEEM’S BANQUET AND THE BLOOD
one saturday afternoon. and ALL the batches convened to one place.
Q : lets say, you're part of an organization that helps the poor patients of Wenlock and Lady Goschen by donating medicines as well as arranging for blood donors. how would you create an aware ness programme?
A: CALL the mad ad's team of 06.
and what follows is PURE INSANITY. i've never watched a mad-ads show or seen a team at work before. its way different from the other forms of theater. but what i saw that day, is something i cant quite keep off from writing about.
how would you show, that its safe to donate blood, and enlighten those who dont know about blood donation?
(some ideas crop up amongst those involved)
rohit:" what kind of a crowd are we going to perform to?"
atul: " jobless people. on the streets. doing nothing. "
me: "dude, this is at bharat mall dude! they come there cos they CAN! they should be reasonably educated!!"
varsha: "haha. yeah".
scene one:
sita (rohit) is in the forest of chitrakoota. cant say acting feminine comes easily to him, but rohit goes to the centre of the stage, one arm folded, the index finger of the other hand pointing to the middle of his right cheek. walking coy. a shy look on his face. a little flirtatious.
laxmana(faheem) revolves around sita, round and round. like some sort of shield, because he represents laxman rekha. if anybody tries to come close to them, they'd be pushed or thrown aside.
ravana( in the guise of a beggar) (sushruth) comes to beg for arms to sita. he gets pushed aside by faheem.
ravana:"ayyo rama! waat eez this?"
ravana then asks sita to come out of the line, she does, and the next minute, ravana's grabbed her(rohit) and carries her in his arms. ravana's ecstatic, so he laughs.
Q : ravana's got bout 10 heads. so how do you represent em all?
A : the rest of the team jump in and prop their heads next to ravana's. and ravana laughs.
and so do all the heads.
and so does sita too!
well, we still haven't come to the point. so guys.. focus!
rama goes to war with ravana cos he has sita. in the war that ensues, laxmana gets wounded and falls to the ground. rama summons hanuman to get sanjeevini.
hanuman brings sanjeevini to the battleground. varsha walks daintily into the scene.
and SANJEEVINI, happens to be a GIRL, (varsha)
rama: "ayyo! not THIS sanjeevini! the PLANT sanjeevini!!!"
hanuman: "sanjeevini all happened in olden days. this is 21st century!
why sanjeevini when you can give BLOOD!"
"BLOODMAN!" he calls out loudly.
ENTER BLOODMAN.
burton rushes into the scene. his blood red cape(someone's dupatta) 'flying' in the air.
atul(MC):"see! this is how you can transfuse blood."
with swift motions, they tie one end of the dupatta to laxmana and the other to rama, and depict blood transfusion.
there were other scenes as well. of course.lol.
ps: thanks for the food faheem!
Q : lets say, you're part of an organization that helps the poor patients of Wenlock and Lady Goschen by donating medicines as well as arranging for blood donors. how would you create an aware ness programme?
A: CALL the mad ad's team of 06.
and what follows is PURE INSANITY. i've never watched a mad-ads show or seen a team at work before. its way different from the other forms of theater. but what i saw that day, is something i cant quite keep off from writing about.
how would you show, that its safe to donate blood, and enlighten those who dont know about blood donation?
(some ideas crop up amongst those involved)
rohit:" what kind of a crowd are we going to perform to?"
atul: " jobless people. on the streets. doing nothing. "
me: "dude, this is at bharat mall dude! they come there cos they CAN! they should be reasonably educated!!"
varsha: "haha. yeah".
scene one:
sita (rohit) is in the forest of chitrakoota. cant say acting feminine comes easily to him, but rohit goes to the centre of the stage, one arm folded, the index finger of the other hand pointing to the middle of his right cheek. walking coy. a shy look on his face. a little flirtatious.
laxmana(faheem) revolves around sita, round and round. like some sort of shield, because he represents laxman rekha. if anybody tries to come close to them, they'd be pushed or thrown aside.
ravana( in the guise of a beggar) (sushruth) comes to beg for arms to sita. he gets pushed aside by faheem.
ravana:"ayyo rama! waat eez this?"
ravana then asks sita to come out of the line, she does, and the next minute, ravana's grabbed her(rohit) and carries her in his arms. ravana's ecstatic, so he laughs.
Q : ravana's got bout 10 heads. so how do you represent em all?
A : the rest of the team jump in and prop their heads next to ravana's. and ravana laughs.
and so do all the heads.
and so does sita too!
well, we still haven't come to the point. so guys.. focus!
rama goes to war with ravana cos he has sita. in the war that ensues, laxmana gets wounded and falls to the ground. rama summons hanuman to get sanjeevini.
hanuman brings sanjeevini to the battleground. varsha walks daintily into the scene.
and SANJEEVINI, happens to be a GIRL, (varsha)
rama: "ayyo! not THIS sanjeevini! the PLANT sanjeevini!!!"
hanuman: "sanjeevini all happened in olden days. this is 21st century!
why sanjeevini when you can give BLOOD!"
"BLOODMAN!" he calls out loudly.
ENTER BLOODMAN.
burton rushes into the scene. his blood red cape(someone's dupatta) 'flying' in the air.
atul(MC):"see! this is how you can transfuse blood."
with swift motions, they tie one end of the dupatta to laxmana and the other to rama, and depict blood transfusion.
there were other scenes as well. of course.lol.
ps: thanks for the food faheem!
IN THESE TIMES
IN THESE TIMES
Ok! I’m back. But a shadow.
Forensic practical classes are ‘almost’ an exercise in futility. But for intelligent dramatics staged by my gang of guys.
3 pm. The mangalore weather. Humid. Sultry. In a class sans AC. What could be worse. And its so hard to sleep off on those half-desks that populate the demo room.
The tutor’s teaching how to fill up some godforsaken letter. ‘certificate of death’. ‘medico legal case’. Well, they’ll obviously come into use later on, but for the moment, they were just pieces of paper.
Azeb’s sitting beside Anurag. His cheek flopped on his arms collapsed on the desk. He’s a shadow. Too. I mean, one look at him and you’d think he’s a Somalian refugee.black. cadaveric. He wouldn’t have eaten lunch, breakfast AND the dinner the last night. So it so happens that he mumbles to anurag..
“dude, I think I’m gonna faint man. Please try and get me out of this class. I think I need to lie down somewhere.”
Anurag on the other hand, decides to take matters to his own hands. He stands up, in the middle of a sleepy listless class, and says..
“sir, the boy next to me has fainted. I need to take him to the hospital. Can I do that now sir?”
Well, an intimation was all that was needed. Who cares bout permission? The next second, Azeb stands up, and walks straight out of the class.
Now, it so happens, that the LCD Screen is a little distance away from the door. And the door is half open.
The whole class stares blankly at what happens.silently. Azeb walking his eager, energetic manner towards the screen. He manages to walk behind the screen, and the next minute.
BANG!
He crashes into the door and falls flat on the ground.
The whole class exclaims in concern. “oooH!”
A few people giggle.
And strangely enough, while a few people stand to notice what happens, Azeb suddenly pulls himself up.. and walks outside towards the forensic department. An amused Anurag soon following him.
What I heard later was, that azeb fainted, YET AGAIN, when he reached the department.
I remember him telling me, “dude, fainting is one of the MOST heavenly experiences I’ve ever had man! Its SHEER BLISS. I swear it!”
Ok! I’m back. But a shadow.
Forensic practical classes are ‘almost’ an exercise in futility. But for intelligent dramatics staged by my gang of guys.
3 pm. The mangalore weather. Humid. Sultry. In a class sans AC. What could be worse. And its so hard to sleep off on those half-desks that populate the demo room.
The tutor’s teaching how to fill up some godforsaken letter. ‘certificate of death’. ‘medico legal case’. Well, they’ll obviously come into use later on, but for the moment, they were just pieces of paper.
Azeb’s sitting beside Anurag. His cheek flopped on his arms collapsed on the desk. He’s a shadow. Too. I mean, one look at him and you’d think he’s a Somalian refugee.black. cadaveric. He wouldn’t have eaten lunch, breakfast AND the dinner the last night. So it so happens that he mumbles to anurag..
“dude, I think I’m gonna faint man. Please try and get me out of this class. I think I need to lie down somewhere.”
Anurag on the other hand, decides to take matters to his own hands. He stands up, in the middle of a sleepy listless class, and says..
“sir, the boy next to me has fainted. I need to take him to the hospital. Can I do that now sir?”
Well, an intimation was all that was needed. Who cares bout permission? The next second, Azeb stands up, and walks straight out of the class.
Now, it so happens, that the LCD Screen is a little distance away from the door. And the door is half open.
The whole class stares blankly at what happens.silently. Azeb walking his eager, energetic manner towards the screen. He manages to walk behind the screen, and the next minute.
BANG!
He crashes into the door and falls flat on the ground.
The whole class exclaims in concern. “oooH!”
A few people giggle.
And strangely enough, while a few people stand to notice what happens, Azeb suddenly pulls himself up.. and walks outside towards the forensic department. An amused Anurag soon following him.
What I heard later was, that azeb fainted, YET AGAIN, when he reached the department.
I remember him telling me, “dude, fainting is one of the MOST heavenly experiences I’ve ever had man! Its SHEER BLISS. I swear it!”
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