The Good Doctor

          

          The interview took place in the doctor's office. Today seemed to be a relatively free day and the doctor(D) seemed  relaxed for the Q&A. It was with great reluctance that the doctor granted the interview and we were relievd that we would finally get some answers. We had been the patients who navigated the COVID trail successfully under the doctor's treatment. And in our misplaced endeavour to help future patients we decided to get a first hand account of  treatment meted out to us by the good doctor. The doctor was short with us; "What is there to know? It is a blessing that you are okay and that should be enough for you". We mumbled something about being altruistic andclearing the misconceptions about the disease. "What is in it for me?" said the doctor. We were vague about the name and fame that the doctor would gain - the doctor gave a derisive laugh and clarified that the query was about monetery gains. After a few minutes of sordid bargaining we settled on an acceptable secret figure. And so started the interview.

Us: What medicines are to be used for COVID?

D :  Did I not give you a prescription? 

Us:  Doctor your handwriting is - pardon our saying so - illegible to the normal human being...

At this point the doctor nearly terminated the interview. It took a lot of persuasion and honeyed words to soothe the bruised ego. 

D: Rather than talk about curative procedures I would like to talk about prevention of this diesease. Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die first.

Us: And why do you say that doctor?

D: No reason at all. I just wanted to use that quote; (We looked at her dumbfounded. Our speechlessness put the doctor in a good mood)  

Us: You were talking abot prevention...

D: Prevention is better than cure.(The Doctor pontificated). It takes very little to prevent this disease. Washing of hands with soap. Wearing a mask - 

Us: we already know about that (We interrupted). There is a lot of material on this in the Government pamphlets-

D: Yes Yes (It was a season for interruptions). Who would like to go through the pain of of suffering if they can avoid it?

Us: OK doctor . Tell us about prevention.(We recapitulated)

D: The important thing is (in addition to wearing mask and washing hands and social distancing ) to boost ones' immunity. Having Zinc tablets twice a day with vitamin C D and E will help boost immunity.

Us: What about ayurveda? Are there any immunity boosters?

D: as a matter of fact yes. Chyavanprash is an immunity booster. It has a high percentage of amla (Vit C) and flavanoids (which are natural antioxidants). These help in boosting immunity. Natural spices as used in the daily food also boost immunity.

Us: In the event that someone is unfortunate to get the disease how do we go about the treatment?

D: In this world we (the doctors) are the only people who believe in the positivity of negativity. A patient who tests positive is a danger for the medical fraternity also. In the event a person does test positive the most important thing for that person is to isolate themselves -

Us: What is the difference between quarantine and Isolation?

D: People who are sick should go into isolation and people who are suspected of the disease should have their movements restricted till either they are cleared or contract the disease. People who are in Isolation should eat their food in he room they are confined to. Inanimate utensils should also be confined/ they should eat in paper plates. Anyhow these are very broad outlines. Duration can be confirmed from the medical provider. 

Us: Doctor now about the treatment...

D: Why are you on about this treatment? This is a new disease and the treatment is not standardised. Depending on the severity of the disease it is upto the medical provider whether to confine a patient at home or hospitalise the patient. Treatment is mostly symptomatic, including betadine gargles for sore throat, rehydration for diarrhea, fever is treated with paracetomal and body aches with appropriate pain relievers.

Us: Doctor you treated us with antibiotics....

D: Antibiotics is for treating co-infections of bacteria - not for COVID

Us: (We were waiting for the doctor to use the ("Co" word)  Doctor lot of people use this word co morbid - what does it mean?

D:  People who have pre-existing conditions such hypertension. heart problem, Diabetes etc are more vulnerable to the disease as are those who smoke. Liquor  provides sanitisation inside the body. so booze is good. 

Us: (We looked at the doctor incredulously) (The doctor burst out laughing)

D: Only Joking....

Us: (We looked at one another in wild surmise at this sudden levity of the doctor) ....

D:   No I have not lost my mental equilibrium (the doctor protested) . But because of the unknowns of the  disease people can go into depression - especially old people. Care must be taken to look for these signs.

Us: Doctor what is the social responsibility towards this disease.

D: Good Question. It comes into play once a person gets infected. It is the responsibility of that family to report the matter,quarantine themselves, inform the people in contact so that further spread of the diesease can be contained.

Us: Doctor.. 

D: I have not finished. (The doctor said rather rudely- we thought). It is also the responsibility of the society to care of those infected. And the media has contributed to raising the panic of the general populace. (The doctor said glaring at us). The disease, to spread, requires sustained contact. Rational handling and a cool head will help assuaging the fears of the populace.

            Seeing that the doctor was worked up we decided to end the interview, while the going was still good. In any case we got most of the information that we had come to gather. A hurried goodbye we left to publish the article .

The Untouchables

          It started as a niggle in the throat. As was usual I dismissed it as an onset of cold. It could'nt have come at a more inconvenient time . My wife was down with a sore throat and general feeling of tiredness. She was already on antibiotics and all other medications as were applicable to her condition. She took undue advantage of the situation and started sleeping through the day. Again the condition was attributed to normal cold symptoms. And so the first two to three days passed by. All the time I was worried that my cold would worsen and I would end up totally incapable of doing anything - as is the case in normal cold.Mininstations of vicks and gargles of betadine did not help my wife from recovering from her condition. 

          The danger signals were there but we did not recognize them. While we were not able to breeze through our normal day to day routines, we were able to get by.

Doctor in the House

          My daughter who was with us is a doctor. As is the case with most doctors she assumed the worst. A slight cough or forcible clearing of the throat immediately brough her to our room with a number of questions as to why we were clearing our throat/coughing or for that matter any aberration physiologically had her fussing over us with her giving us third degree on the various problems thereafter. So much so that we became apprehensive of her presence and started coughing or cleaaring our throat on the sly. Matters did come to a head when the doctor in the house put her foot down and forced us to go for the dreaded COVID-19 test. Rather than face repeated questioning, we consented for the test.

Hindsight

          They say that hindsight always makes it easy  to be wise after the event (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). I remember going to the workshop to get my vehicle serviced. As is my practice I opted for an early morning appointment, so that after the delivery of the vehicle I could walk back home and so complete my morning workout. I did walk back but the going was tough. I attributed it to the wearing of the mask and the 'cold' which I had. Now I realise that there was more to it than just the cold and the mask. Comprehension often comes too late (another of my favorite hindsight quotes).

The Test

          One fine morning we - all three of us got into the car, put on our masks and went to the hospital. Then started the torture of filling up of the forms, producing a prescription to get the test done and the production of ID for proving that it is indeed you who is getting the test done. And the waiting. That is what gets you. Added to this is the other patients coming and sitting next to you. I found an ingenous way to keep them away from me. Anyone who came to sit next to me - I told them that I was getting tested for COVID 19. The look of horror on their face when they moved away from me in quick time was priceless. A three hour wait and a quick swab of the throat and the test was over.

The Aftermath

          The consequences of our test hit us hard. Waiting for the result was interminable. In real time for about three days. During this time we checked up all our past transgressions and contacts to check up where we met someone who might have been responsible for our going for the test. We drew a blank. By now my wife was getting slightly better and sleeping only for about eighteen hours a day. The day of reckoning was finally upon us and we were diagnosed as having tested positive. The doctor proved to be right in her diagnosis.

The Untouchables

          We were immediately confined to our room. The mattter was reported to the housing society. Within a few hours the entire society of six hundred flats knew of our predicament. Our block was sealed. My daughter issued us disposable plates glasses and spoons. We survived on the food that my wife had cooked that morning for the whole day. We had to forego our daily cup of coffee because of milk not being delivered. The dog was removed from our room. A general sense of foreboding enveloped the house. Clothes were washed in the washbasin and we felt unloved. The next day also proved to be equally bleak and hopeless. The dog could not be taken for a walk.

The Silver Lining

          Soon requisition was put in to a lab to carry out testing other inmates of the home  to ensure that thay did not contract the diesease while we were waiting for the result and freely roaming about the house blissfully unaware of the impending doom. Thankfully their result was negative and this proved to be a positive outcome to help boost our morale.

The Good People

          Meanwhile messages of "get well soon" from all quarters were working wonders on our psyche. We were getting better. A lady from the neighbourhood offered to help walk our dog - it did wonders to our own digestion - knowing that the dog was getting his daily exercise. A close friend cooked food for us for the next fourteen days . This helped us eat palatable food during our incarceration. My old school mate staying on the floor above us helped us by getting us groceries and milk everyday. There are good people still existing in this world.

Recovery

          The goodwill of the people around us and passing time has helped us recover totally. My wife's tiredness has now left her and she sleeps only 14 hours a day. My sense of smell which had deserted me has gradually returned. The fourteen days of incarceration were at an end. Only one thing remained before my daughter/ doctor declared us fit to resume our day to day routine - a re-test. The atmosphere was palpable with tension, when we gave our sample - this time our nose swab - very painful and makes you want to sneeze. When the result was disclosed we were declared to be negative. This morning I took my dog out for a walk.....

Hospital

         

              I have an affinity for hospitals. It can safely be said that all my mishaps involving hospitalisation are unique unto themselves. And most of them are orthopaedic issues.The first accident happened while I was in training in Belgaum. As was the custom, after a long run, all of us (who went for the run) ran to the old rope hanging off a branch of a banyan tree. I climbed up the rope. My friend, in his impatience also started climbing the rope omitting to take into consideration that I had already reached the top of the rope. The old rope snapped and I came down alongwith it. The tactics employed by me to break my fall proved unsuccessful when it resulted in a fractured wrist reulting in my  admisssion to the local Military Hospital . The reduction of the wrist was done under anaesthesia. A cocktail of anaesthesia, as also the drugs deadened the pain. This feeling of wellbeing continued into the evening. So much so that I skipped the hospital to go get drunk. The  chaos at my being AWOL resulted  in a  reprimand. The next few days in the hospital were not very happy but they paved the way to my recovery. Never would I ever go back to the hospital I vowed to myself as soon as I was discharged.

 

            Passing time and fading memory blurred my resolve. One evening after a  few drinks with friends I committed the cardinal mistake of riding my scooter home (I was on leave). A general feeling of wellbeing made me less cautious and more trustworthy of my own abilities when I decided to drive my scooter with my eyes closed - to see if I could go straight. I was proved wrong when my scooter veered to the right. My scooter and I parted ways  as I went over a culvert, striking my knee hard against a rock in the nallah below resulting in my patella bursting into a few pieces. A quick appreciation of facts as were evident to me forced me to go to the nearest Military Hospital - much against my earlier  resolve of never going back there. The doctor in spite of having been woken up at an unearthly hour - for reasons beyond my comprehension - overlooked my inebriated state and arranged for my admission. Prior to admission I was to have been X-Rayed.

             And then disaster struck. As I was being loaded into the ambulance the stretcher bearer, unable to bear my weight dropped me resulting in a deep cut on my brow. (Five stitches). What was a bad start to a morning did not end there. My people from home were horrified seeing my bloody face (I was not yet cleaned up after my ambulance mishap). After a lot of recriminations I was left alone to meet up with the orthopaedic surgeon.When the doctor did finally arrive, his examination was cursory and his bedside manner brusque. I was slated for getting operated upon in a matter of few days. In the evening I found the ward full of activity. I was told that the orthopaedic surgeon had suffered a cardiac event and was admitted in my ward .

            That put a halt to any further treatment - at least till a replacement for the orthopaedician came in to complete the task at hand. For the next ten days the torture of Injections at odd times - something I did not look forward to with any enthusiasm whatsoever - Waking up early (or rather being rudely awakened so that the nursing assistants could make my bed) and the painful journey to the toilet - somehow I could never master the use of a bedpan all added to my misery. Ensuring that the leg did'nt get banged on the way was an exercise in itself. Meanwhile a search for my suitor/ doctor was still on. Somehow it seemed to be the time when all the orthopaedecians were either on leave or admitted in the hospital with me. My long stay saw me getting familiar with the nursing staff and the nursing trainees. I proved to be a guinea pig to the trainees who took a vicious pleasure in practicing on me with injections.  By this time I had really  dreaded the injections and regarded them as a torture. They suitably softened me. Was I being questioned then Anyone seeking  answers from me would have got them easily. Finally the the day was set for my being operated upon.

             The indignity of wearing a gown with nothing else to keep me away from the prying eyes of the operating staff soon dissolved into nothingness when I was put under anaesthesia. Somewhere in the evening when I came to, I discovered that my legs were clean shaven and the cause of my misery for the past so many days had been reduced to a clean wound which had been stitched across. The torture of the injections continued. Just when I was congratulating myself that the extended sojourn at the hospital was coming to an end, I realised that the doctors had some new techniques with which to make my life hell. The next morning I was taken to the operation theatre where the doctor without much ado squeezed my knee like it was dough. Was it not for the presence of a young lady doctor (I was young and my vanity was intact) I would have howled in pain. I contented myself with a silent gasp of pain which further encouraged the Doctor to squeeze my knee even more harder - removing infection he called it - I think he was taking pleasure in my discomfiture. This continued throughout the time I was in the hospital.  

            My ward mates were interesting in their own way. One of them was a patient who had blown up his foot in the '71 war. His doctor was scared that he would get addicted to morphine and introduced him to liquor to fight pain. Now, after all these years he had become habituated to liquor. His de- addiction programme was not working and every morning he would be up and about pacing the ward. The slap of slippers on the ward floor used to wake me up early in the morning.Then there was this other patient who was interested in tantric rituals. Sometimes he would go into trances, which amused the Nursing staff but was not funny t the patients at all.

            While the patients were interesting the visitors were no less a study in human behaviour. From nagging wives to concerned family members I saw them all . My own friends who visited me - after the preliminaries - handed me my crutches and took me outside where they could smoke in peace. I who had eschewed smoking as a teenager was drawn into this habit again and took it up with a vengeance.

and so the days passed .. Soon it was time to get discharged. Hospital life had made me soft. When I tried to get up and walk , the pain was intense in my leg. For the next few minutes I could not move. The nurse who had come to see me was getting impatient. Finally she said " guys who had lost their leg do not make as much fuss as you do." This spurred me into action and I walked out of the hospital dedtermined tha t it would be the last time. .. But was it? That is another story.