Our appointment with Dr.
Jain (Head of Hematologist Department) was at 10.30-AM and by the time we
reached Hospital it was over 10.45-AM. I requested my wife to sit at the waiting
lounge and rushed towards the OPD Reception Counter. I placed my wife’s medical
file before the Lady at the Reception and requested her to issue me the OPD
folder and receipt of consultancy fee so that I could consult the Doctor; but
without looking at me she inquired whether I have an appointment with the Dr.
Jain. I immediately replied: “Yes madam” and also showed her the last week’s
prescription of Dr. Jain wherein the Doctor had advised for the next week’s
visit. Without looking at my file, she asked for the visiting charges. After
making necessary payment I collected the new folder wherein she had attached
Hospital’s printed Form duly filled in with all the desired information of the
patient and the Doctor’s name, room number and the appointed time was mentioned:
11.30-AM.
I informed the lady at
the reception that we were having an appointment for 10.30-AM; she replied me,
since the Doctor had not yet arrived hence she has given me the appointment
time of 11.30-AM; as she believed by then the doctor would definitely arrive. I
returned to the waiting lounge and sat beside my wife. Before she could ask any
question I told her about the reason of the delay and started looking at my
mobile phone which was in silence mode. I saw eight missed calls, I checked all
the call details and found two unknown numbers, one was mobile number and
another was the land-line number from Ahmadabad.
Without wasting any time I
moved out of the waiting lounge and walked towards the parking ground. I first
called the mobile number but got no reply. Thereafter I dialed the land-line
number and after few rings I heard a Lady's voice answering
in Gujarati language: “City Nursing Home-Namaste!” I gave my name and
informed her about the missed call received from that number. She
replied again in Gujarati language and told me that it was a private Nursing
Home and she didn't exactly know who might have called me and before
I could inquire further she coolly hung the phone. I was getting worried,
who could have called me from this number. Before I could dial the mobile
number again my wife came out looking for me and informed me that the Doctor
Jain had arrived and the Nurse had called her name twice.
I dropped the idea of
calling back the missed call numbers and walked towards Dr. Jain’s cabin along
with my wife. After thorough check-up of all the test reports of my wife Dr.
Jain informed us that my wife should be admitted in the Emergency Ward
immediately because she is having very low hemoglobin due to low iron and blood
transfusion needed today itself; he also suggested a dose of iron boost. I
informed Dr. Jain that I would like to discuss with the family doctor before
going ahead with his prescription. Then, I excused myself and left the cabin
along with my wife.
We came out of the
Hospital compound totally disturbed, disappointed and disheartened and proceeded towards the parking ground. My wife had gone back to a silence mode and I could
clearly see her eyes filled with tears. I wanted to console her but then I
decided to keep quiet for the time being and left her alone for few minutes so
that she could settle down and adjust with her present situation and in this
uncertainty we left the Hospital.
I hardly had gone a
kilometer or so, when I got a call again on my mobile phone and I stopped the car
at the road side and answered the phone. It was the same mobile number again
and at the outset the caller said: “Jai Shri Krishna” I immediately understood
it was the voice of my very dear friend from Ahmadabad. I also responded in
same tone and wished him by saying: “Jai Shri Krishna Jayant Bhai”. Before I
could speak further, he interrupted me and said: “Were where you, I was trying to
contact you since morning? I briefed him about my today’s hospital visit
and the whole episode including my wife’s present problem.
He listens to me very
tentatively and after a deep breath he replied: “I am very sorry to hear about
your wife’s problem, please take good care of her. I interrupted him in between
and inquired about the reason of his sudden and frequent calls in the morning.
He kept quiet for few more seconds and then spoke to me with a very low voice:
“Nothing urgent, I just wanted to ask you about your next blog, when you will
publish it?” I was not convinced with his answer but I did not probe him further
and replied to him that due to family problems and present medical crises I was
not in a position to concentrate on my writing. However, I would try to publish
my new blog next month. And after some more conversation he disconnected the
phone.
I started my car again
but I was not in a position to forget about Jayesh bhai and I was seriously
thinking about the whole conversation and was trying to connect the dots of our
last telecom but somehow I could not come out with a positive conclusion of his
repeated calls and later I shifted my thought on my present crises.
It’s more than ten
months now, my wife was not well and suffering from multiple symptoms and
various problems which started cropping up one after the other. Initially it
was her chest pain and she was admitted to the hospital; after the angiography
test she came home; afterwards she was having high fever and in-between her
sciatica problem aggravated thereafter her cervical problem cropped-up and now
it’s her hemoglobin which was not keeping her in good health. And for every
problem we have to consult a new doctor and with every new doctor she has to
undergo various tests which includes: Blood test for Malaria Parasite EDTA
Whole Blood/Smear, Alanine Aminotransferase, Rapid Typhi IGM, Dengue, Typhoid,
Blood Cultural-Bactec Plus, Iron Cultural, Lipid Profile, Diabetic Profile,
Ultrasound (whole abdomen), X-ray for Chest, Kidney function Profile, Lever
function profile, Ferritin Serum, Irun Serum, Urine Culture, Glycosylated
Hemoglobin, EDTA Whole Body, Vitamin B12 Level Serum and many more tests, there
was no end to it. It’s not for one time, but every 15 days she had to undergo
one test after another and I was feeling so helpless, frustrated and
disappointed that I could do anything concrete to mitigate her pain. And I
wondered why should she has to suffer so much of pain; Oh Lord, have mercy on
her!
I had never felt so
helpless in my life before; I have read that after 50 years of age one had to
be very careful with his health, one must control his diet, regularly do the
physical exercise and every six month must go for routine body check-up. I have
seen my wife following all the above mentioned advises religiously but still
she was facing so many problems. I didn’t know what to do next except to listen
to the doctors' advises. After all, I can’t take chances with my better half’s
health.
In the evening we went
to our family doctor and briefed him about today’s episode. He first studied
all her reports and after thorough physical check-up he told us not to worry at
all and said: All her reports are okay except deficiency of Iron that’s why her
hemoglobin is on a lower side. He prescribed medicines and gave her diet-chart
which she has to strictly follow. He suggested only one blood test for
hemoglobin to be conducted after 20 days, that’s it. Thereafter, he will decide
the next course of action.
We came home in much
better condition and relieved. My wife was feeling somewhat at ease and for the
first time since morning I saw a little smile on her face but I could see her
eyes still filled with tears and I could not make out whether it was of joy or
sorrow!
Days passed into weeks
and weeks into months. I also forgot about Jayesh Bhai’s that particular mobile
call and got involved with my day to day affairs. The other day I went for my
car service and decided to wait for some more time to take back the car after
the service was over instead of coming again. I was waiting at the service
centre when I got an e-mail on my mobile phone from Jayesh Bhai which was so
personal that I could not control my emotions and after reading it twice I
started crying profusely.
After few minutes, I
controlled myself. I thought of calling him over the phone first but could not
muster enough strength to speak with him at that point in time. Now I
understood the reason for his that day's call from his wife's mobile and later
he called me from the Nursing home land-line phone number also because that
very day his wife was operated.
He only wanted me to
pray for his wife’s well being who was diagnosed with Colon Cancer, and was
operated for seven long hours; the doctors had removed 14 inches of large
intestine which had a tumor of about three inches in diameter. She was
undergoing Chemo therapy every fortnight, total twelve sittings were required
and till now only six had been completed, another six had to be carried out in
the next three months.
I can pretty well
understand how helpless he might have been feeling that day. He desperately
wanted to share his concern with someone whom he trusted the most. But after
realizing that my wife was also not keeping well, he kept quiet and withheld
all his agony, pain and sorrow to himself. He never wanted me to get disturbed
and upset with his personal problems, that was why he changed the topic and had
not disclosed anything further.
I came back home, sat
down in my study room and started thinking about Jayesh Bhai and his wife, respected Bhavna ji. First, I offered my prayers for the well being of Bhavana
ji and then I told my wife about the whole incident. And instantly she advised me
to rush to Ahmadabad and be with Jayesh Bhai saying that I must offer my
unconditional assistance, help and support to Jayesh Bhai, because on such
occasions in life a man must stand tall and fulfill all his duties without any
hitch or hesitation. Because this is the most crucial time which can come in
any body’s life, therefore one must not avoid and run away from such situations
and responsibilities instead face them with brave heart, open mind and without
being biased.
I wanted to call him
back but I could not manage enough courage, confidence and inner-strength to talk to him one on one.
Therefore I wrote him back and offered all my help and assistance. He
immediately responded saying that he wanted only my prayers and well wishes, nothing else. I
was feeling so low and sad, how a person could be so selfish, I should have
called him back that very day and I should have inquired about the reason of
his frantic calls, why I kept quiet for so long? Everyone has problems in life
that does not mean one can avoid facing the world and stop meeting with his own
family-members, friends and relatives.
Today when I look back
and see, I find my problem too small as compared to my friend’s problem. I was
making it so big and on the other side my very dear friend who was going
through such a tough time in his life but still he had not only faced the
situation so bravely but had also handled his social responsibilities with full
maturity, sensibly and sincerely. It’s the inner strength and strong will-power
of an honest man which ultimately makes him a perfect Friend and a
Gentleman.
I pray to God Almighty
for speedy recovery of respected Bhavna ji,
With Prayers
Gurcharan
