These forwards which flow in from cyberspace will be my undoing...
In my inbox last week was one about a Chennai-based hospital...patient with non-life threatening condition flies in from the UK.....doctor suggests emergency procedure and bungles it...money is snatched from husband...condition worsens..patient who is the mother of two young ones dies....the hospital doctors the case sheet...literally...
Sad....but it seems to keep happening.....that forwards are the only available form of retaliation is a reflection of the dreadful state of things...
It was against this backdrop that Spouse was sent off by his employers for his routine annual checkup at a leading Chennai corporate hospital....
I was anxious..naturally..
The rumor mill had it that if someone so much as fainted on its premises, this hospital carted them away to the ICU and stuck them with a whopping bill when they returned to reality.....enough to make them faint again....
I was anxious..naturally..
The rumor mill had it that if someone so much as fainted on its premises, this hospital carted them away to the ICU and stuck them with a whopping bill when they returned to reality.....enough to make them faint again....
Nowadays, getting access to sound medical advice that one can trust is often possible only if your aunt went to medical school with the doctor or your brother plays tennis with him...you have to be just plain lucky to find Dr Right on your own...
Those days when doctors made house calls are ancient history..
In Chennai today, the only people you can count on to call at your door are donation seekers, dictionary salesmen, psycho killers and the occasional axe murderer.........
In the Madras of my childhood, the visiting doctor, almost a family member, prescribed vile pharmacist-made up mixtures in red and green for your run-of-the mill illnesses... an injection was resorted to if things looked serious...if he suggested hospitalization, it meant that he could likely see the shadow of Death hovering around....
And then there were home remedies, homeopathy and ayurveda...
Spouse's mother believed in faith healing...she gave the children sangu thanni from the Mundakakanni amman temple...to cure most illness...and it worked for them...
Those days when doctors made house calls are ancient history..
In Chennai today, the only people you can count on to call at your door are donation seekers, dictionary salesmen, psycho killers and the occasional axe murderer.........
In the Madras of my childhood, the visiting doctor, almost a family member, prescribed vile pharmacist-made up mixtures in red and green for your run-of-the mill illnesses... an injection was resorted to if things looked serious...if he suggested hospitalization, it meant that he could likely see the shadow of Death hovering around....
And then there were home remedies, homeopathy and ayurveda...
Spouse's mother believed in faith healing...she gave the children sangu thanni from the Mundakakanni amman temple...to cure most illness...and it worked for them...
But now, technology has taken charge and diagnosis based on symptoms and case history has flown out of the window...a dead art...so one gets sucked into a battery of tests...even those clearly on their last legs are subjected to tests, tests and more tests...
Chennai's biggest corporate hospital has now emerged as a hospital of last resort....a central hospital.....akin to the RBI, our central bank, the lender of last resort.....
When the private and mid sized places see that they can do no more, the patient is moved there...kept alive through ventilators and the like...
Release often comes only when the family says: "Pull the plug"...and most families do not want to take that decision...
When the private and mid sized places see that they can do no more, the patient is moved there...kept alive through ventilators and the like...
Release often comes only when the family says: "Pull the plug"...and most families do not want to take that decision...
Not realizing that their loved ones should be allowed to die with dignity...
While cutting edge technology makes it possible to save lives, and these big places do their bit in this sphere, the pressure to keep the bottom line a bright shade of green often turns them into predators....
They create hope when none exists...and that is unforgivable..
So...I do what I can..
Add a few more lines to my daily prayer:
In the evening of my life..
When the time comes for me to shed my mortal coils...
I want to be lying in my own bed at home..
I ask that He should then...Gently....
I ask that He should then...Gently....
Just take my breath away..
Only then am I truly Blessed....
1 comment:
I laboured through a comment to try and match your inimitable style,'cool' as Vinay calls it and it went and evaporated into the ether.Just my luck.
In effect I think what I said was that given the state of affairs of the world we live in,in order to die a happy death,one should try to be healthy in life.
The brisk morning walk,some exercise and some regular pranayama should ensure that.
Ah! I now remember what I said.
It was about the waxed apples.I received a mail from someone warning me not to eat shiny apples as they were waxed to look fresh.And if I still desperately wanted to eat them,I could scrape off the wax with a knife!
Even tomatoes without the stalks are supposed to have some toxins in them.If you don't find worms in your ladies'fingers,then it means they have been washed in some foul chemical.
Enough bad news to make you avoid food altogether and stick to love and fresh air!
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