Monday, February 21, 2005

Miscalculated Adventure

"Which department do you have to go?"

"Dermatology, mam"

"Are you coming here for the first time?"

I should have said "No". But if i say that, I have to show the patient card, which I have lost! So, I say, "Yes. This is my first time here."

"Then, fill up this form".

"Yes Mam. Sure"

Lesson 1: When your Project Manager is not in town, this is the worst time for you. Thats when work piles up for you.

Arvind was out of town. Its a holiday in US today as well and I thought its a holiday for me as well here. He had already told me on Friday what needs to be done for today and it was not gonna take more than 2 hrs to finish that off. So I can finish off all other pending stuff today. This is how I left home today. Remember jike, I talked about the 'cracked heels' I had which was ruining my sleep all the night. (This was as late as my Kochi trip.. Go back in time line and see)... So that has developed into a 'hard rock' I should say. thatha was saying like, these are dead cells now. He was saying like get the treatment done for this before the infection spreads to whole of the body. So I thought, why not make a trip to hospital today!?

St.Johns Medical College and Hospital, Koramangala, Bangalore, is not new to me. The very name freaks out my mom even now, for this is where, her mom, my grandmom, breathed last. That was like 5 years ago. Mention the name to my mom even now, she would start shouting back at me. Anyway, for me, hospital, medicines are something I like. Weird!? Thats what I am... I like the smell of the hospital... I like taking medicines... So here I am in front of St.Johns once again...

Lesson 2: Dont let a disease or a symptom develop into a serious disease. Kill it before it kills you.

My mentality has been like, I wont tell anyone till it goes out of my hand. I wont speak a word, until its like: The disease has 'really' taken over me. So, I am on my way to the Dermatology dept. Call Number 1: "Hi. This is Rajiv. Can you come over to DS today? The code is not working. We need to debug and we need your help" DS is like 1hr from the new campus and I am not in office yet. I tell Rajiv that I shall be there in 1.5 hrs and go to see my doc.Who expects people in a Dermatology dept, anyway! The doc is gonna give some cream/ointment, its all gonna take few mins and I would be off.

Doc sees my leg and says: "Hmm. You have got a wart"

"A, what!?" ...."A, wart. No problem.. Do a cryo today. Come back after 10 days.. do a cryo again.. and lets see"... Now, doc, whats a wart? ... Then he explained: " There has been a severe viral infection. The virus has eaten all the skin and it has gone deep inside. So they would spray on the affected area. This is not gonna heal soon. You have to do it couplea times"

While he was talking: Call Number 2: "Hi this is Manoj from Austin... Guess Rajiv already talked to you... Just wanted to make sure we are on same page.. You should go to DS.. Work with the dev team and fix the bug and give me a status update by 9AM my time"....

Yeah, sure! This is what I wanted! Anyway, whatever this cryo is , wont take more time, wud it? They are just gonna spray and leave me.... So I see the sister, who asks me to make the payment. (A note on sisters: Dont know. Most of them 90% can i say, are mallus and are christians. Why is that!? Donno! )... So when I finally enter the "Mini Surgery" room of the Dermatology department, 1 hr is gone already! The doctor there, who has to do the cryo, sees my leg, is astonished by the level to which it has affected my feet, says, she cant do it. She asks me if I have time today, or I have to leave early: I say "Mam.. please... I have work...". She asks me to soak my leg for 30 mins and then only she can do it...

What! I call Rajiv and say I am gonna be late!. He says "You are already there at hospital... So we cant do anything at it.. But, come asap"... So i wait there while my legs are getting soaked in water... I get restless after some time. I ask the sister, if I can take my leg outa water.. She says "Procedure is going on. Wait!"... what procedure? I know only of Stored Procedure.... Finally after 40 mins of soaking, the sister, asks me to come in...

Now, comes the worst part of it... Who do i get to do my cryo? A doctor trainee! A girl, who shud be in her final year of medical studies... I am the first person shes gonna do it, might be... I remember Grace now. Remember the 'Hospital Show', where Karen makes secret plan with the doc and makes a nurse trainee, Miss.Pittman, to take blood out of Grace, knowing that Grace is afraid of needle? Same situation here...

Lesson 3: Love your body and every part of your body. Body is the only companion you have got which is there with you from birth and it dies with you.

So, she takes a small knife and starts removing the skin from my heels. The virus had even made holes in my feet. I thought the fishes at Hoggenekkal have bittten them and removed them.... Now I know, who the real culprit is... The skin is dead skin basically, with no sensation at all. So there wont be any pain to the body. But as soon the knife goes deep inside and when it hits the 'living' skin and when the blood starts coming out, thats when the pain develops. So, she asks me now and then, "Is it paining?" ... I would say "No"... This goes on for some 20 minutes. Now that she has taken all of the dead skin, she now takes the spray and starts spraying inside the hole she has created in my leg.. Now, it definitely pains... The virus under direct attack! So she does that and puts the bandage on. Asks me not to wear shoes for 4 , 5 days.. Asks me to come back after 10 days for one more cryo. The senior dotor said that time I have to soak it for much longer time... This thing wont get cured very easily... I say a BIG yes to them and took off....

Bad day at work also.. News of my colleagues' death.... Servers where I was supposed to work went down and are not up still.. Network issues.... Bad Monday...

I told thatha of this adventure... He was happy that finally I did something to the 'wart'.. "But, dont tell this to your mother that you got a mini-surgery today... She would get psyched up"...

"Yes thatha, I know..."... Its also from St.Johns which I have got to remember! :)

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