Coughing out money for cough!

 

Coughing Out Money for Cough!                       Sometime in mid-February 2024

Sometimes I wonder why the intensity of all health-related issues peak during night time! Is it because no ready help is available or, is it because all the clinics are closed and doctors have gone home. Or perhaps because there is silence at home and the mind begins to conjure all kinds unknown and unfathomable fears! Not having found an answer, I’ve settled for a mix of all three.

The issue gets more complex when the following day is a Sunday or a public holiday and no doctors are around. Like the old adage goes, “When something has to go wrong, it will”, I wish to add the word “certainly” before “will”. With the weather making a sudden change to hotter summer like days and cool winter-like nights, I developed some irritation in my throat on Saturday evening. Assuming that it could be an allergic soreness, I just took some basic precautions. However, by late night on Saturday, it became worse. I was in the midst of a full-blown throat infection, sore throat, soreness all around the body and severe dry cough that wasn’t allowing me to even catch my breath. I just couldn’t sleep a wink that night.

The following day being a Sunday, I was at my wits end…with no clinics open and no doctors willing to answer their phone, I did the next best thing. The great Indian Jugaad – self-medication; with an anti-allergic tablet, a mild pain killer and a basic level antibiotic. I hoped that the basic medication would arrest the runaway spread of infection in the lungs. By mid-afternoon the cough had gotten worse and my stomach muscles were groaning and writhing in pain, each time I coughed. I feared that the bouts of incessant coughing would tear the stomach muscles. After a 2^nd consecutive night of no sleep, I went on Monday morning to meet our family physician. I kept him informed about my adventure with medicines. He just smiled…I was reminded of my Father’s very close friend at Durgapur, Dr Pal – Head of the department of pathology in Durgapur Steel Plant Hospital. During one of his friendly visits to our house, I asked him questions about what tablets should be kept handy for any emergency. I had come home from REC Trichy during our annual vacation and it was a pleasant coincidence to bump into this super friendly doctor. With a twinkle in his eyes, he said Beta, along with your engineering studies, one must also learn some doctory – it will hold you in good stead! Words of wisdom, certainly!

Over the years I have learnt to read the drug composition in the pharmaceutical name given to tablets prescribed by doctors. There was far too much congestion in my lungs and while coughing was meant to cough out the phlegm, it just did not. Instead, the back-to-back coughing brought severe cramps in my stomach muscles. Each time I coughed I would writhe in pain. It was a horrible experience and a much more horrible experience to the family members watching me this. They felt stressed out too. I was going to the doctor’s clinic twice a day for the nebulizer. While it is advisable to keep a unit at home for emergency use, I didn’t want to spend too much money on a piece of equipment that would be used only occasionally. The important thing the doctor or nurse didn’t tell me was that I should have purchased a mask with tube plus the medicine dispenser for myself. I used the one at the clinic and that may have caused more infection.

When the cough did not clear up even after a week of medication, I started to get the feeling that this could turn out to be pneumonia. I took the help of my brother-in-law (sister’s husband), 10 years my senior, both age and college graduation year. He advised me to meet a pulmonologist, known to him. This doctor, a fairly experienced person also wanted to rule out pneumonia and suggested I go for an x-ray. My family physician had already asked for a CBC where certain parameters were out of whack. Thankfully the pulmonologist did not ask for another CBC and based his diagnosis on the x-ray and the old CBC report. He concluded that pneumonia was ruled out, but added more medicines and respules to the nebulizer. One of the respule was a steroid; I asked the doctor for more explanation since steroids are generally given in extreme cases. He assured me that this was a very specific steroid and aimed at the lungs only to help in clearing the congestion. This was not harmful and even if this drug is abruptly stopped or withdrawn, there are no adverse side effects.

The combination of new drugs helped me vastly, but it took time. The whole episode lasted almost 3 weeks. While I am completely out from the drug regime, some symptoms remain and I understand that normalcy @ 100% will take some more time.

Come to think of it at one stage, I was contemplating to get myself admitted in a hospital to get continuous nursing support. But somehow refrained from taking a step in that direction. In my life span, I have been admitted in a hospital on a few occasions. The first was when I fell from a height and my left elbow hit a stone while crashing down. It was broken, and since it happened on a Diwali night, no doctors were available in the emergency. I had to return to the hospital the next morning for an operation to set the elbow right and put it in a plaster cast. It took 3 weeks for it to set and even after the plaster cast was removed, I was petrified to straighten my arm, lest it break again. It took a physiotherapist to force me to straighten my arms and drive home the point that all was well with the joint.

The next time I was admitted for a more severe problem. Suspecting something was amiss, my mom took me to a physician to check out if all was well with my throat. Difficulty in swallowing and slight swelling were the symptoms. While it appeared like mumps, the doctor suspected diphtheria and promptly had me admitted. I was put on an extreme penicillin injection 4 times a day for the next 4 days. An extra two days stay in the hospital ward and I was declared fit to return home and to school.

The next was during my third-year engineering at REC Trichy. After an early meal of vegetable biryani in our Mess/Canteen, I started to vomit uncontrollably. At some point I was extremely weak even to go to the bathroom to relieve myself. I had kept a mug by my bedside, hoping that somehow this would become normal and the problem would magically go away. It didn’t and by next morning, the dehydration was taking its toll on me. My friends quickly spoke to the college physician and took me to BHEL’s hospital, close to our college campus. This is a wonderful hospital and the doctor was amazed that I was still able to stand and that I had not collapsed. He got me admitted immediately and put me on various medication through drip feed. I was kind off knocked out for the next 24 hours, before the recovery phase kicked in. All the while my friends were constantly in touch with the hospital to check on my progress and when I would be able to return to hostel. After returning, I was extremely scared to touch the mess/canteen food, but once the stomach is back to its normal self and hunger pangs return, all what is eaten gets digested! There were a few other occasions, but I think it makes more sense to ignore them and move on…

Good health is the only ask from the almighty when we cross the mid sixties!!       

In Appreciation!!

 

Date: 23^rd February 2024

We will remember this day in a long time to come…it was like opening a new chapter. Before I present the details of what made me say this, I need to go back to 1985. It was a chance meeting of my yet-to-be wife. Venue: my sister’s home! This happened during an official visit that took me to India Cements in Tirunelveli. A casual call from the site office to my sister and she convinced me to visit her at Bangalore before heading to my home base at Kolkata. She had asked this girl to visit her home with her grandmother without giving her an inkling that she in the midst of a match fixing.

That chance meeting changed my life as I instantaneously said yes, but my wife-to-be took three months’ time to give her consent. The only flaw that made bold headlines was I was settled in Kolkata and this girl had not travelled north of Hyderabad and Kolkata was notoriously known for strikes, hartal, bandh, Industrial unrest and what not…Kolkata was also known to be the most populated city in the country and downright filthy. For a person having lived her life in the cool garden city, moving to Kolkata was like a nightmare. However, she gathered enough courage to give her consent and before our marriage on 15^th November, we met for a half day engagement function on 28^th August 1985.

This was the first time I was getting to know her and getting introduced to her extended family. Between two brothers, one of them my late father-in-law, they had 8 children. My wife was the lone girl child amongst her three brothers and it was one son and three daughters in the case of her father’s younger brother.  Since my late father-in-law had met with an untimely death, his younger brother had assumed the responsibility of all the 8 children. What was amazing to me was how close nit the 8 siblings were. It was great to see them stand for each other from their young days while I couldn’t say the same about my three sisters and myself. We were a divided lot ready to lodge complaints against each other to our parents at the drop of a hat. And so, when I saw the unity amongst these eight siblings, I was pretty much impressed.

Fast forward to the current times, this bonhomie amongst the siblings continues, although each has traveled different paths – paths that they have carved for themselves. To this day, whatever be the function, the eight come together and celebrate with full gusto as if they were still together living as a joint family and sharing all the joy. But I must add that it has not been a cake walk for all…in each of their married lives they have faced issues that could have torn them apart but for the fact that they could lean on each other and draw their strength from each other and carry on with their lives, one day at a time. The joys of sharing experiences!

Tragedy of unfathomable proportions has been faced by my wife’s eldest brother, his wife and their daughter when they lost their son at his young budding age of twenty. He was a very smart boy, a great friend to all his batchmates in Goa, a great student to all his teachers where he had chosen to pursue a career on a subject of his choice. He was a poet, guitarist, singer, creative photographer et al. We might never be able to reconstruct where a course correction could have been made to wean him away from that moment when he decided to take his life. I am sure his parents would have made an all-out effort if only he had given them an inkling of what was going through his mind. But he chose to keep all his thoughts to himself. A tragedy I wish no parent has to face in their lifetime.

Everyone of the sibling was devastated on hearing the news and they silently stood by the eldest, hoping against hope that he, his wife and daughter somehow come out of their sorrow…time honestly doesn’t heal. It does make the pain of losing a near and dear one become a permanent life partner with a “What-if” and “Why”! Answers to these questions remain elusive and keep disappearing into the unknow and distant future…

More recently, the youngest brother was diagnosed with a major heart problem which required multiple visits to Specialists, before settling for an open-heart surgery. It was the group of eight that stood with each other to overcome the sudden crisis like situation. Knowing that the youngest was financially not strong to take care of sudden medical eventualities, the eldest had purchased a medical insurance for him and three members of his family through Royal Sundaram. This insurance company has a very innovative scheme where the no-claim bonus is ploughed back to the principal coverage amount. This came in extremely handy as he was admitted for short lengths twice and the third time was for actual surgery. While there was a 20 to 30% copayment, the major cost was covered reducing the financing costs. But as a run up to the surgery, the entire family had to move in at their eldest brother’s house in Bangalore and were taken care for a good two months’ time.

If this is not what standing for each other means, then I don’t know what is a better definition. Between him and his wife, they left nothing to chance and took care of everything that was necessary to nurse him back on his feet. This was when I was reminded of the days when both the parents suffered silently having lost their only son on 1^st November 2019. Looking at their extraordinary efforts to ensure that he gets the best of diagnosis and care during and after the surgery made me think how much these parents would have done for their son, if only he had chosen to give them a whiff of what were his thoughts at that particular instant. This brought back a flood of memories as tears welled into my eyes. If there is another lifetime we have to live, then I would wish for a caring sibling – none other than my wife’s eldest brother.

As I conclude my thoughts, I am sure each of the other seven siblings will have their own unique story to share and how I wish that each one shares their experiences to enrich the lives of our children and grandchildren. We must resolve to write and share our family history for its richness and sacrifices so that the coming generations beyond ours will get a glimpse of what and who we were!!

Jai Sree Ram

Jai Sree Ram                                                                                                                    31/Jan/2024

The year 2024 started on a pretty mute note, as I look back to the last day of the year that has just gone by. My brother-in-law had faced a medical issue at Mysore sometime during mid-December. Upon taking a 2nd opinion at Apollo hospital in Bengaluru, he was asked to be admitted on 30th December 2023 for a cardiac related procedure. 

What appeared to be a quick solution – angiogram and angioplasty with insertion of 2 or 3 stents; it turned out to be a non-starter. His blood sugar levels were high and creatinine plus potassium figures were also beyond the normal levels. The doctors admitted him in ICU and put him on a medication drive to bring these critical parameters under control. The angiogram was finally done on 1st January 2024. The outcome was scary in the beginning. His attending doctor reported multiple blocks with various degrees of blockage and one being 100%. He totally ruled out angioplasty and transferred the case to another experienced cardiac surgeon in key hole and robotic surgery. This doctor painted a very dark picture and gave the patient 2-weeks time to bring all the vital parameters under control and keep it steady for a week before proceeding further.

Our R E College 42nd Reunion was scheduled for the 4th of January 2024. This was a special reunion with more than 110 of our batchmates signing up to attend with their spouse at Ooty. It had the promise of a grand gala reunion since we were meeting after a gap of 7 years. Not knowing when the next gathering would take place and how many of us would be around, quite a few of us were keen to attend and catch up with folks. It was a grand 3 days function starting at 11 AM on 4th January and closing on 7th January 2024.

My batchmate from Minneapolis had agreed to join me and my wife on our onward and return journey by our car. We left at 6 AM on 4th morning and proceeded on the Mysuru – Bandipur – Madumalai – Masinagudi - Ooty road. Madumalai to Ooty was on the ghat section with 36 hair pin bends and they were quite steep as we approached Ooty. At times I was worried if the car would able to make the gradient as I had to drive in 1st Gear. The road is one way to the hilltop and it becomes a nightmare if there is a slow-moving vehicle ahead of you. That was precisely my problem on the last 20 KM stretch where the hair pin bends were steep. A diesel Maruti Swift spewing thick black smoke indicating that its life was nearing its 15-year term was ahead of us. We had to keep the windows open as the A/C was put-off to garner max power for climbing. The smoke was hazardous and the Swift wasn’t in a mood to give way to us. In spite of these setbacks, we were able to reach Sterling Fern Hill resort by 11:45 AM.

For the next 3 days we had fun catching up and sharing our stories with the ones we were meeting after a gap of 42 years. The food was good, the programs and activities organized were superb and it was like going back in time. We missed a few outdoor fun activities because of the overcast skies and the continuous drizzle. The thick dense fog prevented us from even going for a morning walk. However, the day we started on our return trip the skies had cleared completely and the sun shone brightly. After a prolonged bye-byes we started around 8:30 AM. Surprisingly, after descending to 4,000 feet or thereabouts we encountered a thick fog with visibility of just 5 feet. We stopped for a while thinking the fog would clear. It didn’t and we took a chance to restart. Luckily the road was two-lane but almost for the entire distance on the hills, culverts were mnbeing extended and the roads were dug up narrowing it to one track at each culvert and that slowed us down considerably. We stopped briefly at Gudalur for a coffee break and to our surprise found that all eateries and shops had their shutters down. We spoke to a restaurant owner to understand the reason – he said a couple a days back a Cheetah had mauled a 6 year old child to death and this was the only way the townsfolks felt would force the local authorities to capture and encage the wild cat. Thankfully, the restaurant owner allowed us to take a bio-break!

It was past 12 noon by the time we reached Mysuru and stopped for lunch at the same hotel Siddharth where we had breakfast while going to Ooty on 4th January. Post lunch we hit the Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway and reached our destination by 4:30 PM. Post dinner we went to meet my brother-in-law to check for his health and updates if any from his doctors. He was scheduled to meet his doctor the next day and underwent an echocardiogram to check the heart’s pumping efficiency. The same day we spoke to our astrologer, known to us for the last 25 years to seek her opinion regarding surgery. She gave an all-clear signal for the surgery. But the doctors had put him on a strong medication regime to bring all his vital parameters under control. For the next two weeks it was a wait and watch.

Another event that quietly took place was my elder son his wife and son accompanied my brother-in-law’s twin daughters to Mysuru for a week to help them appear for their class examinations. These exams significantly contribute to the overall total marks in each subject as the marks for class exams are 30% of the total. They were away at Mysuru from the 7th to 13th. They all returned in time for my 2nd daughter-in-law’s 30th birthday on 14th January 2024.

Sankranthi was on 15th this year, and we celebrated amongst my wife’s three brothers and their families at Elita. Since the 1st annual Karya of my Chikkappa (my father’s youngest brother) wasn’t concluded we hadn’t celebrated any festival the whole of last year. The annual Karya was scheduled for 4 days from the 17th to 20th January and it went of extremely peacefully at his home. We seek his blessings from wherever he is, from his dimension of time and space.

During a routine follow-up check at Apollo’s Bannerghatta road hospital, the attending surgeon sprang a surprise by asking for a PET Perfusion Test. He asked for this to get a better handle on the position of the blocked vessels and check which process, angiogram plus angioplasty or Robotic bypass surgery would be more effective. The PET Perfusion test is normally done at the Cancer hospitals since it is a necessity at these centres. The following day itself on 18th January 2024, this was done at HCG near Corporation circle. The test required doing the scanning twice, each time with a different tracer. One of these tracers spikes the blood sugar levels and through insulin the sugar levels are monitored and when it reaches an optimum level, the scan is done. We read the report once it was completed but couldn’t make head or tale out of it. The concluding statement was vague – it said both options are possible. I guess this put the attending doctor in a fix. They tossed it amongst themselves for some time and later decided to refer to a different doctor at Apollo’s Sheshadripuram Unit.

In the meanwhile, the most awaited event of the century was about to unfold in front of us on 22nd January 2024. Ram lalla’s Pran Prathishtapana was scheduled to be held in the newly constructed Ram Mandir at Ayodhya by The Temple Trust in presence of our PM Sri Narendra Modi in Abhijit Muhurat of Pushya masa between 12:09 and 12:38 PM. The whole nation was watching the event from their respective homes that was telecast live. I sat glued to the TV and watched all the events associated with the installation, Prana Pratishtapana and Puja thereafter. It was 500 years of wait for the Hindus of this nation to see their Maryada Purushottama Ram get back his rightful  place in Ayodhya. We feel blessed to be born during these times to witness such a historic moment being etched on stone. The feeling amongst all Bharatiyas was of extreme elation – it was as if each had achieved something formidable; something none had ever dreamed about. 

On 24th January 2024, my brother-in-law finally met Dr Anand Subramanyam, an expert on open heart surgery at Apollo, Sheshadripuram. This Doctor spoke positively about the outcome from this open heart surgery and gave an assurance that all would proceed well and that he deserved a chance to get better and feel better. He also mentioned that PET Perfusion Test wasn’t necessary at all and that came as a shock to all of us. It had cost Rs 16,500. This doctor ordered for another test called Doppler’s test in the neck region around the carotid artery. We guessed this was done to check if the blood flow to the upper region was adequate. It turned out to be acceptable. The doctor suggested that we should wait for another week for all his vital parameters to stabilize with all the new medication plus some additional ones prescribed by him for controlling the Blood Pressure and Pulse Rate.

In the meantime both, my wife and I met an orthopaedist to talk to him about our issues. Mine is an old issue of knee Osteo-arthritis besides lower back pain, pinching of the sciatica nerves and numbness in the toe region on both my feet. My wife’s problem is right shoulder pain that is a result of the diabetes medication she has been taking for the last 15 years. While I have tried acupressure and acupuncture for the last 2 and half years, it has not reversed the condition. Acupuncture helps to maintain the blood flow to the nerves and nerve endings so that they don’t perish. The option given to both were supplements and not pain killers. These supplements can be taken for short fixed periods and cannot be continued over long stretches. Both of us took the decision to try it out.

Today is the last day in the month of January 2024 and it’s a month and a fortnight since the ordeal started in Mysore for my brother-in-law. We are still waiting for the doctor to call us and give a date for his operation. We hope he does so in the first week of February 2024 and gives him a new lease of life.  

Amidst all these activities, I had managed to be at the Varadanjaneya swamy temple everyday in the evening between 6:45 and 8:30 PM to chant Shatanamavalli in praise of Lord Rama and his closest and favourite devotee, Lord Anjaneya. I did this religiously till the 22nd January 2024 when the Pran Pratishthapana was done at Ram Janmabhoomi at Ayodhya.

Viswanath R Rao 

11:53 PM