A Fate's Game Of Hide And Seek

Some incidents and people leave a long lasting memory in your hearts. Last December, my father had a heart attack and had to undergo a bypass surgery at Apollo Groups of Hospitals Chennai. It was a stressful period for the entire family. It was the week my father had been admitted and we were seated in the waiting area. I was lost in a maze of thoughts when I noticed a commotion nearby. A lady was standing; her eyes swollen with tears and a bewildered lost expression on her face. There were few other relatives nearby and every face spoke of anxiety and tension and grief.

Her daughter of 17 years old had suffered continuous vomiting all of a sudden and had lost consciousness. They were from Pondicherry. The doctors at JIPMER had figured out that it was a case of liver failure and had directed them to go to Chennai. At Apollo they had told them that a liver transplant needed to be done immediately and that it would cost them 40 lakh rupees. The men in the family were trying all possible ways to meet the requirement; friends, colleagues, relatives, political influence, charity trusts.

“We can afford only 15 lakhs. They are asking 40. We have no idea what to do.”

Someone advised them to go to Govt Hospital as it would work cheaper. Someone else said that at Stanley they would perform the same surgery at a reduced cost. Desperation and helplessness was evident from their expressions. I came to know that it was a daughter she had raised, not her own. But that made no difference and her love was true and genuine. She would do just anything to get her girl back. Only thing she had no idea what needed to be done.

It was visiting hours at the ICU for my dad and I had to leave. That night, my mind was full of thoughts about my father’s health condition interspersed with the images of the grieving mother.

The next afternoon my brother and I went for a coffee to the hospital cafeteria. We found the mother seated at a table in deep conversation with someone. Her face was tired but showed more traces of relief than grief. In fact she was to an extent jubilant. We inquired what happened.

“My daughter regained consciousness. They said that the operation is no longer needed”, she replied. I was in no way related to her and knew her by just one meeting the previous day. Still as a fellow human being I felt a similar relief.

Around a fortnight passed and I was engulfed in various duties related to my father’s surgery. I was seated again in the same waiting area holding my head in my hands. My father’s surgery was scheduled in a couple of days. When I turned around; the sight that met my eye startled me. It seemed like a photocopy of the scene from fifteen days back. The mother was standing leaning against her husband; her face gaunt and her looks focused on something beyond the concrete walls in front of her. Another man arrived and approached her. On seeing him she broke into loud uncontrollable sobs. That man seemed to be her brother. In an attempt to console her he said in a harsh tone “What has happened now? It’s not all over. Don’t give up hope”. The woman was weak and numb. Someone asked or rather ordered her to sit lest she might faint. She sat with a thud on the chair next to me.

I did not want to be meddlesome and add on to her misery. After some time she seemed to calm down a bit. I gently touched her shoulder and asked what happened.
The girl’s immunity had gone down drastically due to the liver failure. She had acquired some severe infections and was now in a critical stage. The infection was so contagious that they were not being allowed to go anywhere near her. The woman started crying again. I took her hands in mine and grasped it.

“Suthama pechu moochu illaama irukka. Elumbum Tholuma irukka.En ponnu. En chellam ga ava”(She is totally unconscious with no signs of movement and has become thin and looks like a bag of bones now. She is my daughter; my darling) she mumbled and broke down.

I tightened my hold of her hand and said “It will become okay. Don’t lose hope. Will surely pray for your daughter”. Consolation was the only thing that I could give her. We were two human beings going through very stressful times each fighting a different battle that life had laid down in front of us.

I had to leave after a few minutes. Fate seemed to be playing a game of hide and seek with them throwing misery and hope alternately. I never encountered that family again. I have no idea what happened after that. But I kept wishing and hoping that the little girl won her fight the second time and that her family got her back. Something tells me that she should have.

 

Dear Mindian

Thanks for the feedback. My father is doing much better now, thanks.

 

Dear Sridhar sir

Thanks for your comments and appreciation.It always feels great to receive comments from a veteran like you.

Regards
Jayashree

 

Dear Lakshmi

I am really sorry about the loss of your mother.I too hope that the lady became alright.

Hospital is one place where the toughest moments in various lives enfolds before our eyes.

Salutations to the entire medical fraternity for their service to mankind.