Dr Bindumenon

It was 10 minutes past midnight. The flight was unprecedentedly delayed by 2 hours. “ A technical hitch “ was what was told to us. We were relieved that the flight had landed smoothly without any technical issues. I was on my way to visit my daughter.  As I retrieved my luggage from the conveyor belt, troubled thoughts swirled in my mind. It’s getting late. Should I leave now, or should I stay at a nearby hotel for the night before continuing my journey? Lost in thought, I kept walking until I reached the exit. As I was about to leave, someone grabbed my suitcase and said, "Namaste, Madam. You're late to visit your daughter this time." His cheerful face was like a God-given gift.   I replied, "Yes, I have been busy," then we started. I relaxed and leaned back, ready to sleep. The journey of a woman's life is both challenging and beautiful.  Understanding the challenges that women face in their everyday lives is something that only another woman can truly un...

The grey in our decisions   This was in the summer of last year. I had a 55-year-old male patient admitted with a severe stroke. He was a government job holder with lots of stress and had hypertension. He was initially intubated and was now off that tube. He still needed two tubes: one to feed him and another to drain out his urine.  For the last seven days, we all had struggled and brought him to this present position, which was excellent by medical grading. His wife and daughter were the only family members present at his bedside.  However, despite the medical progress, in reality, the patient and his family were still struggling. The neurology team recommended rehabilitation care but the family was unable to decide. We spent a couple of days wavering on decisions between discharge or continuing hospital management The daughter asked me, "Is this the right decision to go home?  "I pondered   "There is no single right decision; each of us is right from ou...

The unspoken language of eyes  Year - 2006  Time - around 5.30 pm  Place - outside a park  Physical state – Hurriedly dashing inside the park  Mental state - Anxious  Target - Meeting my daughter  As I hurriedly entered the park, amidst children laughing, shouting, screaming and crying, I spotted my daughter sitting with her head down, trying to remove her roller skates. It was the day of the skating competition, and I had come with her but had to leave due to a medical emergency.  As a doctor, I sometimes have no choice.  She had told me, "Mama, you go, and by the time you are back, I will have won." As I approached her, my heart weighed heavy with worry, wondering whether she had. Looking at her drooped shoulders, I wondered whether she had made it to her words. I rushed towards her with a heavy heart, blaming myself for my absence.  Beta I called. She looked straight into my eyes. The victory was written in her tired eyes. She bend do...

The Language of Love It was a quiet Friday at the hospital. With most patients away celebrating the festival, I too was eager to finish my work and head home. There is a certain joy in relaxing at home, sometimes that’s a celebration to me.  The next patient I saw was an elderly lady who was accompanied by a middle-aged man. With her first step inside my room, she locked eyes with me. She always accompanied her husband, who was the patient. They have been with me for a decade. However, he wasn’t with her this time and I wondered why he hadn’t come.  As she entered inside I was unsure whether she should be steered towards the patient or the bystander chair. She did not give me time and headed straight to the patient chair.  I have a standard practice of asking how my old patients are doing when I see them. But this time, she beat me to it and asked me “How are you”? I responded by saying that I was very well and thanked her for asking. Upon hearing this she held my han...

Meeting the hero: A shift in point of view It was a Monday and my usual routine unfolded. I had graciously swung between the OPD patients, emergency patients, ward rounds, reports, missed calls, administrative calls, friendly calls, family calls, discharge cards, staff motivation, prescription doubts, google challenges, patient counselling, re-counselling, re-re- counselling, snacking, and of course breathing. My choreographed routine occasionally changed steps.  With immense satisfaction I wrapped up the day’s work. My routine had not completed though. As one of my friends  had aptly remarked, I had my second innings at the evening clinic unfolding to the days story. I was ready to leave. Just then my secretary came and said Mam, we have our regular patient on the wheel chair.  His wife had forgotten to schedule an appointment; As usual Mam”. “She insists on seeing you”, he added. Though I had mentally concluded this OPD, I readjusted my mindset, assumed my professional ...

Tension was in the air.  My white shiny shoes were a millimetre away from the 5 cm white start line on the running track. The rhythmic breathing of my fellow players further raised the tension. I was poised to listen to the gunshot which will have me heading for the 100 - meter race which I was sure to win.  Just then my concentration was shattered by my PT teacher shouting “ Bindu, tie your shoe laces properly! They are loose; you might fall”. I looked at the compact shoe with my snug foot inside. I thought they were just fine, but maybe yes, Sir was right. I tightened it. The gun shot echoed and I sprinted. I surged forward and was initially in the lead. However half way through, my feet began to ache and I couldn’t maintain the pace and finished second.  I was sad. Second was commendable but it fell short of being the best. The disappointment was not just for losing the race but because my foot was hurting so badly.  This narrative goes beyond just a race. It ref...

I wake up with a sweat at one am and I wonder  I wondered whether the patient I had admitted from the outpatient  with TIA ( layman term as mini stroke) is ok in his room. It was my first admission after I joined my neurology residency. I had come back to my room and read about TIA in detail. Patients can get a major stroke after TIA.  With this devastating information I had slumped on the bed exhausted with all medical jargon running in my dreams.  Now sitting up alert,  I wondered.  I wondered whether I had forgotten to write any medication  in the prescription chart.  I wondered if the nursing attendant has given all the injections in their due time.  I wondered whether I was too quick to leave him at the bedside and whether he had many more complaints to tell me.  I wondered whether the nurse had collected all the test reports.  I wondered if there were any abnormal test results and she had informed the ...