The first time I was in a hospital was when I was a boy. I got my tonsils removed through surgery. It was not a bad experience since I got a lot of cold beverages to drink. But what remains etched in my mind are two things. My father who was in the ward with me awaiting sleeplessly for me to wake up from the effects of anesthesia. The other was my mother grinding the rice, with bare hands, into a smooth paste so that it does not hurt when I swallow.
But I have more experience as an attendant. Starting from my uncle who was admitted for his high blood pressure, my father in his death-bed and my wife getting operated for the removal of her abdominal hernia. The days I spent in the hospital were very unique.
The hospitalization disrupts one’s daily rhythm of life. The common man, on a normal day to work, curses that he has the worst job in life. Put him in the hospital, as a patient or even an attendant. The same person starts praying that he leaves the hospital and willingly go back to the treacherous job.
Sitting in the ward alone many times had given me time to brood about the life of people in the hospitals. I have come across three distinct group of people in every hospital. I am not talking about patients and doctors.
Relatives of patients who are recovering
The attendants of this variety are the happiest lot. They engage in pleasant conversations with the nurses and doctors. They are mostly all praises for the doctor and the hospital. They enjoy their food and talk a lot about what to do once they go home. Visitors come in and all have a merry laugh.
Relatives of the patients who are not recovering or seem to be slipping
These attendants are worried. They are lost in the variety of treatments proposed to revive their patient. Many times, they alternate between hope due to small improvements a day and despair caused by the relapse the next day. There is, understandably, gloom in the air around them. It is a pitiable sight watching them. More unfortunate are those who get a clear indication from the doctor that there is no chance of his patient escaping the inevitable. These attendants hope for miracles.
The hospital staff
They make one realize that beyond the healing process, a hospital is nothing more than a business house. While riding the elevator, I would notice that the staff would laugh chirpily discussing a movie or make fun of a nurse who got a dressing down by the head nurse. I used to wonder how could they laugh when so many are gloomy, worried to death over the health of a dear one. But then, I would remember that they do have a life beyond the four walls of the hospital. Hospital is truly a place which means different things to different people.
Heart-rending sights
Here is one of the common sights which wrings my heart to pulp invariably every time.
The aged husband is in the general ward bed. He coughs often. He keeps calling “Lakshmi... Lakshmi” feebly. On hearing that, the figure huddled on the ground next to his bed tries to get up hurriedly. His aged, unlettered wife. She gets him water or wipes his mouth. Her face is etched with lines of worry and fear. Her innocent mind does not know what is haunting her husband. No son or daughter to be seen around. Her fragile shoulder carries the burden of unclasping her husband from the clutches of the Lord Yama.
She keeps asking the nurse when the doctor will come by for the daily visit. She firmly believes that, yes, the doctor will tell her that her husband is cured and they both can return to their village.
The doctor walks in surrounded by nurses and junior doctors. He inspects the husband and mumbles something in English to the nurse and speeds off. The wife blinks. She does not understand a bit. The doctor’s face neither gave nor belied any hope.
The wife rushes to the nurse and asks her for an update. The nurse replies kindly but casually that a CT scan needs to be done. The wife is in tears. What does this mean? Is this a step towards improvement or is it a step backwards to the abyss? The nurse is in a hurry. She has to do shift handover to the next nurse. Is there a doctor in the hospital who can tell this wizened old woman whether her husband is getting better or worse?
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