Report of 20 March 2016
Hello.
This has been a tough couple of days. A beloved patient at the B - a fairly young lady, Ms. X - was hospitalised, took a turn for the worse, and abruptly died. I saw her in the ICU, wanting to visit and find out what was happening; I was lucky to be one of the few to see her alive in her last days. SMF Hospital gave their usual excellent care, but Ms. X deteriorated quickly. I hoped against hope that her young body would fight the low blood pressure and the trouble breathing, but it was not to be. Ms. X was mildly developmentally delayed; I have no idea of her family, but she was as happy as a clam at the Banyan and a firm favorite of all, with her easy manner and pithy observations on life. My favorite memory of her - other than her unceasing geniality - is of her offering her guava to the lead health care worker, when fruit is still a rare treat at the B. I wonder repeatedly if I could have done anything differently, though I was not at all involved in her initial care: that is the Banyan, for you - all of us take responsibility for those who have nothing. But she has died. The leader of Adaikalam posted a beautiful tribute, with a picture of Ms. X smiling, and that has comforted me.
Death. For the young. What a weird concept. They ought to live their lives and only die when that is done.
We were en route to Madurai when we got the news. We changed drivers immediately and I stayed quiet for almost the entire rest-of-the-6-hour journey; this does not happen often. However, I had sort of seen the demise coming, though hoping for a different outcome; it was still wrenching to hear the news.
Madurai was nice, and soothing. My father and I spoke of the event; it was nice to go over matters with another medical person. We visited one older friend, but I did not want to do anything else at all, preferring to stay close to home and lick my wounds in solitude.
We are back from Madurai today; laundry has been done, newspapers have been read. My father's cook sent some food with us and I don't have to mess with making dinner, etc.
I hope all of you have a good week.
Unw -
R
This has been a tough couple of days. A beloved patient at the B - a fairly young lady, Ms. X - was hospitalised, took a turn for the worse, and abruptly died. I saw her in the ICU, wanting to visit and find out what was happening; I was lucky to be one of the few to see her alive in her last days. SMF Hospital gave their usual excellent care, but Ms. X deteriorated quickly. I hoped against hope that her young body would fight the low blood pressure and the trouble breathing, but it was not to be. Ms. X was mildly developmentally delayed; I have no idea of her family, but she was as happy as a clam at the Banyan and a firm favorite of all, with her easy manner and pithy observations on life. My favorite memory of her - other than her unceasing geniality - is of her offering her guava to the lead health care worker, when fruit is still a rare treat at the B. I wonder repeatedly if I could have done anything differently, though I was not at all involved in her initial care: that is the Banyan, for you - all of us take responsibility for those who have nothing. But she has died. The leader of Adaikalam posted a beautiful tribute, with a picture of Ms. X smiling, and that has comforted me.
Death. For the young. What a weird concept. They ought to live their lives and only die when that is done.
We were en route to Madurai when we got the news. We changed drivers immediately and I stayed quiet for almost the entire rest-of-the-6-hour journey; this does not happen often. However, I had sort of seen the demise coming, though hoping for a different outcome; it was still wrenching to hear the news.
Madurai was nice, and soothing. My father and I spoke of the event; it was nice to go over matters with another medical person. We visited one older friend, but I did not want to do anything else at all, preferring to stay close to home and lick my wounds in solitude.
We are back from Madurai today; laundry has been done, newspapers have been read. My father's cook sent some food with us and I don't have to mess with making dinner, etc.
I hope all of you have a good week.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
7:33 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Renu. Kannan here. Great to see your blog. Hope ll is well with your dad. Say hi to Scott?. How are Naren and Navin?
Kannan
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Unknown, at 10/7/16 7:51 AM
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