Dear Diary (Milk?)

It was Blister's Happy Birthday yesterday. (Saddam Hussein's also, but poor thing must be in jail somewhere, some exotic prison). Yenyway, it is always fun when Blister and Mister come to dine. There is much exchanging of icky hospital stories. You would seriously, never want to step in again into a government hospital if you heard what they have to say. Needles used for patients which already have dried blood on them. Or needles that are so blunt, they're hard to use (she was talking about giving an injection into someone's skull. Awp!) Or how the ward boys sleep on the floor that has blood etc from a million patients and how little kids play in the same area. How a patient is put face down on a pillow where there is already blood from a previous patient. She says, you hardly feel like wanting to work there.
Not surprising.

Now here are three warnings that I've collected over the years from other people's experiences, the last of which was compiled yesterday.
1. If you're bending down and doing something in a kitchen/bathroom and there's a sink around, be VERY VERY careful when you're standing up.

My aunt wasn't and she hit her spine against the sink, fractured her vertebrae AND had some trouble with her vision.

2. If you're cooking, never use your saree pallu/any part of your clothing to hold a hot vessel that's on the stove.

The aunt of a friend of mine did the same. Her pallu caught fire and she died instantly because of the severity of her burns.

3. If you smell gas burning in the kitchen, switch off the stove and DO NOT light the stove immediately or a short time after. ALWAYS wait till any possible gas escapes.


This third point came up, because yesterday, Mister said that this happened to a female patient at his hospital and she got burns from head to toe on her front, hair everything. Her husband came to help her and got burns on his chest.

So, always remember these. And pass it on :)

They also have some funny stories.
Like about malingering.

ma·lin·ger
intr.v. ma·lin·gered, ma·lin·ger·ing, ma·lin·gers

To feign illness or other incapacity in order to avoid duty or work.

A couple of young men brought their mother to the hospital and said she was suffering from shortness of breath. To Mister, it was apparent that she was faking it. Apparently, sometimes if you tell people that X is faking his fits/whatever they turn on the doctor instead :D. So he did not say anything and pretended to continue examining her. (Doctors can also get a lot of money from a case like this). When he turned his attention to her again, she started hitting her hand against the bed in an attempt to pretend that she was unable to control the trembling of her hand. It was proper hitting katey :D Anyway, she left after some time. Wonder why people would seek attention this way ...

Then there was some talk going on about MBBS degrees, so Mister said there was a civil engineer named Srinivasan who loved the idea of being a doctor. So after his engineering, he got himself issued a FAKE degree and became a gazetted medical officer. Mom, I and Blister were like 'Whaaaaaaaaat? How dangerous is that!'
'How did you come to know?' we asked.

Apparently this guy used to write the funniest medico-legal cases. His record is still preserved for hilarity. He used to catch hold of any otehr student/intern to help him with cases and had hardly any knowledge of any medical terms. Basically and obviously, he knew nothing. So how did his medical reports go?

'He fell down on the stairs. He hurt his knee. He got a cut.'
Absolutely no terms whatsoever :D One day, a senior doctor at the hospital took him aside and asked him which college he was from and which batch. Mr. Srinivasan fumbled and fumbled till he finally admitted that he was a civil engineer!

Funny, but so dangerous also no? Acc. to Mister, there are a huuuge number of doctors out there like this one. Be careful, you!

- I shall be meeting some Komrades today. I am not feeling as excited about it as I thought I would be. Yes, forgetting is long.

- Having five big scoops of Dinshaw's chocolate chip icecream is too good to put into words. Make the effort if you can :)

- There is chocolate and cake and icecream in the frizz. I am not interested in any. Bwa.
(Now is not the time for icecream, toffiyaan to start buzzing in my head X-( )

- My mom quit her Ph. D. in the states for Blister. Now, for me, she will be quitting her job since she doesn't want to live all alone. I feel guilty. And to think, so much for daughters who're eventually going to desert her! And then the teachers tell me, she was so happy to hear about my IIM K result that the teachers thought she looked happier than she had been at Blister's wedding. Mother says that's obvious, wedding is full tension tension. True.
Nothing like a mother's love.

- I did a lot of running around to get my course completion certificate filled. I wonder why some professors have to be such a pain. But our fyp professor was quyoot to the hilt. Much lau to you MK!

- I shall want to be meeting pippin and giving him ze good news too. He should be happy also.

- Blister was very happy with her fake birthday gift. The box opened to say 'Aur aapko milte hain ...' on a folded paper and continued with 'tain tain fish' on the bottom. I thoguht she'd get disappointymad but she started laughing instead. Yayy! To top that, she was blasted happy with the real gift. About which Mister said 'Unko gift dete rahe toh uno khush rehte'. Mwahahahaa.

- Also, I love scrubs. And that bit in the 5th season where they do all the air banding. Turk dancing is seriously wow! :D

- Ah, this post has proved cathartic. I shall go have some chaklate.
How have you been?