LOG 23: The Art of Throwing Up!

“As you sow, so you shall reap”. I had “sowed” 5 Surgeries in my head till now, what would I reap? That was the question. After all of the zillion therapy sessions and pain that I had endured, would there finally be some light shining as I neared the end of the tunnel? Apologies, staring at white ceilings all day in the hospital seems to have driven me a bit… nuts, and all I seem to spout is philosophy now, haha. These surgeries and procedures couldn’t prevent my brain from having its own share of “Fun”, though. And my, oh…

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LOG 24:”Cluck Cluck Cluck”

Doctor: “We think you can take discharge in a week’s time and come for therapy from home in the OPD (Out Patient Department)” I assumed this would be how my doctors would have started the discharge talks with my family because all they ever asked me was, “When are you planning on going home?” Almost as though it was all under my control - leaving and exiting the hospital, as though I owned the place 😊. The doctors had once again raised our hopes high after the cranioplasty due to the wonderful results showed by my body. Everybody seemed to…

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LOG 25:Fringe Benefits

As much as I try to avoid admitting it, it is true that these times were incredibly, incredulously and almost intolerably frustrating. So many “near-discharge” moments were beginning to make me feel like Tantalus from greek mythology, who could feel the fruit (in my case, my discharge and normal life) within the reach of his palm but as he reached out to grab it, it was taken away from him. We didn’t let this frustration get the better of us and we got back to the very thing we had shifted to Mumbai for, Neuro-rehab Therapy!! :-) As soon as…

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LOG 26: Here we go again

Hmmm, discharge talks… let’s pick up where we left off. Once again, once again!... the goose gave dreams of a golden egg, but would we finally end up with one? Finally, things were looking up. I was able to walk unaided, and this, along with many other welcome improvements, had made me able enough to be nearing clearance for a field test… in other words, I was almost cleared for getting discharged and going out into the real world. It had been barely a few days into the discharge talks, and I was just getting my hopes up again, when…

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LOG 27: The Patients

Since we’re nearing the “Grand Exit” from the hospital, I think it’s about time I write about some of the most invaluable parts of my hospital journey that I didn’t include in my previous logs, for they deserve a log of their own. I believe it would be right to begin with the most vital component that makes a hospital run. During my almost year-long hospital stay, I befriended a lot of other patients who knowingly (or unknowingly) became key players in my hospital innings. Therefore, this log is dedicated to all the patients in the hospital who had a…

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LOG 28: The “Blackcats”

The Blackcats? But aren’t Blackcats part of musicals and plays? Well, there is a reason why this log is called the “Blackcats” log. Just like the Blackcats in theatre, who have the biggest hand in the success of a show/play/musical- yet are not given the due credit for it- this log is for the Blackcats of my story. If you haven’t guessed it already, I’m dedicating this log to all of the therapists,who like the Blackcats, don’t get enough credit for their hardwork. So, I think it’s about time we give the Blackcats due credit for their hardwork in running…

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LOG 29: The Saviours

I think that since we’ve spoken of the blackcats, it is now time that we speak about the saviours of my story. This log is dedicated to all of my doctors, in (& out of) the hospital, without whose constant watchful eyes and support, it wouldn’t have been possible for me to be saved a countless number of times and recover to function like a regular human being. There have been numerous doctors who contributed to my recovery in various ways. Doctors from Dubai, doctors from India, doctors from the USA, doctors from my family, doctors from beyond the hospital,…

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LOG 30: Where’s the salt in my Food?

Wow! Looks like the foodie in me finally got through… *sigh*… he might be a hungry fellow, but he does have good analogies. Till now, I seem to have given all of you almost the entire dish of my hospital journey served fresh. But in all my hurry, I seem to have forgotten to add the most important, unnoticed and underrated ingredient. Salt. If you haven’t guessed it already, I’m going to be dedicating this log to those people in the hospital who are the most unnoticed and yet are perhaps some of the most important people there. This log…

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LOG 31: Guys, I messed up the order

Yeah, guys, I’m sorry. Once again, I messed up the order. A log that deserves to be the first in the tribute series is being written right at the end. My apologies for confusing you, as I always do 😊, but I assure you that I will make it up to you in this log. I might be mentioning the people with the highest priority last, but after all it’s like they say, right? -  “Last, but definitely the most.” This log is for those people to whom I owe everything - the magical word that spells “F-A-M-I-L-Y”. Those people…

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LOG 32: Discharge, Finally!

“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” Well, finally. Finally it was time, the golden hour had come (and just about time too, being patient {no pun intended} is tiring). With no further hiccups in my discharge venture we ultimately managed to deliver the discharge on the date we had decided- which was the first week of March.   After months of endless therapies, constantly shifting beds, celebrating festivals and birthdays, jumping over hurdles as though we were in a race and of course innumerable tests, procedures and operations later we were finally going to bear the…

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