LOG 20: AVM

“Eat, sleep, chill, repeat” - while every teenager was doing something similar to that in the prime of their teenage - my agenda was slightly different. It was “eat, sleep, therapy, repeat”. My stable, almost monotonous, routine had been set and was going quite smoothly (with the seizure-al exceptions), only to be interrupted not once, but a lot more times in the month of December. Only this time it wasn’t interrupted due to the November-reasons (check previous log), it was something on a whole new level which I had never experienced before. The doctors had already been in discussion with…

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LOG 21: V P Shunt

Aiwa, the trailer seemed to have gotten a great response from you guys, time for the real show to start, don’t you think? Wait for it, wait for it…. Anytime now… well, the last log did start the stone rolling. Let’s keep the momentum, right? Ok, so on the first Monday of December 2016, I had my first embolization. We did not stop there, no breathers, because on the 2nd Monday of December, I had my 2nd embolization. We had thought (and hoped) that the two embolizations would suffice and the AVM would be blocked completely, thereby leaving no sword…

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LOG 22 : The Bone Flap Journey

My bone flap’s entire journey was orchestrated by my father who was in Dubai as by now, my Mother was permanently based with me in the hospital. So, how in the world does one get a bone flap, which is quite literally a body part i.e. a portion of my skull, all the way across the Arabian Sea, all over 1930 kilometers. That, my readers, is a fun and learn story. Well, my bone flap was stuck back home in the hospital in Dubai, frozen in Cryo. The first problem was that the hospital didn’t have a Standard Operating Procedure…

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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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