I had an appointment with the eye specialist yesterday regarding my right eye, which is dry compared to the other eye and has weak eyesight. I had been there 4 weeks back and spent a good 4 hours there only to go back yesterday so that one final test would be done and then the problem would be ascertained. The head doctor would examine the final results and decide the line of treatment. I was in the waiting room where everyone was in their 70's and 80's. I was the youngest of them all and the problem which I had seemed to be trivial as compared to the others who were sitting there.
I was carrying a book with me, "The Time Keeper" by Mitch Albom as I knew I would have to sit there for a long time. An elderly couple walked in and the man sat next to my chair which was vacant. He had brought a newspaper and got busy with solving the crossword in that. His wife went to the reception, intimated the staff that she has come and then she was called in. She came to her husband and asked him to mind her things like purse, scarf, spectacles. The man cooly asked her, what is going to happen now? And pat came the reply, "I will be operated now and I will be back in an hr". The husband replied, "Oh that's nice, I will wait here till you are back" and he got busy into the crossword again.
Operation! The word itself sends tremors to my brain and an eye operation! Phew! How difficult it would be! But the calmness with which the couple reacted to it amazed me. There was no panic, no fear, no unnecessary tension. He waited out and she went in alone. They came together to the hospital for the surgery, but no emotional breakdown, no emotional drama. Everything was smooth and looked like an everyday affair that such operations happened there.
I was called by the same doctor who treated me last time and he asked me how I was doing and told me that today he will do a pupil dilation test and then check the pressure in my eye. I was a little scared, anxious as eyes are the gateway to the world and if something happens to them, then I would be doomed. He put some 3-4 different types of drops and asked me to wait outside. He has asked me to close the eyes and sit till he called me back. I waited outside again in the same waiting room. People were called, taken for an operation, to meet the main doctor. There were old couples who were waiting for their partners. There were a few who were operated and were sitting in the waiting room.
I was called after 15 minutes and then the doctor did some tests with instruments and checked the eye pressure. He was relieved that it was not bad as he had anticipated and the results looked good. He prescribed drops and gel again and asked to wait for the main doctor to see and approve the results. I had to wait for another hour until I was called in for 5 minutes. The main doctor greeted me, saw the tests and results conducted by the junior doctor and announced that everything looks good and that I should come back in 6 weeks for a check-up again. He said goodbye and I was out of the room within 5 minutes.
Due to the drops which the doctor had administered, I was not able to look at the sunlight and the doctor had told me to take care while going back home. I was anyways not going to drive a car or a cycle. I had to go to three different medical stores as they didn't have eye drops and were asking me to come back the next day which I didn't want to do. Finally, I found the medicine in the 3rd medical stores and came home taking the bus, walking slowly like a small kid.
Half a day spent in the hospital but didn't feel stressed at all. There is a very different approach towards health care and hospitals here which is very different in India. There's a very relaxed and cool attitude. There is no panic, no urgency, no emotional hassles. It was a very different experience.
I was carrying a book with me, "The Time Keeper" by Mitch Albom as I knew I would have to sit there for a long time. An elderly couple walked in and the man sat next to my chair which was vacant. He had brought a newspaper and got busy with solving the crossword in that. His wife went to the reception, intimated the staff that she has come and then she was called in. She came to her husband and asked him to mind her things like purse, scarf, spectacles. The man cooly asked her, what is going to happen now? And pat came the reply, "I will be operated now and I will be back in an hr". The husband replied, "Oh that's nice, I will wait here till you are back" and he got busy into the crossword again.
Operation! The word itself sends tremors to my brain and an eye operation! Phew! How difficult it would be! But the calmness with which the couple reacted to it amazed me. There was no panic, no fear, no unnecessary tension. He waited out and she went in alone. They came together to the hospital for the surgery, but no emotional breakdown, no emotional drama. Everything was smooth and looked like an everyday affair that such operations happened there.
I was called by the same doctor who treated me last time and he asked me how I was doing and told me that today he will do a pupil dilation test and then check the pressure in my eye. I was a little scared, anxious as eyes are the gateway to the world and if something happens to them, then I would be doomed. He put some 3-4 different types of drops and asked me to wait outside. He has asked me to close the eyes and sit till he called me back. I waited outside again in the same waiting room. People were called, taken for an operation, to meet the main doctor. There were old couples who were waiting for their partners. There were a few who were operated and were sitting in the waiting room.
I was called after 15 minutes and then the doctor did some tests with instruments and checked the eye pressure. He was relieved that it was not bad as he had anticipated and the results looked good. He prescribed drops and gel again and asked to wait for the main doctor to see and approve the results. I had to wait for another hour until I was called in for 5 minutes. The main doctor greeted me, saw the tests and results conducted by the junior doctor and announced that everything looks good and that I should come back in 6 weeks for a check-up again. He said goodbye and I was out of the room within 5 minutes.
Due to the drops which the doctor had administered, I was not able to look at the sunlight and the doctor had told me to take care while going back home. I was anyways not going to drive a car or a cycle. I had to go to three different medical stores as they didn't have eye drops and were asking me to come back the next day which I didn't want to do. Finally, I found the medicine in the 3rd medical stores and came home taking the bus, walking slowly like a small kid.
Half a day spent in the hospital but didn't feel stressed at all. There is a very different approach towards health care and hospitals here which is very different in India. There's a very relaxed and cool attitude. There is no panic, no urgency, no emotional hassles. It was a very different experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment