Monthus Horribillius...

...or is it mensus horribillius? Pardon my Latin.

Anyway, that's what the coming month is promising to be. Hot on the heels of the car crash, my poor father falls ill and needs to be hospitalised. Severe respiratory infection with a suspicion of low cortisol response. Icy cold peripheries, dehydration, fever at 104F and low BP. Dispropotionately low pulse (low 60's). All this had Mums and I scratching our heads and trotting back and forth between the ward and the lab. Happily, the drugs worked and he's back at home and on the mend. Phew!

Yesterday was another scare as around 7.15 am Brother's girlfriend calls to say there's been a bomb in the train she was travelling in! She was thankfully unhurt but quite naturally shocked... and was now walking along Galle road, avoiding crowds and she felt jumpy whenever there were more than a few people around her. A few hours after dropping her home, I read Dinidu's post on the subject... and got to thinking of how many people were nervous about loved ones... real panic beats on the edge of your mind while another part of you keeps chanting "okay, it's going to be okay..." over and over again like same manthra.

And now, the Ministry of Health announces that Internship will be starting on the 1st of July. Now, this means we get an overlap and save 3 1/2 months of waiting but aaaaarrrrgh! I've gotten used to this cushy lifestyle and I don't wanna go! Clinical oriented though I am, the thought of doing casualties, clinics, ward rounds and on calls bloody sux! :(

I need comfort food.

Crash!

Oh dear!

Darling was involved in a car crash last wednesday... with one of those famous white vans that was speeding in order to get a couple of foreigners to the airport. Thank goodness no one was hurt... all Darling has is a bit of neck and shoulder stiffness and a bump on his side. (Phew!) And thankfully, a motorcyclist narrowly avoided being squished by the two skidding vehicles.

I shudder at the thought of what could have happened.

Brother was called out, and Mums went with him... I stayed at home getting jitterier with each passing minute. It was past 2am when they towed the car home - pretty much wrecked on the right side. Bonnet dented, doors crumpled, radiator broken, tires busted, front and rear lamps smashed... :S And we only bought it a few months ago...

So now the car is in the garage and the saga of haggling with the insurance company continues.

Darling has come out of the whole thing rather like a Highland yoghurt - shaken, but not stirred.

Marriage has taught me...

Well, it has been six months yesterday since Darling and I tied the proverbial knot and stepped into the murky and shark infested waters of married life. Continuing in the same vein, Daling has been the proverbial tower of strength during the panic attacks, tantrums moods and moments with which I responded to the minor crises we faced.

During this period, I have gathered many pebbles of wisdom. Many more are scattered around the boggy shores. Some may make those who are further down this beaten path shake their heads in nostalgia / frustration. They may serve as a heads up for those who wish to step in, and serve as more fodder for thought for those who are patently anti-matrimony. Here goes.

(Ahem) Marriage has taught me...

... that being cuddled to sleep is a luxurious experience, subconciously missed since childhood

... that the limbs of a sleeping male are incredibly heavy. A carelessly flung out arm could easily lead to suffocation

... that there is absolutely no underlying satisfaction in washing your husbands dirty socks

... that no matter when or where you decide to be intimate, it is always a good idea to double check if the door is locked

... that time for self is low priority and dwindles down close to zero

... that it is possible to develop an allergy to gold only on the 4th finger of your left hand

... that the once abbhored period can become a welcome beacon of successful family planing

... that you cannot eat so much as an extra cutlet without the aunty brigade wondering aloud if you're pregnant

...and the list goes on. Stay tuned for more!

Tagged!

Wow...I've been tagged! For the first time ever!! By both Chaar and Santhoshi!! I feel absurdly pleased about this! Okie..., in no particular order, here are 10 random things that make me happy...

• Food!! Potato salad, strawberry milkshakes and licking half melted toblerone.
  
• When Darling gives me a foot rub.... sigh.... sheer bliss!
  
• My parents, especially have fun when we sit together at meals and just talk...
  
• Being cuddled, can't get enough of that...
  
• Photographing weddings. I must be having over 4000 photos of various people getting married.
  
• Teaching... maybe the kick comes from telling people what to do! (grin!)
  
• Talking to Brother, few people get to know of his wit and sense of humour.
  
• Drawing. Haven't drawn a picture in years. What happened?
  
• Bubble baths. Lotsa bubbles!
  
• Movies with happy endings! :)
  

Well... that actually took a surprisingly long time. Now if it were ten bad things, I would have had much to say about Thai journal editors who give impossible deadlines.

Hmmm... who to tag?

Nisadas and Agni... you're it!

Hmmmm....

So I'm back...

After weeks...

After being crazy busy at work, and feeling quite exploited about it...

After ignoring good buddies, missing birthdays and feeling like a crappy friend... (still feel bad :( actually)

After forgetting the password that gives me access to this particular typepad...

After running around as if my tail was on fire, looking for the little bit of paper with the password written on it...


Watch out world!

- - - But don't hold your breath!! :)

Oh gosh!

(Warning : medical gobbledygook ahead)


I recently met a senior colleague of mine who is attached to the ETU (Emergency Treatment Unit, a.k.a. A&E) of a big hospital in Colombo. Little beads of sweat dotted my forehead as I listened to his experiences there. The trauma scenarios he described were horrifying, even though I have had a decent training at NHSL.

A few weeks ago, a youngish guy had been admitted following a road traffic accident (RTA)... a nasty collision with a train during the wee hours of the morning. While the rest of the body was ok, he had severe injuries to the head, including facial fractures that were a combination of Le Fort II and III. In other words, his facial bones were in 4 fragments... (shudder).

My friend and his team had been trying disparately to intubate the patient, as that was the only way to secure the airway and ensure he didn't aspirate from the torrential bleeding. Every time they tried to insert the ET tube, part of the face would move forward or backwards or sideways....making the task next to impossible.

That's when they decided on a radical approach, one I had never heard of before. They created an emergency tracheostomy and inserted the guide-wire of a CVP line upwards through the larynx and out of the mouth and then guided the ET tube down the wire!! I was open mouthed with admiration at whoever came up with this maneuver. Thanks to their quick action, they were able to get the patient stabilized on a ventilator.

I'm not sure what happened to the poor guy, but I hope he survived.

My applause goes to all innovative doctors out there.... for their clear headedness in the face of the seemingly impossible - a trait that saves lives.

Bus rides and perverts

Ok, I admit that public transport is not something I brave very often these days. Mind you, when I was in school and during the first uni. years I used to travel all over Colombo by bus. Then chronic laziness set in.

Anyway, last week, there I was, sitting on the aisle seat of a 176, minding my own business and mentally preparing exactly what I was going to say to Mr. R at the meeting. The guy next to me - a gaunt, middle aged fellow - kept shifting around with the parcel on his lap, and what do you know... less than two minutes into the ride, the guy is fumbling around my leg. Just below the femoral triangle.

Eeuw...

I scowled at him and moved myself away. Wondered whether to start yelling but felt doubtful. Maybe it was an accident and he was just fumbling with his parcel... Hmmmp... Anyway, he didn't try any more monkey business and I kept quiet as my halt was quite close.

What are the odds of something like that happening on the way back? Pretty high as it turned out. This time it was the guy standing near my seat, ignoring the practically empty bus area in front of him and oblivious to the conductor yelling "issarahata yanna, issarahata yanna" into his ear. Perv #2 was having fun rubbing his crotch against my shoulder... and getting harder by the minute!

YUCK...!

I scowled up at him... stale breath courtesy of a poor quality distillary wafted all over me. After trying unsuccessfuly to move away (the guy kept moving with me) I finally elbowed him out of the way, got up and moved to the front of the bus.

The fact that Sri Lankan public transport reeks with maggots like these does not surprise me. What surprised me was my reaction - or rather, my lack of any. I was shocked, disgusted and felt dirty and violated. I like to think of myself as a strong person. When faced with such a situation, I had always expected myself to be very vocal, yell and make a big scene etc. Instead I just felt bad about myself. Not blaming myself but just generally icky.

Couldn't wait to go home and shower!