Friday, February 29, 2008

Endurance..


She looked better… face calmer.. stronger..

‘You look good ..!!’I smiled at her warmly

‘Yes. Doc..! I feel better too..! See.. My hair is growing back..!!” She turned her head to give me the full view of her scalp.

Sure.. It was growing back.

‘Has stared to curl already…!! ‘I giggled.

She had come to me last May. With a lump breast. Detected two days after her husband’s first death anniversary.
Her unmarried daughter was with her. She has one more daughter she told me .But she was married. Now living in US.

She was jittery, over talkative. Fear clouded her eyes. She repeatedly begged me to give the report fast. Even though I reassured her that I would give it the next days itself.

It was CA. She was referred to RCC .

She underwent mastectomy and chemotherapy.

I watched helplessly as her inner self-crumbled several times and tears flowed down her cheeks as therapy ravaged her body and spirit...

She spent days in bed retching her guts out. She became pathetically thin. completely bald. Her eyes often looked terror stricken.

But today she looked different. Her figure looked fuller.. Her eyes were calm. Her gaze steady, as she smiled at me.

‘Eight months.’ She sighed deeply.

‘You survived it..!!’

I grinned back.
.
‘Why don’t u make a trip to US..? Visit your daughter..?’

I wanted her to come back to life fully.

‘No doc I prefer to be alone now.’ That calm smile again..

Pray. Cook a bit. Take frequent rests’
.
‘Hmmm.. true..’ I nodded.

‘How you managed..?

I was eager to know how she has brought about the transformation..

‘It was tough doc. But I held tightly to god. Would’nt let go of him.’

Her eyes were earnest..

‘And I tried to find comfort within myself.’ She continued..

‘You know it’s always better that way. Only if you are unable to console yourself should you go to others for support’
.
‘Oh..!’. I was impressed.

‘Yes doc. The fear of relapse is always there.. but I trust in god. In myself.’

She got up to go. Then grinned at me.

‘You look lovely today..! “

‘Oh thanks…!’

I smiled back delighted

The room felt quiet after she had gone. I closed my eyes. I had witnessed true human spirit.. Human endurance and strength.

Trust in god. Don’t let go of him. Find strength in yourself..
So true...

18 comments:

Nikhil Narayanan said...

Touching!

I know how bad any tumor is.
My uncle succumbed to a malignancy in his brain, some year back...

Regards
Nikhil

chakde said...

Tough time doesn't last but tough people do.To overcome the scourge is divine.
regards.

Dhanya said...

"Trust in god. Don’t let go of him. Find strength in yourself"

Yes you said it..

Adorable Pancreas said...

I once saw a patient with Paget's disease. She held my hand and cried. I stood there, not knowing what to do. Then the nurse came and yelled at her for something. Some caregiver!

Nothing can make me feel as helpless as seeing cancer patients.

Deepti said...

Very touching... Have seen my grandma battle cancer so this post feels so close

Jina said...

doc,
I think somebody is flicking your posts.I have sent an email.Plz check

venuss66 said...

Very touching post. Thank you for sharing.

Shanks_P said...

Whats up Doc ?
(Bunny with a carrot on hand :D)Bumped into your blog somtime back and i guess i finished reading all the archieves also.

As you say abt spreading love & hope, I have to acknoledge, you are doing it here in your blog. I am able to find a possitive spirit each time i read some posts ...

Keep up the great writing ....also belated women's day wishes.
cheers
Shanks

Preetha Nair said...

Incidents like these are inspirations to live through those difficult patches of life and believe that better times are sure to come now or sometime later.

Thanks again for sharing Doc chech...

Di said...

I always say its much easier for believers to get through situations like these..just having faith in a force makes u relax so much more than depending completely on urself to make things right...

Bittu's Mamma said...

Wow!!!...new look is lovely Anu chechi :) quite a long time since I have been here... and it was really nice to be amazed by the change. And guess what? May be I can give you a real hug for this post instead of a virtual one :) I am coming home for 2 weeks in real soon ...I will call you.

Alameen said...

Amazing ...
Very true doc..

Al

Emmanuel said...

Self-belief is the best possible way to tackle any problem :)

lovely post. admiring that lady with whole of my heart :)

sinusoidally said...

oh what a heart warming story...

The Fitness Diva said...

Great, thought provoking post!

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan said...

true.. see it so often myself ( fellow doc ).. sometimes, it gets too much to handle, but sometimes you get to see one show of strength from a patient that alone brightes ur week..

abhishek said...

As best a story about hope as it gets. That photo reminds me of a human face. Remarkable stone.

NIDHIN said...

You DOCTORS live much closer to truth than we ENGINEERS do. Liked the way you presented it. New to your blog, but will never miss a single one from now onwards.