The journey

It was one of those hot evenings; the sun had mercilessly been beating this part of the subcontinent. I had a very strange feeling that things were not normal with my health, despite the scorching heat of the afternoon sun, it was some what cool, felt as though I needed to cover myself with a blanket! My head had been heavy and lips had dried that I attempted to keep them moist by wearily moving my tongue across. After a few attempts even my saliva seemed to be drying up. A numb headache took over and now I could feel the heat of my own breath issuing out of my nostrils! A clear indication of the onset of fever! Now the tell tale signs of my fever were predominant. My wife was puzzled at the sudden change in the state of affairs of my health, and as usual resorted to the procedure of putting me through the paracetamol medication to contain the fever. I had swallowed the tablet she had handed down to me and tried to feel that things are going to be normal. But that was not to be, the fever continued unabated and I started to feel strange constriction in breathing and now was sure it was one of those dreaded onset of asthmatic attacks that I was prone to. This predicament added fright to my already hopeless condition. I had been following a well thought out plan of action, and immediately administered anti histamines and nasal dose of salbutamol a dilator that would ease my congestion. But this proved difficult because the pathological conditions prevailed even after administering them. I had no idea how to go about containing this malaise and was gradually feeling miserable with my own condition that was worsening! It was half past eight at night, and I had a bout of nausea and I was on my wits end! And I knew that things are not going to be normal. Fever continued unabated and by now those sitting next to me could feel the heat! I gave up any hope of taming it and rushed to my doctor, who upon examining me must have felt little uncomfortable and suggested that I get admitted into the nearby hospital for treatment, this extreme step he seldom resorts to unless he has ensured that the situation warranted much more than his expert medication. I was quite depressed at the idea of being referred to the hospital since I felt always safe in his hands than that of unknown experts! I was hurried in an auto rickshaw to the nearby famous hospital and there the outpatient ward attendants wheeled me into the examination room and the duty doctor, fatigue writ large over his face, examined me and made a number of tests to ascertain my status of health. He was unsure of what he was confronting, that I could surmise from his

facial expression, and was quite nervous at the data he had so far gathered upon my examination! He spoke in hushed voice to his attendant who spoke to my wife in mono syllables and all that she could conclude was that it was a sorry state of affair and that I should be admitted into an intensive care unit immediately. She forced herself to ask a few probing questions as to the nature of their diagnosis but could not elicit any satisfactory answer. Promptly I was admitted into the ICU the famous abbreviation for the utmost care the hospital took about me! Many digital monitors were connected to my body and a bottle of fluid started emptying itself on to my veins! The freedom of physical movement thus far I enjoyed was curiously cut and a mask was fastened to my nose and mouth attached to an oblique tube that was carrying oxygen! Soon many attendants descended on me and went about thrusting a thermometer, and another gleefully inserting a syringe to extract an ounce of blood and yet another injecting some medicine taken from a vial on the bottle that too was emptying itself into me! I strained myself to have a look around me and was satisfied that I am not alone in this condition and there were several others who were unwittingly were my companions in this journey. I could not sleep, but watched the environs and slowly the lights in the corridor went out leaving a lone lamp that dimly lit the passage, the voices that I heard earlier had died down and an eerie of silence had occupied its place. Inside my cabin the companions too had probably accepted the loneliness as their refuge and had even stopped their usual feigned coughs or groans that had kept the place alive! Out side the cubicle few nurses were seen lost unto them discussing in all probability their experiences of the day. Thoughts streamed into my mind, what awaited me next? What about those companions? What could be their ailments? Suddenly I was also aware of my impending fever that drove a depressing feeling into me. I decided not to ponder over these things and somehow sleep. I do not know how many hours had passed, but my body must have given up the hope of being active and I drifted into a forced sleep, and when I woke up it was dawn and a line of attendants went about their routine in a mechanical way that highlighted the difference between the sweet home and the hospital confines! The duty doctor along with a specialist came to my bed and the specialist stroked my shoulder lightly and asked me how I felt now. I could muster all my energy and answer feebly that I was exhausted and still felt feverish! He nodded his head as though he had expected this reply from me.

He turned to the duty doctor and told him that I had no immediate danger and can be shifted to a general ward but need to be observed for a prolonged period of time. Since I opted to be in a private room, I was taken into a private room. This was a spacious one with a window overlooking the veranda. It was sparsely furnished with a wooden table and a chair and a couch. My wife had settled on it and a stream of attendants came in and went about their job in a melancholic fashion to collect my blood sample and they took my temperature reading and gave me a handful of tablets to gobble up! My earlier stint in the ICU had eased my breathing problem but the fever was unrelenting. I was much relieved because those tangling tubes were gone and I was free to move my limbs without any restriction. I was given liquid diet and told to rest. The evening was uneventful and my wife looked relaxed though wearing forlorn look. The week end was approaching I heard that doctors too curtailed their visits to a bare minimum. Suddenly things took a turn for the worse, my fever was inching up every minute, and there was a throbbing headache and my condition was worsening. I called my wife and asked her to summon the attendant and that she promptly did and temperature reading was taken, it was found to be hovering at 104 degrees! Soon I relapsed for a brief period into a semi conscious state and did not know what was happening around me. My wife was frantically trying to contact my relatives and get some immediate help at hand. Now I could feel the fever as a burning sensation and asked my wife to get a wet towel and give me swathe. She went to check with the attendant whether my request was in order. To my utter surprise, the attendant nurse came in and covered me in a thick woolen blanket! Lo things got really worse. I had a bout of fits and could really sense that I am slowly but steadily drifting into a serious state of health. I reproached my wife for ignoring my request and demanded her to go ahead with what I had asked her to do. In the meanwhile the attendant had started trying to get in touch with the doctor in vain! I finally had my way and my wife started giving me swathes with wet towel. But just then it happened again I lapsed into unconscious state. Though I was not aware fully I could hear the conversation around me feebly and that too paled into silence and soon I was hurrying down a long drawn passage, it was dimly lit and on both sides I could see silhouettes that were frightening, some forms had their mouths in odd places, some looked wriggled, but all of them active and trying to communicate some thing to me, but I was moving as though I was put on a conveyor. Could it be delirious condition? But my sense of perception had not totally departed, I was totally aware of my being; only my surroundings had changed from that of hospital to an

unknown plane. I guess that I was gliding through a passage with an unusual lightness of my body! Then I could hear a hushed voice telling me clearly that I need not give up now and had a lot to do and complete incomplete tasks! Then suddenly I was watching the passage that grew pale and started hearing muffled voices at a distance that I could identify to be that of my wife and the attendant and few others whom I could not immediately recognize. A little later with a jolt I felt the surroundings and started perspiring profusely, and woke up to the reality of my hospital room! After a few more days of intense medication for malaria and typhoid together the doctors could stabilize my condition and was discharged from the hospital. This ended my journey that lasted ten days to an unknown plane.