I used to proudly boast to people, that I am so strong that I do not even get a cough or cold or fever. So while I’d see all my friends sneezing or coughing around me, or friends, huddled up at home with fever, not being able to come out for movies, I used to get irritated and wonder why others get sick and I don’t !!
But this wonder of my life, changed soon, since the start of this year, when I developed cyst in my ovaries which were on verge of becoming cancerous and the doctor frightened me so badly and insisted I remove my ovaries, to save me. Little did I know, then that these modern doctors were “Target Oriented” and hospitals give them huge commissions for every operation they perform. Besides this, with the growing mediclaim policies, hospitals charge more than normal bills.
So starting January, I got admitted in a gynac nursing home for this cysts removal operation. Some new lazer operations was suggested to us and we were told in rosy words, “why get your sexy tummy cut and have a scar mark, when the same can be done by laproscopy through navel insertion ?”. So we fell for the “cosmetic joke”, like everybody else.
The day dawned for that ill-fated operation and I was quite happy prancing about in the hospital room, fully convinced by the pep talk of doctor and nurses, that it was a very easy operation, no pain, quick recovery, back to office in 2 weeks. Little did I know, what horrendous ordeal I would go through for the next 9 months, due to this operation.
Everything went well for the next 10 days, since I was on pain-killers and did not notice the pricking pain, all inside. Then I was discharged and except for the walking about pains, I was quite happy lying in bed, getting attended to, by mom. Doc told me that I should rest for 1 and a half month and then I could resume office. This laproscopy did surely not give major tummy scares, but I noticed my sexy tummy has acquired a funny shape !! It had sort of shifted to the leftside !! Mom advised me not to go clawing the doctor for this shape-mishape and learn to live with it. But she did’nt understand, how am I going to wear my saree for diwali with my misshaped midriff ?
So two days before getting ready to resume office, I was walking around slowly, getting my office stuff ready and I slightly bent down and pulled out my shoes. Then I went and sat back on the bed, watching TV. Suddenly I felt wet and hot !! (Hey, don’t get dirty ideas!!). Turning around, I saw that I was bleeding profusely on the bed. I almost jumped out of my skin in fright. I ran into the bathroom, screaming for mom. I could not believe, it was like a tap, gushing out blood from me. Mom was phoning the maid to come, I was phoning the driver and both damn phones were coolly engaged!! Thankfully my hubby who was out nearby, picked up his phone and told mom to keep me ready, till he got a rickshaw and came. So wrapping huge diapers and two bedsheets around me, we ran out to the waiting rick. I was almost woozy, with fear. Thankfully, my doctor was available even though it was a Saturday and they rushed me to the labor room. OMG !! there were about 3 women there already in line for delivery, with nurses attending to them. I entered and everyone, forgot their pain and jumped up on beds looking at me. The nurses, all left their other jobs and came rushing to my side, as I was again soaked on blood and they had to remove everything and again pad me up again to soak up the in full swing blood. I could hear my mother crying somewhere near and I was slowly losing consciousness, I felt. Then I heard the doctor come in and tap my face repeatedly. I heard him telling the resident doctors that one of the inside stitches had snaped and some blood vessil also was ruptured. I managed to open my eyes and with whatever energy I had left I screamed at him saying “Doctor, I will sue you, if anything happens to me”. After that I could only feel myself being moved around and taken to the OT, needles began pricking me and soon, I was out. I woke up later, feeling weak and nauseous. I saw the ivy on and blood bags running. I was told that I had lost a lot of blood and this was the fifth bag of blood, I was given.
Doctors and nurses were in an out checking on me. Frankly, this was the first time, I saw absolute fear in the doctor’s eyes. Poor guy, was real scared of what would happen to me, I was told, after I had yelled at him and my full family also had blasted him. Nurses had told us, that he had not secured the stitches properly after the first operation as it is very unlikely that a inner stitch or a blood vessil should break, after one and a half months bed rest. Again after 10 days, I was discharged and this time told to take 3 months bed rest. I was so shaken up and terrified, that I barely moved about during this period of bed rest, lest no similar incident should take place.
It was during this period, that I started observing, that I could hardly move about, without feeling very tired or having difficulty in breathing if I talk more than two minutes also. Even if I had a bath, I would come out, breathing heavily and rush to the bed to rest myself. I went to meet my gynac about this tiredness and pain in the back especially and he ruled it down to gas and acidity. I was put on tons of gelusil and asked to drink lots of cold milk and cold buttermilk. But there was no relief and my condition worsened. People also started telling me that everything was in my head and I shold just complete my ‘bed rest period’ and get back to the office atmosphere and I would be my normal self again.
So I joined office back in May and felt good about it. But I found that even doing a little stressful job, would make me breathless. Or if I yaked too much with my pals, I would get breathless. The pain in my back upper part was poky and I really could not take it anymore. So I marched into a Gastroenterologist clinic and explained my woes to him. He listened carefully to my long explanations and then asked me to walk across to the x-ray cabin next door and get a chest x-ray done immediately and come back to him. I did that and the technician who printed the plate and gave me, looked at me with utter awe and asked me to rush back to doctor’s clinic. I looked at the x-ray and saw the most odd looking pair of lungs printed there, the left lung was full and dark black and the right lung just showed about two or three ribs and the rest was snow white downwards. I wondered what this was and though may be there’s a whole lot of gas up there. I went back to the good old gastroenterologist doctor to show him the plates. He firstly ‘gasped’ on seeing it, then he took down a paper and jotted down some reference to another doctor and told me that I have to immediately go to the referred doctor and do a ‘drainage procedure’. It was about 8.30 at nite and I was reluctant to go at this time, to another doctor. But then he explained to me that I had water filled in my right lung and that was causing the ‘breathlessness’, so I had to instantly, get the fluid removed, or breathing would become further restricted for me.
I was really confused and could not somehow believe all this nonsense, so I went home and just forgot everything and decided to think next morning on what to do. My hubby went on tour the next day and I had only my maid and driver to accompany me, if needed. My mum was away with some of my relations in Bangalore. So taking my driver, I went off to see my family physician and showed him the x-ray and told him what happened. He too nearly jumped off his chair, when he saw the x-ray and asked me to go to the nearby hospital and get admitted immediately. He then told me that I was having TB. I was terrified now and shivering. The nearest hospital, when he recommended me to, was a smallish hospital, but the doctor there was known to my physician. There was a huge flight of steps to walk and by the time I reached the reception, with my driver in tow, I was totally out of breath and maybe my face was pale with lack of oxygen or so, the receptionist and nurses, rushed me onto the consulting bed and laid me down.
After a while I got my breath back and by that time, my doctor had spoken to this hospital doctor and he came rushing in and gave orders for me to be put in the ICU and put on oxygen pipe immediately. My driver was looking more scared than me and I thought he would burst out crying, so I told him to go back home and get our maid and come. I was quite amused with the oxygen mask and all and my nottiness was still active, so would you believe, I called one of the nurses and giving her my E7, I asked her to click a snap of me sitting on the ICU bed with that oxygen mask on my mouth and nose. It looked so cutey !! I was getting ready to post the pic on my FB for my buddies to see, when the nurse came and reprimanded me for the mobile chats. So I lay there waiting for someone to come. After investigation, they told me, I had contacted TB from the earlier hospital, maybe with the hurried, blood transfusion given to me, as they had seen from the reports.
Finally, in the evening, everyone came and doctor was shouting out instructions to get ready for “the procedure”. First time I had heard, medical language using words like “procedure”. Some new fad maybe, anyway I was curious to know what it was about. By late evening, I was made ready by the nurses and I had to expose my back, and face the wall, hugging onto a huge pillow. The upper back portion of mine was being cleaned and then I got that scary feeling that they were going to “poke me” in the back. I started warning everyone around me, not to hurt me, or I would yell out loudly and run away. But everyone laughed and told me, its just a small prick. Then they gave me a real painful anaesthesia and quickly I felt some needle entering my skin at the back. There was some suction feeling and I was asked to sit still and not move. The doctor started chatting with me about my work and hobbies and stuff. I hate these damn doctor’s interviews, they do it very cunningly to divert ur mind from their painful pokes!!
After about half an hour, I started feeling a strain and crazy pain in my chest and throat and shouted for help. Immediately, the needle was removed from my back and some bandage was applied and I was asked to lie down. My back ached but suddenly I felt a lot more free in my breathing. As if a whole load was cleared from my chest. Then the nurses showed me two bisleri bottles filled with a hazy yellowish liquid and told me that they had removed this from my right lung. I was aghast, looking at that. What rubbish, such a lot of fluid was in my lung. Doctor came and then and explained to me, that this was called “Pleurisy of lung”, which is a type of TB. He explained it was not contagious kind and it was only a very painful type of sickness. And this “Procedure” was called “Drainage”. (// http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noDxydboLrA&list=TL12thPvA7yzumixOboY1_mT_uhXZPEBDI) As I lay down and slept peacefully, little did I know, that I would have to undergo nearly 15 Drainages over the next 4 months.
Yes, Guys, this is what I am not struggling to get rid of. The infection was so bad, that after doing a “Drainage” on one Saturday, I would have to repeat the “Drainage” again, the next Saturday, as the fluid would fill up so soon and I would become breathless. Once the doctor got so tensed with my multiple drainages that he had me admitted and they did some other procedure of inserting a fiber tube inside my back, pushing it all the way to my lung. This pipe was attached to a drainage bag (similar to the urine drainage pipe and bag), and I had to keep that inside my back for 5 days. It was so superbly painful, I was given painkiller injections every 2 to 4 hours. Gawd, have I gone through massive pain with this crazy “Pleurisy” !!
I am on strong TB medication now. But the fluid in my right lung, still stands a little more than half lung covered. Doctors say that the medicines will dry up the fluid as I am cured now and the infection is almost gone. But the fluid has to also go. But now the fluid has become sticky and hardish inside, so no more ‘drainages’ will help. So Doctors are planning to have me admitted in hospital again next month and this time, they want to do a ‘Lung Surgery’ called Thoracoscopic Decortication. (// http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/thoracic/expert_tech-33).
I specifically asked Doctors to wait and let me enjoy Diwali and then I shall get admitted and do this horrible surgery. So guys, pray for your Cattie. I’ll be out of gear, for a month or so. I just hope and pray to God, that I am Fit and Fat by Christmas this year. Then we can all have a Blast for New Year. Waiting for this year 2013 to pass soon, its been worst for me.
So, C Ya All Guys, Take Care. And keep our MS Good and Happy Atmosphere always. There absolutely no use in having fights and enemies. Life is too damn Sweet and Short and this you will realise when you are lying sick and scared, then all you want to do, is GET UP AND DANCE WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND ENJOY LIFE. SO DO THAT NOW.
Regards
Cattie - The Cat with One Life Left
