Jan 02, 2006 02:29 PM
4042 Views
(Updated May 24, 2006 11:05 AM)
“It seems, using your left hand will develop the right side of your brain” – gyan given by sister Shalaka!
“ Jyo cheez pacchees saal mein nahi hui, who abhi kya hogi?” - Yours truly!
The momentous occasion that started this intellectual vaarta laap or conversation we anglophiles call it? I had an ACCIDENT, resulting in my right hand being in the cast or a heavy armor made of Plaster of Paris!
So I thought of sharing a few of experiences in my post accident phase as I type with my left hand and hope to make sense by the end of it, with the help of my newly active right brain!
Fortunately, I had what can be called a mild accident. My bike skid as I took a u-turn ad I fell on the road along with my beloved Dio!
DON’T MOVE TOO QUICKLY
As soon as I fell, first feeling was I need to get up and get off the road! But wait! You might be too hurt to move on your own and might just aggravate the wound! I realized quickly that I couldn’t move at all and waited for people to come and help me! My hand hurt and I was howling! Feel free to scream like a banshee so people know when and where it hurts!
Exceptions: if there’s a vehicle you see speeding without the vehicle seeing you, please MOVE and save your life!
TRUST PEOPLE
Let people who are helping you, well, HELP YOU! Tell them whatever you can so that they can do better things for you! I had a battalion of strangers helping me out! A guardian angel took me to the hospital and got me admitted.
Exception: If you see someone fiddling with your purse or checking your pockets, he is NOT there to help you!
DON’T PANIC
I know easier said than done, but trust me, if you panic, it just gets worse! I let people park my bike and told them where to lock in my helmet, took my keys and purse and just sat there till someone got me rickshaw and took me to a hospital. I called a friend and a colleague who could help me and do the running around. I called others only once I was out of the OT, comfily perched on the bed.
Exception: you see your body below, while floating in the air!
CO-OPERATE WITH DOCTORS
Its imperative that you answer the questions asked to you as accurately as possible! And feel free to ask your own questions, so that you are aware what is happening to you. Try and remember a few emergency numbers. These days because we just pull out numbers from our mobile ka phonebook, we don’t remember numbers off hand. I could remember only my hubby’s and he was out of country and not reachable. Keep the numbers on speed dial, so that you can just ask the nurse to dial quickly. Be aware of your blood group, any medicines you are allergic to and any other medical condition that docs should know about, before they administer any medication to you.
Exception: if you are unconscious.
MEDICAL COVER:
If you work and are in a company that gives you medical cover, check if the hospital accepts that card. If it doesn’t, make sure you get all the bills etc in order, so that you can claim it later. A minor injury and hospitalization also involves a lot of expenditure. So please don’t let go of any cover you may have.
Exception: you own the hospital!
I spent next week with my relatives ‘coz our parents don’t stay in Bangalore. The doctors said I was lucky to get away with just a dislocation of elbow! A fracture on the same joint would have been disaster! And though it hurt like hell, the survival instinct kicked in and I went through the motions sensibly and calmly.
If the doctors cute, feel free to flirt a bit. Laugh at any attempts at humour! Just imagining that you are better actually makes you feel better! They had to cut through my kurta sleeve and I said least half sleeves karke pehen hi sakti hoon!
Make sure you get all the instructions about medication, the do’s and don’ts properly, so that you can take care if yourself.
Last but not the least, always have your helmet on when on a two wheeler! No cure for a fractured skull or a dislocated brain!
Wishing all of you a happy and a safe new year filled with love, luck and laughter!
