The lady in the red saree

So then you go see your patients in the ward  . Talk to them and ask them what all issues or concerns they have and they say ‘ Hmm not much . Just looking forward to going home as soon as possible ‘  You assure them that you’d  send them as soon as it was safe for them to go . But when the big bosses join rounds the next morning , the list is endless ‘ Oh I haven’t opened my bowels for  days ‘ ‘ My big toe itches from time to time ‘ ‘ My back aches a lot ‘ ‘ Everything tastes bland , could I be having oral ulcers doc ‘ From ‘ not much ‘ just the previous night to a long list  the very next morning ,the whole scene during rounds changes , literally , overnight .

This happened almost two decades ago . It was my first couple of weeks of internship , where from being a ‘ super senior ‘ in the hostel , I soon realized that I was undoubtedly now at the bottom-most rung of the ladder . Or should I say maybe even the foot pad at its lower end !! Life had turned topsy-turvy almost overnight , from a respected senior-most hostelite to the junior most errand-boy in the team !! Tough ? Undoubtedly yes !

As I tugged along for night rounds , after having reviewed in detail all his medications and reports , the registrar asked this semi-conscious patient’s wife, who seemed rather anxious about her sick husband , ‘ Is there anything else you’d like to tell us or share with us, anything else that you’re concerned about ‘ to which she replied the usual ‘ Hmm not much ‘ . She believed her husband had suffered a massive bleed in the brain, which knocked him out . But in reality , he had taken an overdose of sedatives just so that he could avoid a discussion with his wife over some issue at home . The registrar seriously felt the gentleman had over-reacted , and was hoping the wife would tell us about the argument they had but she remained tight-lipped . Till all the final reports were ready and everything else was ruled out , we couldn’t let her know the real story behind her unresponsive husband . Needed a few more scans to rule out any major trouble .

Rounds done , went down to the doctor’s mess to grab a quick dinner . But barely halfway through ,the bleep went off . The ward staff were struggling with a patient who had suddenly collapsed and I had to rush . The next hour was action-packed , and the patient had to be shifted to the ICU . And just when it looked like the ward was kinda calm , somebody else needed attention . The whole night went this way , and neither me nor N , my co-intern for the night , got to sit down for even a few minutes . We chipped in for each other and somehow managed to keep all patients safe and alive , and had no choice but to stay awake . This was still early days of internship , and we had not yet learnt to organize our work better to get some rest while ensuring all the work was done , while all the patients were looked after  . And through all the running up and down in the ward , we could see that this lady had never slept for a minute . She seemed apprehensive , but never did we see her rest . We were both too busy to have a word with her , with too much going on around us in the ward . We got through the night , with all patients alive .

D-day . It was time for ‘grand’ rounds . Both me and N realized there was no time for breakfast , quickly freshened up , coz we decided we’d rather go hungry but look presentable on rounds . Some of the first few patients had something to say , something that they didn’t bring up the previous night when asked on rounds . The registrars, and we both too, got an occasional stare for not having addressed all the concerns of the patients and their relatives . There was nothing we could do about it unless we actually knew that they had issues , and if they dont tell us, how could we get to know . Unfair, I felt , as I trudged along with the rest of the team , but life goes on , and so does rounds .

And then we reached this self-sedated patient , still fast asleep , with the wife standing right next to his bed . Remember her neatly dressed in a crisp ironed red saree , wearing a red bindi on the forehead as many Indian women do , standing next to a large white plastic chair which accentuated the red  . Wonder when she managed to freshen  up , I thought to myself , she seemed to be there in the ward throughout the night . Some of his scan results were still pending , so it still wasn’t the right time to break the news to her that she was responsible for his ‘ bleeding in the brain ‘ . After her husband’s condition was explained , she stayed quiet, never asked any questions but seemed to understand . Maybe she realised , at last , that their argument was what made her seek medical help for her husband . When asked ‘ any other concerns ‘ before moving onto the next patient , her expression changed ,she moved away from the chair closer to the team , and she suddenly seemed to be ready with a long list .

Or so I thought . She looked at me , and at N and both of us knew what was in store for us . ‘ You lady , you and you alone are responsible for your husband’s semi-comatose state . Wonder how much you’d have troubled him to push him to do this . Neither me nor N have managed to get even a minute of sleep , havent had a chance to grab a bite in the past 14 hours , and you’ll have a big list now . Why didn’t you tell us the previous night when we asked you if there were any concerns . Go on , blurt it out . Maybe we could have had a quick word with you while you were awake through the night, but we had much more bigger responsibilities . I know you’re gonna put us in trouble for no fault of ours, and there’s only so much we interns can do. After all we’re also human ‘ I was seething with anger , was hoping I could give her a piece of my mind but kept mum , waiting for the tsunami of complaints to be rattled out . She quickly scans her tired eyes through the entire team , stares at me and N again for a full two seconds , then turns to the boss and says ‘ Doc these boys haven’t slept the whole night . I hope they get some rest today ‘ That’s all, she was done with her complaints .

To this day that was one of the sweetest ‘complaints’ I’ve heard so far . Whenever I felt like giving up , I would remember this lady and carry on with my work . I was too young then to realise that those 2 short sentences , uttered by a tired lady when she was herself going through a very difficult time , would have so much impact even years later . How I wish I had taken her contact details .

Maybe we all , irrespective of which field we are in , could try and remember and recollect our own ‘lady in red’ moment . Or more importantly , for someone who deserves it , we would probably do very well , if we took some time and effort , to become ‘the lady in the red saree ‘ .