The doctor who cries wolf

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For none of the 9 surgeries to the best of my knowledge, I had been asked to get an ECG done. Now, for this surgery, the wonderful cardiologist, said some long winding story on something being slightly abnormal and insisted on further ECHO and Treadmill tests. Since he didn’t make it mandatory, I opted out. Why to spend extra 1.2k? I always look at a person’s hand first thing and as I was analyzing the cardiologist’s NoNerveJutting large hands, little did I realize that he was writing in my medical record that I was not cooperating. This went to the main ortho doctor, and after a brief argument, I was forced to go another day for the required tests, where I had to bare my breasts to sisters. After few operation theatre experiences, one loses all sense of modesty. What is this body, destined to age, rot and be eaten by worms (if the docs are fast enough, probably some person may get my organs) or destined to be burnt few years down the line. Then some curious dog might dig out this half decomposed body’s remains and drag it all around. Anything could happen. Why bother too much?

Back to my heart. Till 2008, paneer dishes were reserved only for eating out, which was pretty rare. However, once I joined the institute in mid 2008, almost every day, we used to have paneer malai and other creamy dishes on the menu. Stored and reheated most of the times. I used to hog paneer like anything. Ever since, I read “Autobiography of a Yogi," I used to eat puris fried only in ghee. From dal, sambhar, chapathis, dosas, pesarattus, upmas, khichdis, sabjis, podis, desserts I needed to pour ghee liberally on anything and everything. I would fight with my sister if she added even few drops of oil for making festival sweets, it had be 100% ghee made for me. At home, I would empty nearly 500gms of ghee in 1.5 months single-handedly. And 2 years in the institute with no direct cash mess account had me eating Rs.50/- worth of chocolates every day on an average. Believe, i would have been the only person to have ate Rs.8.5k worth of chocolates beyond allowed mess limits and paid extra for it. Thank god, my friends used to visit my room often and save few calories for me. But that also got stopped by Feb 2010. My pizza indulgence double cheese margarita is once in 3-5 months.

Of course, I also made sure, I was within the correct weight range, I did my yoga pranayam practices religiously, fasted nirjal whimsically now and then (if my tummy jutted out) and for my height of 169 cm, I weighed a decent 54-56 kgs. And that was fine I thought till yes’day.

Now after ECHO and TMT, it seems, there is some abnormality, (probably because I had pizza only last week) and so I have to take some tablets for smooth pre and post op. Well, blah. I was literally mad, when the cardio guy further suggested an angioplasty. I wanted NO more unintelligible purse burning tests. If the problem is known, I could always do the required physical exercises and solve it without tablets and hospitals. So mission quadriceps now. I will become less metallic – minus 12 screws. Time to focus on 12 years of atrophied quadriceps. Good bye to laptop, internet, FB, mails, ebooks and mobiles for a while. Back to paper books. I have just mailed my pranic healers. Probably I should call them up as well.