It was a Friday!

(Dedicated to Murali uncle, Rangu Uncle, Mithun, Sanjay, Sunand, Gautham, Harsha

Thank you guys)

 

It was a long week end, as the winter was chilling in; year 2008 was fading away smoothly. It was a great year for me, I had a very cute member who had arrived into the family just a few months back and what could have been more joyous moment when I learnt that my new small nephew was an American citizen without attending any consulate interview, phew! He is a lucky kid. Times rolled by as my mother flew to United States to look after the new member of our family; I was left back with my dad for 6 months with whom I did not share a greatest of relationship. For me my father was like a legal adviser, anything related to bank, tax and law I would pounce on him immediately only to resort back to silence after my work was done. My father also shared the same kind of relationship and had not bothered much to talk from past 20 years. Things had suddenly changed now and since my mother was out, it was me and my father who had to look after the house and also each other’s food. Huh! It was difficult initially but as time passed by me and my father got close only to realize that even a father can be the best of friends. He cooked for me, he waited for me to have food, he gave me medicines, he looked after my health, he taught me hundred’s of common law after which I realized that Indian law is indeed strong; he did everything to me and 6 months was just a heaven, all that I did was to keep back the curd vessel back into refrigerator after my dinner which I missed 9 times on the count of 10. 6 months is too short for anything to change but when “change is inevitable” it is a long period for anyone to come out of their hibernation and change adding to everyone’s surprise. Ours was something similar, we had spent valuable times talking, discussing family problems and laughing pulling each others leg and knowing each other history especially his history; life had changed completely. As time was fast approaching we were gearing up for my mother’s arrival, ‘It was a Friday’ 26^th of December when my father finished his morning routine of walk and headed towards the travel agent’s office to confirm my mother and sister-in-law’s tickets. He was excited as the time was nearing for him to see his much awaited grandson. I was enjoying my long week end and had planned for a lunch with my friend and headed towards Indiranagar, life seemed never so positive, I had got my father’s affection back, my mother and sister-in-law was coming back and more than anything my nephew was coming, the entire family was decked up and sailing in the boats of happiness but fate had something different, in store,  it was 2.30 p.m in the after noon when my father called up suddenly and  told me that he was feeling very tired and he had fallen off from his vehicle, shocked, by his call I ran towards my car, he was near Vijayanagar which was 20 kms away from where I was, not knowing the intensity completely I drove my car to the atmost speed only to hope that my father was safe enough, Bengaluru traffic was at its peak, reaching there took me more than 40 minutes, with a desperate attempt to reach my father asap I kept calling him and thinking of various options, he answered my every call only to say that “I cannot stand here” finally I reached the place to find him sitting on the road with his head turned down, hurriedly I  pushed him inside the car and asked him to relax and drove to my house, he was suffering which I could not make out, if it was an error in the system or a virus in my computer, probably I would have dealt it more cleverly. Without wasting much time I reached home and asked him to get out of the car only to find him vomiting everything he had eaten for lunch, “I guess it is food poisoning” he claimed in a voice that was fading away every moment, he could not stand on his own leg, I dragged him into the house and asked him to sleep and headed towards the kitchen to make some energy drink, which I had learnt from him couple of weeks back. I rushed back to his room to check his condition, it was no better than before and I was alone with no much support both mentally and physically, all that I could think of is to call my mother who was sleeping comfortably 10000 miles away, knowing nothing. Huh! I could have done something better there, quickly I grabbed my vehicle and drove to our family doctor, “Get the patient here” he screamed me when I asked him “what to do?” by then my uncle had got the news and he drove to my house, thanks to the technology I must say, I soon asked my dad to get up and sit inside the car so that we can go to the doctor, as he got up and fell on the floor unconscious and knowing nothing about his health condition, it was then I realized that it was not a ordinary food poisoning but a massive heart attack, not knowing much I dragged him to the living room and started beating his heart as fast as I can, my uncle soon came to my house to find my father lying on floor unconscious, counting his last moments, “check his pulse soon” cried my uncle, I made a desperate attempt to check his pulse, alas! I got it, only to find that it was only ‘32’ “it is very low, let’s got to a hospital” hollered, my uncle. We soon managed to put my father inside the car and drove to the nearest hospital, thanks to the city’s haphazard parking concept, there was no parking available in front of the hospital, I jumped out of the car in shock and screamed at the watchman to get a stretcher or a wheel chair, it was few minutes before the lethargic ward boys came with a wheel chair; soon we shifted him to the ward and a series of tests was conducted. He was vomiting constantly, “it is just a food poising” he kept on murmuring. The doctors immediately went inside only to come out with a huge graph (ECG) declaring that it was a “Massive Heart attack” “we have given him pulse enhance injections” explained the doctor as he excused me to shift to a good facility cardiac hospital immediately. With out much choice I called for an ambulance, it was then my other uncle and my cousin came rushing to the hospital, soon we shifted my father to a nearest Cardiac hospital which was setup for small scale treatments. As we shifted him to the cardiac hospital with loads of tensions behind I called my couple of friends. As the main cardiologists came in to examine my father, I saw my father wrapped under loads of wires to measure his heart rate, blood pressure and what not? He was totally unconscious, as tears slipped out my eyes I had to be brave enough atleast to console my rest of the family who were residing thousands of miles away. “Did you see his ECG?” exclaimed the doctor, “it is not any minor attack, it is a Massive major heart attack” I sunk deep into my sorrow when I heard that my father has to undergo ‘Angiogram” immediately; a procedure which gives an idea to the doctors about the blockings in the heart. “How are you placed financially? You seem to be a small boy” asked the doctor, as I was searching within oneself to find an answer, “There is no worry financially, you please go ahead with the best treatment” claimed my uncle, it was a moment of relief for me but was a short lived one, my father had to been soon shifted to main cardiac centre where the complex procedures had to be done. As soon as the ambulance came in screeching, my father wrapped in all sorts of wires was shifted inside the ambulance, I was told to sit near my father, the doctor and a nurse accompanied us. The driver drove to highest possible speed breaking every signal and barriers, as I sat inside the ambulance watching my father suffering, he was never close to me all these years but he was my father atlast, he had seen me passing my education life successfully, he had seen off my brother travelling to US, he had done everything, as tears rolled from my eyes I thought of those glorious days where my father laughed with me, cried with me in my mother’s absence. We were getting close and I did not want to loose him, “happiness was short-lived” but to this extent? I had never estimated this. I could have done more, I realized, I could have talked to him better I felt, I could have supported him more I regretted; all that I could do then was to pray god for a ‘second chance’ as I signed on the hundreds of hospital management agreements he was shifted to the ICU and immediately to the Operation theatre or more technically called “Cath-Lab” where Angiogram was done on me, it took just 30 minutes for the doctor to come out with a report claiming that there was a major block on the right side of the heart which had to be cleared immediately, he suggested “Angioplasty” soon, it was a complex procedure where the block in the heart is removed by bursting a small balloon which is inserted by drilling in his heart using a cathode. It was complex but more common nowadays, “95% it might be successful but rest 5% is with god, as we are dealing with a person who already had an attack” told the doctor before entering the operation theatre, I sat there thinking of my mother who was as shocked as I am, it was 8.30 p.m. and one evening had changed my life, I was pacified by my friends who were there guarding me the whole time, the operation was of 40 minutes and it was the most important 40 minutes of my life, it was the question of my father’s life who had made a fresh impression in my mind. I called my mother crying only to hear tears at the other side as well, “atleast you are there” cried my brother. As the clock ticked by the doctor came with a clam smile on his face, “it was a successful procedure, he is out of danger right now” I was relieved, trying to forget those harsh moments I asked “is he really out of danger?” the doctor smiled at my question and told “I just told you the same” soon my father was shifted to ICU back for observations. I was asked to meet him inside the ICU; I was relieved to see his face relaxed. He was sleeping there calmly not knowing much about the incidents that passed by him, I leaned at the wall there seeing his face, a face that had made an impact on me in recent times, a face that I dreamt of being like, a face that I always never saw noticed, a face that I always tried to ignore, a face that always looked ferocious to me.

 

As I recount my moments of Friday, while penning this down, hundreds of thoughts run around my mind, I could have handled the situation much better, I could have called every one slightly earlier, I could have done that, I could have done this but I did try to save his life, it was not only me but every one who was with me that day, we all did and infact we did. The hell like situation which I underwent for 2 days is incomparable to any abrasive punishment. I cannot probably cannot remove the horrific day from my memory; it was a Friday…..

 

I wish all the bp readers a very safe and prosperous new year, please be aware of your Sugar, Blood Pressure levels, I request you all to maintain a healthy diet, I wish that no one undergoes ‘A Friday’ in their life.

                                                                     -Abhishek Suparna Iyengar