INSIDE THE ICU(continued)

I told the nurse I was perfectly alright and wanted to be discharged. She said that the doctor will come shortly and he will decide. I waited for the doctor and he took a long time to come. In the meanwhile a patient died in the ICU and they removed the body very silently. The old woman continued to make terrible sounds. I waited and waited and finally the cardiac doctor came about 11'o clock. I told him my wish to be discharged. He went through my history sheet and told me that I will be discharged after undergoing one more test called the ECHO TEST. I consented. After some more waiting a ward boy came with a wheel chair and told me to sit in it. After I sat, he pushed the wheel chair to another room. There I was made to lie on a bed. The doctor started checking my heart beat with an instument. After checking for several minutes he said he could not find any problem and therefore, I should undergo the treadmill test the next day. In the meanwhile he arranged for me to be shifted to an ordinary room. After several hours of waiting, the nurse and the ward boy came with the wheel chair, made me sit in it, and pushed it to the room alloted to me. My children joined me there and I was very happy to see them. I thought I was going to die without saying good bye to anybody, but there I was sitting and chatting with my children as though nothing had happened. God has spared my life for some more time. I wonder for what.

PHOTOS ---SCENERY IN KOCHI

PHOTOS--CHURCHES

B

INSIDE THE ICU

I was pushed into the ICU lying on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on my face and a needle in my veins connected to a glucose bottle. When I reached my allotted bed I got up and laid on it. Immediately a hospital uniform was brought and I was asked to change into it. When I checked the pyjama there was no tape to tie. So I told the nurse to get me another one. She said I can wear the pyjama temporarily and in the morning she will give me another one. I refused. Then she brought another proper pyjama and I changed into it. The bed was very comfortable. Then I told the nurse to remover the oxygen mask and needle attached to my veins. She flatly refused and said it was hospital regulations for patients in the ICU. Glucose was given to make me strong and the needle was kept in my veins to administer medicines in case of emergency. Oxygen was given to help me to breathe easily and to make me calm.
Then a monitoring machine was brought and they started attaching tubes to my body. Since I had a lot of hair on my chest, a nurse brought a razor and told me that she has to shave some hair on my chest. I agreed. After shaving they attached the tubes with some paste. After this the side rails of the bed were raised and I was told to sleep. The light on top of my bed was switched off. It was fairly dark. As soon as the nurse left my bedside, I removed the oxygen mask from my face.
As I lay there trying to sleep, I was continuously disturbed by the moaning, groaning and screaming of an old woman lying on another bed. I wanted to pass urine. I called the nurse and told her to remove the tubes attached to me, so that I can go to the urinal. She brought a bottle and told me to make the urine in that bottle without getting up from the bed. I told her I cannot pass the urine while she was standing there and without getting up from the bed. She drew the curtains around my bed and went out. I got up from the bed and passed urine in the bottle.
Since I looked quite healthy and the nurse was in a mood to chat , she told me there was a man lying in another bed without legs which he lost in a motorcycle accident. He married only seven months back. Another man was about to die and his wife was wailing outside the ICU. The nurse’s parents spent Rs.5 lakhs for her education. After getting some experience she wanted to go abroad and work.
Early morning she brought a tube of tooth paste and a tooth brush and told me to brush my teeth so that I can have breakfast. She also brought a plastic basin and a mug of water. After brushing, she brought me IDDILIS and CHUTNEY and I ate them. ( Later I came to understand that all these things including my medicines were bought by my children waiting anxiously outside the ICU. When I was admitted to the ICU, my children were asked to deposit Rs.20,000. Since they had only Rs.5000, they paid Rs.3000 and kept the balance amount for buying medicines. My eldest son Xavier, working in Mumbai sent the balance money next day for paying the deposit. The ICU was located on the 7th floor and the medical shop and canteen were on the ground floor. My children had a tough time going up and down the lift.)
To be continued------


































t







a

ICU

I never thought that I will ever be admitted to the ICU(intensive care unit). Recently I had a pain in my chest at 7.30 in the evening. I thought that it might be due to gas and therefore I took a diegene tablet and hoped it will go away. But the pain still persisted. So I took one more tablet and waited for the pain to subside. However, the pain increased. So I drank some water and sat on the sofa quietly. The pain was spreading to my hands. I went and laid on my bed. The pain was increasing. I got up and walked. Nothing happened. I felt like sitting down. So I sat down. The pain was unbearable. I became desparate. I told my wife and children about the pain and wanted to go to the hospital immediately. They called for a taxi. The cab driver said that he will not be able to come. The time was already 11.30 in the night. I could not bear the pain any longer. I decided to drive my car. My two sons-DAVID and ANGELO- came with me. I gave Rs.5000 cash to my son ANGELO for meeting the expenses at the hospital. I drove straight to the Co-operative Hospital which was close to my house at Thrikkakara. I went to the casualty and told my problem to the doctor. She told the attendent to take my ECG(Electro cardiogram). While the attendent was struggling with the ECG, she told the nurse to give me an injection for gas. The pain did not go. Meanwhile the attendant was still struggling the ECG equipment and after several minutes he found out that the equipment was defective. I was finding it difficult to lie on the examination table due to the pain and I told the doctor about it. The attendant quickly brought another ECG machine which was fortunately working. They found my heart rate low. The doctor did not tell me but told my children and advised them to take me to the EMC HOSPITAL which has better facilities. None of my children knew to drive the car and therefore, I told her that I will drive the car myself. She flatly refused to let me drive and arranged an ambulance. She forced me to sit in a wheel chair and the attendent pushed it to the waiting ambulance. This is again the first time I sat in a wheel chair and lay in an ambulance. I was wondering what will happen next. Soon I reached the EMC HOSPITAL. I was again made to sit in a wheel chair and pushed to the casualty. It was already 2.30 in the night. I was soon surrounded by nurses and the night duty doctor. He gave rapid instructions to the nurses. I was made to open my mouth and they poured some thick liquid medicine. One nurse gave me an injection. Another nurse poked a needle in my veins and inserted glucose. One other nurse put the oxygen mask. In the meanwhile my pain had gone and I felt good. I told the doctor I am OK and wanted to go home. He said that I will be admitted to the ECU so that my condition can be monitored continuously for twenty four hours. I was made to lay on a stretcher.It was pushed to a lift and was taken to the ECU ward on the seventh floor of the hospital. My children who came with me terribly worried were made to stand outside for further instuction.
This is how I entered the ECU for the first time in my life. I will tell you what happened there another day.














E

INVESTMENT NUGGETS

The young investor should consider the following investment principles:
1) Invest early.
2) Invest at regular intervals.
3) Invest for long term.

John Templeton, one of the greatest global stock pickers of the century, has distilled his investment principles as follows:
1) Invest for real returns,
2) Keep an open mind,
3) Learn from your mistakes,
4) Consider avoiding the popular,
5) Buy during times of market pessimism
6) Hunt for value and bargains
7) Search worldwide

Given below are some more golden rules from him:
a) The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell;
b) I never made money for clients by buying anything expensive;
c) The only investor who should not diversify is the one who is right 100% of the time;
d) For those properly prepared in advance, a bear market in stocks is not a calamity but an opportunity;
e) If you buy the same securities as other people you will have the same results as other people;
f) To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are greedily buying requires the greatest fortitude and pays the greatest reward;
g) Bear markets has always been temporary. And so have bull markets.
h) History shows that time, not timing, is the key to investment success. Therefore, thebest time to buy stocks is when you have money.

Mr.Rajive Choudhury,CEO Apeejay Oxford Bookstore, has the following advice for investment:
1) Do not be in a hurry to make money,
2) Do your homework - get into the details of the company whose stock you are buying;
3) Stick to long term investing.

PASSIVE SMOKING

I read about passive smoming. I heard about passive smoking. However, recently I had the opportunity of experiencing passive smoking. A medical company hired my lcd projector for 3 days and I was asked to be in the conference hall during the meeting to help them with the projector. There were 70 delegates and almost all of them were chain smokers. I am a non smoker. There was so much smoke in the room that I had to go out every now and then to escape suffocation. However, I deveoped a cough and it became very bad. I started coughing continuously and it looked like I was having TB. The cough was persistent and I suffered for more than 3 weeks. Then slowly it subsided and I wonder what damage the smoke must have done to my lungs and my health in general. I suffered very badly and I hope others will take a lesson out of my eperience.