Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Of guts and brains
I have recently made friends with a cardiac surgeon from Ruby Hall in my German classes. Ashish is often tense and worried in the evenings, especially when he gets calls from junior doctors monitoring patients back in the hospital. At times he has had to leave the classes and rush to the hospital. A professional hazard, I guess.
Reminds me of David, the paediatrician from Sick Kids in Edinburgh. I made friends with David during my 8 month stay in Scotland this year. David was equally tense at times in the evenings when he was on call and there was a critically ill child back in the hospital. My conversations with David and Praveen were anything but boring. Praveen is a dentist practising in Edinburgh and a common friend. We discussed anything and everything, a refreshing change for me who was happy to escape the usual dull conversations with techies. The state of the economy, NHS, Indian software professionals, the Edinburgh Fringe, books, stand-up comedians, investments, theatre, Bible, their stay in the middle east, Bangalore, the local church, nightlife, Indian eateries in Edinburgh, the social security system in UK and David's sick kids of course.
One evening when David was driving me and Praveen back home after dinner, he gazed pensively at the road ahead and described the irony of it all. Think of all the tension he had to go through in ensuring that those premature babies in the neonatal units survive while it is legal for termination to be carried out up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. "Jigar, those premature babies have all sorts of problems. Underdeveloped guts, problems with their brain and I have to ensure they survive."
"Underdeveloped guts and brains? Sounds so familiar" I said. "I meet these kind all the time. And in my world they not only survive, they thrive !"
Reminds me of David, the paediatrician from Sick Kids in Edinburgh. I made friends with David during my 8 month stay in Scotland this year. David was equally tense at times in the evenings when he was on call and there was a critically ill child back in the hospital. My conversations with David and Praveen were anything but boring. Praveen is a dentist practising in Edinburgh and a common friend. We discussed anything and everything, a refreshing change for me who was happy to escape the usual dull conversations with techies. The state of the economy, NHS, Indian software professionals, the Edinburgh Fringe, books, stand-up comedians, investments, theatre, Bible, their stay in the middle east, Bangalore, the local church, nightlife, Indian eateries in Edinburgh, the social security system in UK and David's sick kids of course.
One evening when David was driving me and Praveen back home after dinner, he gazed pensively at the road ahead and described the irony of it all. Think of all the tension he had to go through in ensuring that those premature babies in the neonatal units survive while it is legal for termination to be carried out up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. "Jigar, those premature babies have all sorts of problems. Underdeveloped guts, problems with their brain and I have to ensure they survive."
"Underdeveloped guts and brains? Sounds so familiar" I said. "I meet these kind all the time. And in my world they not only survive, they thrive !"
