Thank you Kesar and Ola

OK. I never thought I would have to thank Ola ever. But today I got myself a Ola Auto while going to the hospital and an Ola Auto while coming back.
And Everytime I was charged 30 rupees which actually includes a surcharge of 10 rupees.
And ask a auto guy standing on the curb, and he starts from 100.
So Thank You Ola for the Auto service.

And thanks Kesar Sweets. Your jalebis and the chaats especially the dahi vadas are to die for. So thanks Kesar for letting me have a great lunch after a tiring day at the hospital. A meal of Rava Dosa, papdi chaat and dahi vada may not seem to be the best combination, but it rocked for me.

Cataract surgery

It has become a routine today. Last time I was wondering why it was taking this long.
The hospital tells you to be in between 7:30 and 8.
You come and they give you a room to be shared with some other patient.
The patient is told to get some drops, to be given 5 times in intervals of 5 minutes, in the eye that is to be operated.
After an hour someone will come check the patient's blood pressure.
Then an hour or two before they take the patient for the procedure.
After 30 minutes they will bring the patient back.
Another 30 minutes and a call to pay any outstanding amount that was not paid by the insurance company.
Post that, wait again.
In an hour a nurse will come with list of medicines.
Once that is purchased, they will discharge the patient usually after 3 hours of rest.
They will also give instructions of what the patient should not do and for how many days.

Today I am done till the 300 rupees payment, that was the amount not paid by insurance.
The rest is to follow.
I am targeting somewhere between 2 and 3, for a discharge.

And today there's the issue of getting a transport back home.

Bummer. Why did the strike have to happen now. 

Strikes and surgery

The latest strike reminds me of the strike last year. This strike too was linked with a hospital trip. This was when Dad had his accident.
The strike was for the Karnataka Tamil Nadu water problem.
The day Dad had his accident was 1st September. On 2nd September he had his surgery.
The surgery was scheduled at 9:30am. Around 10 they took Dad to the theatre and then I was called around 1, to be told that all was well.
I was then asked to come back in the evening. My brother was on his way, so I decided to go home and come back later with my brother.
So I looked for a Uber. Got one and went back home.
Spoke to the maid who said she would be coming in the afternoon.
As soon as I reached home, there was a call asking for me. It was Dad using the mobile phone of a nurse. I told him I could come back later in the bevening with my brother.
Brother came around 3 and we ordered pizza for lunch.
After the maid had finished, me and bro started for the hospital.
That was day one of the strike.
I must have been v lucky, that I had for a taxi while coming home.
There were no cabs. All off the road.
Me and bro took an auto.
We went to the ICU and saw Dad.
Then in his room. There I tried to book a cab.
I was to go back home and bro would stay back in the hospital.
So I tried to book a cab. Nothing. Did an advance Meru booking. That never came.
Finally, took an auto home.  

Taxi strikes

Been coping with this for the last few days now.
Dad's cataract surgery is there today, 27 February.
Saturday had to come for a check up.
Usually coming and going was a breeze. Just book a cab and get in.
Since Thursday, Ola and Uber have been on strike. No taxis. Meru is not on strike but to get a Meru has become a difficult thing.
Saturday, had to come out to the main road and get an auto to come for a checkup. While going back home, I got an auto at the hospital gate.
Today morning, tried booking cabs but nothing worked.
Then tried Ola auto. That actually worked. I had a auto guy come up to me.
For the first time in Bangalore, I was able to ride an auto for less than 100 rupees.
And I was able to get to the hospital in time.

Cataract

I knew Dad has cataract in both eyes and it was something that needed to be done. The only thing is when. Then with his vision not being as it was, decided to get this done now.

So on 31st Jan got an appointment with the eye doctor at Shankara Eye Hospital. It took us four to five hours to complete the testing procedure. I got my eyes tested along with him also.

When the doctor saw dad, he said a surgery was needed. Okay - I was prepared for this.
When? Next week.

Ok - so , took the date for 06th February. They told us to come back on 04th for a 'fitness test'.

Dad told my brother and he said he will come for a week.

So on 04th morning we went for the 'fitness' test.

Dad was asking if they will ask him to do some walking etc. and I was telling him, walking's got nothing to do with eyes.

So the fitness test.

They took a blood sample to check for sugar, they took his blood pressure, and then they asked him to go for fitness.

The fitness was a machine which was scanning the eye lens to see how strong it was and thereby decide how the surgery would be performed.

Once that test was done, we went for to another room, where I had to sign a form - nomination form before surgery.

They gave us some eye drops that were to be applied till the surgery day.

On 06th, early morning reached the hospital.

Got a shared room and there we waited till Dad was called.

We had to wait for 2 hours before we got a call. Then he was wheeled in.

After 30 minutes he was brought back. All done.

Then, a wait for 3-4 hours before we were discharged with a list of medicines - eye drops.

Got a pair of dark glasses also.

Three days of no TV watching. No reading. No mobile phone handling. A week of not going out in the sun.

This week I went for a checkup and the doctor said the other eye needed to be operated on, soon.

More when that happens.

Attendant

More on the accident. Dad was discharged on the 10th of September. For sometime it was me and my brother taking care. But we needed someone to be there with him round the clock.
So I started looking out at agencies who would be able to supply a male attendant.
Most of the calls I made to agencies said they did not have people available. The others came, saw my dad, said they will send someone and then that was it.
Then thanks to Internet and Google, I found an agency called RightCare. They said they had a person available who would be able to come from 18th. That was the day when my brother left for Delhi.
The attendant came in the afternoon, a young boy.
He was there with us for a month.
And that was the time when my maid/ cook was also away. Her husband was having a surgery done. So I had to take charge. Juggling between working from home and office, cooking, cleaning - it was hectic.

Getting my dad on his feet was something. The first day he touched the walker, he said he was giddy. It took him a few days to get up from the bed and even stand holding the walker.
It took him over a month to get adjusted to the walker. The walker with physiotherapy helped.
The doctor told him, leave the walker. So in two months from the accident, after consulting the physiotherapist, I got a stick with four prongs. The piece that was delivered was defective. I had got it from an online store and I was told, they would refund the money.
I ordered another one, with three prongs.
When that came, Dad was reluctant to use that. Slowly, over a month, he got used to the walker and was able to get and walk about with that.
Around November, the doctor saw him and said this was going to be his last visit. Also, he asked Dad to slowly leave the walker also.

Today, Dad tries to walk around without any support, inside the house and takes the walker when we step out.
Good progress for a person who is over eighty four. Wonder what I will be like at that age.

A long time

Just realized that I had not scribbled here for a long time. Its been months actually.
It has been fairly happening, these last few months.

Dad's accident was the highlight. The problem with him is, he wants to do everything independently and not depend on anyone for anything. That is good, but then when you are over eighty, there are some things that one should not.
So, on the 1st of September, he said he would be going to the post office across the road to check his post office bank account.
For him, and also for me, across the road is over a kilometer. Its a six hundred meter walk from my apartment to the main road. Then another five hundred meters, on the road, till one reaches the footpath, which on the opposite side of the road, on which the post office is. Then from there, cross the road and get to the other side. Then you walk down into a basement, where the post office is.
What Dad says is, unlike the Delhi post office, which is big and fairly inefficient, this is very small but very efficient.
Any way, so on 01st September, he went to the post office. He went down the basement, spoke to the people. Came out. Decided to walk a bit and then cross the road. This would have been around 10 AM.

Around 11 AM I got a phone call from an unknown mobile number. I thought this was one of those telemarketers, calling for loans or credit cards. I took the call. The person asked me. I said Yes, speaking. The person said Someone wants to talk to you. I said Okay. Then I heard my Dad saying, he had fallen down on the road and was not able to walk.
I told him I would come there.
A colleague of mine came along with me. We kept looking everywhere and then saw him sitting on a chair near a car workshop. He said he was unable to get up.
There was a small hospital across the road. I went there and said I needed help as there was a patient across the road. The person was old and unable to walk, so an ambulance was needed.
The first reaction was - ambulance is a paid service. I said I will pay.
Then they said Sorry - we do not have one.
They sent two attendants with me, who had no clue who transport my father to the hospital.
I will not name the hospital but this was a bad experience.
Then with the help of people on the road, I managed to get my father in my colleague's car and get him into the hospital. From there, they put him in a wheel chair and took him to a doctor.
The doctor said it looked like a hip fracture and they would need to do X Rays.
This was the first time, I saw a simple X ray take 2 hours.
After the X Ray, the hospital head called me and said I will need to fix his hip, and he will be on his feet in three days.
This sounded a bit fishy.
So I told the person, thanks for your help but I will be discharging my father. I gave some reason that I had contacts in a different place and will take him there.
Reluctantly, the doctor agreed.
At 4 PM, I called Columbia Asia Hospital and asked for an ambulance.
In an hour the ambulance came and my father was transferred there. Good professional doctors. Nice environment.
Evening the doctor said they will have to operate on him and would be doing the pre-op tests.
A room was given. A night spent. Next day was the surgery. And also a Bangalore bandh. And also when my brother was coming. I had informed him about the accident so he caught a flight and came over.
The surgery got over and then I was called to the ICU. The surgeon said all was well and I could see my father in the evening. Hearing this, I came back to my apartment. Got a phone that my brother had landed.
While I was at home, got a call from a number. Again saying, someone wants to talk to you. This time it was my Dad asking where I was. I told him to relax and that I had come home for sometime and would be coming back after sometime.
Evening went back with my brother. He said he would stay in the room allocated (even though my father was in the recovery ICU) and I came back home.

Months have passed now and when I look back, it was hectic. I went with the flow and things somehow fell in place.
My father is recovering, slowly but steadily.