Speaking doctors

Its ten minutes to four (pm of course). Rotating in Radiology. Heaven on earth. Absolutely. I had a presentation to give in the morning and was hence up almost all night. Presentation is done with. Done with is the word. After looking at some scans I had a hearty lunch. Chicken made in gravy, with a fancy name, 'chicken ghoulash'!  I thought of having lunch with myself, but later was joined by my two wonderful residents. I thought I would be chit chatting away. You know, intense stuff, world issues, but just then their senior paged them to arrange for laptop for the session within ten minutes. Now you know why the world issues are left unaddressed. Its problems like these my friend. They did not say a word, and kept throwing food into their mouths with their heads bowed down. Few minutes later they looked at each other and said almost simultaneously, "I cant eat anymore!". They picked up their trays and left me, and the world issues with each other. And since th...

I sit and type as I feel so content. For pretty much everything. To find peace within. After havin a cup of karak ilaichi tea as I sit under the mango tree, reading the Sunday newspaper. I then wake up my dear brother with the smell of fresh cheese omellete (its so easy to make, and oh so tasty!). So yes, the aroma wakes him up. My father has been up since I dont know when. He first looks at the omellete and then decides to have a bit. He calls Ami to have some while hot. I feel blessed. Blessed to be alive, blessed to have such a beautiful family. Who has been always been there. Who understands. Doesnt need words of explanation. Aik aur khubsurat din Its a beautiful day today. A day I think anybody who has the chance to, to enjoy, to inhale the fresh breeze, to stare at the cloudy sky, to be grateful for all the amazing things GOD has given us. And I was struck by the charm For some odd reason, I give a listen to 'eye to eye'. Fablous eyes, spectrum eyes, my eyes ...

Just done with having this delicious, mouth watering, extremely tasteful, beautifully red, water melon! Oh, I am so in love with it. I could feel its coolnes inside me. Can't thank Allah Mian enough for this beautiful fruit.    Its plentiful and its in Karachi. Make sure you do enjoy it to the most. And please do make sure that when you buy one for yourself, buy another one for someone who cant afford it. Share the sweetness!

On my exam day I am unusually excited. Prompting people to think that I've gone mad. I haven't. Or maybe a little .   Over the weekend, in the Sunday newspaper, a writer says that you don't look for inspiration to write. You have to work like a carpenter. Carpenter. Wood. Me something like woody wood pecker. I get inspired, but dont work like a carpenter. Saw I have lost. Its Monday morning. Ami sends Junaid (my younger brother) to get some eggs. Junaid comes back with halwa puri. I was getting late, but take ample time to devour the fat. Its yummy, I tell myself. And I ll burn it off, I remind myself again. Its going to be a long day in clinic, I ll work hard, I continue to convince. It was ten minutes to nine when I start my ride to the hospital. Its a beautiful morning. Beautifully beautiful. The clouds all grey. I open my blog to write a new post. I have two "followers". That sounds a little odd. Followers. A little elating as well. Perks, perks of li...

It was later that I learnt how to sprinkle in videos . Three thousand views! Yaaaaaaaahoooooooooooooo!!!!!!! What seemed like a dream once has become a reality now! I would recommend that as you read the post continue playing the above you tube piano piece. So coming back to the three thousand views. Probably a thousand are mine, but you guys have made the other two thousand ones possible and all of you deserve a big thankyou!!!!! How it began...   It all started when my brother made the blog for me, designed it and named it. I chose the pink background. I started very simple and my initial posts are still my favourite e.g., A fairy tale; Valentines, what, where. The post that I hate most is Eclipsing. Its just useless. My brother asked me to remove it if I donot like it, but I won't as I did spend my precious time on it. The technical bit. Initially I used to add pictures. It was later that I learnt how to sprinkle in videos....

  “You make the usual routine sound so interesting!” “How do you manage to write such funny incidents, whenever I write, it turns out all serious!”, muses Nasreen Bhojani. The venue is cafetaria, we are having some food for thought.     Then its the C2 ward. Huma cites me and says , “You write such mazy mazy ka stuff, I opened one post and went on reading the next. You write about varied stuff, at times you take us to your gaon (village), you make the usual routine sound so interesting!”. And then yesterday, while having breakfast I meet Sidra, Riz wan and another intern (unfortunately I don’t know her name, but she had such a beautiful smile). Rizwan goes on , “Maam, we now have to think twice before saying something in front of you”. Its not like that at all. But by the way I really liked his line when he said , “In paeds, doesn’t matter how nice we try to get with the kids, its on the kids face, that don’t try to get chummy with me, I know you are grim, I know y...

Week is done.My head aches like anything. Postcall. Last night tried every bit to keep patient in negative balance. Faced two pneumothoraces! When I called Dr Nadia for putting in the chest tube, she smiled and said, "I hate you Zarka, I really really hate you!". Two mornings of not waking up early.   Every cloud has a silver lining Yesterday's highlight. I finally passed an independent central line. The caveat. Patient died after coding about an hour later. Dr S smiled away and said, "You have such heavy hands, the patient could not bear the line and hence died". Ha, ha, ha, ha........Very funny Dr S. I told him that I ll pass a line in his neck on the last call! That would be interesting, causing pneumothorax in him! Hafta'y Daraz And now what comes is what is lovingly called 'Long weekend'.Two whole days. Fourty eight hours. Two mornings not waking up early. Our ice-cream is on the way.We are celebrating the line that I passed.

“You are living in Pakistan, you should write something about the state of this country, not just the hospital stuff”, Fozia (my younger sister), tells me. She doesn’t stop here. She gives me three topics. Bijli (light), machar (mosquitoes), and mehngai (expensiveness!?!). All right. Topic one Bijli (light) How can I write about something that’s usually not even there. Machar (mosquitoes) Causes malaria, dengue. I meet them everyday.An encounter in itself. Mehngai (expensiveness!?!) Why should I even bother to talk about it and what’s the point.   There done.Three topics. Three minutes of my life. Nothing innovational. Now coming back to the hospital. Asif (Year two resident), is scrolling through facebook. “It’s Dr Saeed’s birthday today!”, he says excitedly. Dr Saeed is a critical care fellow. Tall, kind, funny, almost fatherly. “We should celebrate, then!”, I tell him and we order a cake from United bakery. Chocolate fudge cake is to arrive at about three thirty. Cl...

I feel elated ! A thousand views! Yahooooooooooooooooo! My greatest help has been ‘google images’.Getting the most sarcastic pictures……specially the animated one. Calling my very basic English, excellent! I guess, they are just too kind! My patients are the greatest inspiration. Its funny that even as I walk down corridors in the hospitals , stories build up till I just fill up and throw them all on this blog. This is my 21st post , and if I think back, my favourite among them is ‘A fairy tale’.   Given above are my worldwide readers. I would like to thank all! It just makes me wonder , exactly who is reading from Germany.Had someone mistakenly opened my link there?   The one view from HTC is of my father’s! I’ll ask him to visit again, so that would make it two. Then there are people, who leave comments. Usually once I’m done with a post I ask my brother to read, and at times, even dictate that he should leave the following comment .. It was recently that I...

The Falah night arranges for another movie. “The King’s speech”, to be shown on Thursday, the email says. I read its review and it has won a number of golden globe awards and now nominated for oscars. Maybe I should watch it , I think to myself. Today morning, I ask chulbul, i.e. Saima Kamal , whether she’d like to join in. She says yes, and we drag in Aini , for the reason that we need someone to keep us laughing! Excellent English, and excellent cursing! Starting time is 6 pm. The movie finally starts at 6:45! Venue is the auditorium, a place where very serious morning meetings take place.We are equipped with chips, drinks, roasted peanuts, chocolates. Ghufran (the intern, the jut from Punjab), joins us. He offers us his “tulsi”and in return gets a share from all that we have!   The movie is about a prince, who stammers, and is finally made or rather is forced to be the king! He has problems with speech, and now he has to broadcast! The movie is beautifully made, filled wi...

Half a month done.First 15 days of senior residency.Senior resident................... a title which seemed like a curse initially!Things have started to improve.The rule is doesn't matter if you know stuff or not, just act as if you do! Dr Saliha Ishaq was my attending for the first half.She is nice, sweet easy going.Lets you do whatever you want to. The promises I start enthusiastic, plan that I ll study all electrolyte imbalances.I haven't completed even one.I can blame it on 'residents appreciation night'.That I was busy rehearsing for the skits, news.......but there are no excuses.If I haven't studied, there is no one to blame apart from myself! The shift As per schedule, the last fifteen days , the consultant changes and now its an even sweeter attending.........Dr Faisal Mehmood.The first day with him today.My intern picks up the file for follow up presentation and leaves the clip open.Result, papers slip out.He starts to panic.Cardio fellow mock...

Once upon a time, there were five beautiful girls, and one handsome boy.Their names were Hajra, Nosheen, Ayesha, Zaina, Zarka and Anwar.They were all wonderful doctors,nicely trained, kind hearted people.Fate bought them all together in the month of  October, in Pulmonology rotation. . . . . Their first week was with Dr Ali Zubairi.One of the most fun weeks.Few patients, plenty of doctors.Dr Ali Zubairi read their follow ups and corrected them with his black pen if required,and wrote “”good’” if the follow ups excited him. One of the patients had tuberculous effusion, chest tube in,she was 16,small for her age, but with a very sharp brain.She passed a vibrant smile, whenever they meet her. Then their was this asthmatic lady whose wheeze continued despite optimization.Dr Ali Zubairi asked her if there was any family history  positive for asthma.She went blank.Two days later when she was a little better, she told Dr Ali Zubairi” the other day you were asking me whether anyon...

S Sunday and postcall. Saturday and Sunday breakfast spells halwa puri.And hence halwa puri it is! I could tag this call as the easiest of all so far! I’m called from emergency only once to see a suspected Pneumo (pneumothorax).This is a guy in his sixties, with history of chain smoking in the past and now he is paying the price by having bullous lung disease.He had bullas in his chest Xray in the past, but then are the symptoms of shortness of breath due to rupture of one of them ----leading to pneumothorax. He gets an HRCT done to rule out the possibility of pneumothorax. The CT  something like this The patient was managed on the lines of COPD exacerbation. Tomorrow is Monday, new week,new attending…….the whole month we had been anticipating Dr Nawal ……….. but then Dr JAK is coming.We ll perform luddi together , I tell Ayesha

Drenched out after the clinic and finally at home.Had pulmonology clinic today.During clinic as I stared out the window, I could see the elegant Rangoonwala building.On its right is Home economics college.Behind it is a mountain,which has been craved to accommodate houses.There is a skyline of palm trees.Their grace is unmatched.On the road traffic continues,the same city witnessed killings of 38 people . . .    As the clock ticks four I reconfirm the tea arrival time from the nurse.I go for a check in the staff lounge, there is no tea though.On my return the nurse tells me that in room three, three patients await.Oh well!I enter, they are from Afghanistan,and do not understand urdu.Ask I introduce myself one of the patient says in fine English,"please speak in English".And that's the only fine English he knows, these are followed by phrases, and then words.Fifteen minutes elapse and I m only done with two.I feel like banging my head.The third one again has nonspecific s...