WE ARE PROFESSIONALS…
As usual, I was busy in my doctor chamber. Several times I had asked my secretary not to take more than 30 appointments in the evening, but mostly he ignored that. Possibly, he knew I would not say anything rather, he expected some extra money as a tip.
One day while I was busy in my chamber, I got a call from my cousin. I wanted to receive the call, but the hubbub outside my chamber was not allowing me to take out even a minute for speaking to my relative. My understanding was very clear. Every 5 minutes would fetch me 300 rupees and for maintaining a relation, I could not afford to lose the same. When I noticed three missed calls from him, one after another, I felt the pressure to call him back.
I dialed him back and said, “Hello…”
“Hello, Aakash. I am quite tensed. A few minutes after the delivery, my baby has been making grunting sounds,” my cousin’s voice shivered.
Now, by all means, this could be taken care of by his attending doctor as she was quite experienced. However, as it is with human nature, people always trust and seek help from their near and dear ones. I wanted to say upfront that your attending doctor was experienced enough to handle the situation, but I could not say so. Probably, there was some courtesy still left in me.
“Don’t worry, I will speak to Dr. Dam and update you.”
“Aakash, she is not in the nursing home. She has been just passing her advice on the phone and now, she is not even picking up my phone. Please do something, I don’t know what to do,” His voice was quivering.
Pronto, I could understand the reason for his tension and it, somewhat, ignited the same in me. Without wasting a minute, I called Mrs. Dam and asked the current status. After knowing the details, I heaved a sigh of relief and informed my cousin that there was nothing to worry. While I was talking to my cousin, my secretary came in twice to show his poker face and indirectly to make me realize that there were still some patients waiting for me. I pressed my bell and asked him to start sending the patients one by one.
After finishing my chamber, I thought of calling my cousin, to know the current update. However, as it was 8:30 PM and I needed to pick up my son from his tuition, I ignored the thought and drove off. While driving, I had a policy of never receiving any call.
Before going to bed, I had a habit of checking the call details. There were three missed calls from my cousin and 4 from my Uncle. It was 11:45 PM and I was thinking about whether to call them or not. Being a doctor, we come across a similar kind of situation on a regular basis, but the common people get nervous if they have to face this. I had confidence that Dr. Dam was a sincere, responsible, experienced and overall a very professional lady. She treated her patient as a client and her treatment as a marketing tool. So, I did not bother to call back my cousin again.
In my father’s case, he still did not know how to operate a mobile phone. It irritated me when I called back my father after seeing his ‘n’ number of missed calls and got to know that he was calling to know our well-being. This time too I assumed the same and did not call him back. I did not realize when I drifted off to sleep.
The next day, while I was busy in the hospital, my cell vibrated. I took it out and saw a few messages had hit my inbox. I opened the inbox. One SMS stated:
“Bhai, yesterday I had been trying to call you badly, but could not reach you. My baby was shifted to NICU. I know you are busy, but I need your help. Please call, I am waiting. Uncle was also calling for the same reason.” My cousin, asking for help from me like this had diminished my dignity. We both grew together in a joint family. I competed in the Joint Entrance and became a doctor and he opted for a career in a private organization which did not require passing any competitive examination. But there was no ego between us. Within a second, the entire childhood memories started floating in front of my eyes. I felt really bad.
I immediately called him back.
“Hello, Ridhi Bhai… what happened?” I said hesitatingly.
“Bhai, you please come down to the Divine nursing home. I am in trouble and not getting any direction what to do…” he said in a helpless tone.
Suddenly, my love for my brother up-surged in my blood. I left everything and asked my driver to take me to Divine Nursing home.
My brother was not at the lounge. I took the help of the receptionist. They treat doctors differently and in a hurry, I did not realize the stethoscope was still hanging around my neck which was signifying my medical profession. I took the lift and reached the 3rd Floor, which was NICU.
I saw my brother peeping at his baby through the glass window. I called him from back, “Ridhi Bhai…”
He turned back and looked at me with a revived hope in his eyes, in spite of all his troubles. He rushed towards me and said, “Aakash… I don’t know what’s happening, what these people are doing? You please speak to them.”
Without saying anything, I entered the unit to see his baby. I examined all the reports. The report was really concerning. The baby was affected by sepsis and acute respiratory disorder. It was difficult to explain everything to him. The moment I came out, my brother reached near me and asked, “Bhai, everything alright nah? No need to worry?”
I remained silent. I was not sure up to what level I should inform him. The situation was not under control.
