Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The world through little eyes – (Nadia’s diary :1)

I turned 7 today ..not 7 years dude…...months
I’ve learnt to crawl on my knees. I’ve also learnt to lick the floor without mummy seeing. Believe me ,licking the floor beats crawling any day. Mama doesn’t seem to agree though “Dia (which is supposed to be short for Nadia which incidentally is such an old fashioned name my parents chose ....we’ll elaborate in detail regarding that injustice later)……Don’t do that” is her constant refrain.The other day I tried eating a cute little bug crawling in my cradle….and there she was again with “Dia …don’t eat that”followed by a rather crude tap on my sensitive posterior. God…..hasn’t she heard of the food chain and all that stuff ??Big animals will eat smaller ones etc etc.
I hate diapers.Diapers are simply not cool.Huggies or snuggies they’re all the same.Wonder how papa and mama would feel if I wrapped them up in a huge diaper ?I mean ok …I do have a problem with pissing around in odd places at odd times…but for heaven’s sake, have piss , will piss…..why make such a social issue out of it?.I’ve heard adults honking on about how you shouldn’t hold anything back ,feelings and stuff …,wonder why piss is different.Just thinking about these adult contradictions gets me pissed up!
I hate Cerelac too.I simply don’t understand why the idiots in the R and D wing out there don’t do something to make it more tastier and baby friendly.I am certain that this is all part of a bigger conspiracy against little babies.I mean I do love ice cream ,papa gave me a teeny weeny bit once..yummy!! ,but not again…something about ice cream not having any nutritional value blah blah blah.Dude..one simple thing I’ve made out in my lifetime’s experience is that the more the nutritional value the worse the taste.Say no to nutrition.One little piece of advise I can give you guys is learn to be firm with your parents.I tried refusing cerelac at first with polite and timely turns of my head ,but mama always managed to stuff it into my little mouth forcefully (PS :shouldn’t there be something like the Geneva convention thing for babies ?).Nowadays I’m more resolute in my refusal, I’ve learned to spit the cerelac right on mama’s mouth and my aim is getting better each day.I’ve heard mama telling papa that she too hates the taste of cerelac these days.Talk about getting a taste of one’s own medicine and all that!

I love watching TV though….the news channels are my favourite.Papa has a rather serious look on his face while watching the news,which is strange coz I find it very entertaining ,especially that Laloo Yadav character..much better than cartoon network or pogo .I like MTV too…I love that joker with a cap who could give an inferiority complex to a wolf….Himesh something something.He rocks…our wails are so much similar.At full cry we both manage to get on mama’s and papa’s nerves, he does it a bit better though.

Bye for now.Will be back with more news from the cradle.

(Nadia is my 7 month old ,going on 8 daughter )


(Special acknowledgement to Ms Manjul Bajaj for inspiration…her writing rocks! )

Thursday, June 14, 2007

A little knowledge……

One of the new breeds of patients I’ve started bumping into quite frequently these day is the ‘I’ve done research on this disease on the internet’ type.While some of these patients accede to the possibility that in spite of their meticulous web research ,the good doctor might know something more about the disease ,some others simply know that they know more.
Often this knowledge relates to latest ,often obscure medications for some diseases.I had a kid with mild psoriasis ,his father,a lawyer , was the official spokesperson ,and apparently the he was well entrenched in web acquired knowledge regarding psoriasis.

“ Doctor…we would like to try biology treatment”He starts off without much of a preamble
Duh??? I had to remain composed while getting the rusty gears in my head moving to figure out this unheard of theapy.
“ You mean like …naturotherapy” I query cautiously
His eyes bulge ever so slightly and I can almost read his thoughts “This doc looks like an idiot and speaks like an idiot – so he must be one”
“ No doc …the latest in psoriasis treatment ….they use it in the states”he explains quite condescendingly .
What they do in the ‘states’ is of course by default ,the gold standard for medical therapeutics .
I started seeing the light “You mean biologicals ?”
He too sees a little bit of light “ Yes yes ..that one….shouldn’t we go for that”

( For the uninitiated, biologicals are basically a relatively new group of therapeutic preparations ,many of them based on the concept of monoclonal antibodies .In dermatology among other indications they are used as alternative drugs in the case of severe recalcitrant psoriasis. )

“ Er ..um..” Me trying to act the busy / hyper intelligent doctor weighing the available options “Actually ,I think your child can be managed quite well without high-end options like biologicals”

I can see the skepticism dripping from the spokesperson’s face.

“Doctor ,the cost is not a problem at all” Of course it isn’t .The guy was a lawyer after all.Our buddy-brothers in the daylight robbery business.

I wonder if I inadvertently mentioned something about the cost ,which incidentally like many of the newer drugs can burn quite a few holes in your pocket.
“ No ..it’s not just the cost …biologicals have their own unpredictable side –effects ,and like any other anti- psoriatic medication ,they do not guarantee a permanent cure.So I think we can start off with some lesser medications and keep biologicals as a back up”

Who was I kidding ? I don’t think I would have convinced even myself with that insipid sermon.

“Doctor ,why isn’t there a cure for psoriasis ?In spite of all this medical advancement?” our webber shifts gears dramatically.
Uh Oh…the conversation was drifting precariously to verrry verrry uncomfortable waters.
I could have gone on for a bit of philosophy on the limitations of human endeavour
( especially my own ) , but I realized that with this guy every word of mine is going to be met head on with a paragraph.
“ I’m sure they’re working on it in the ‘states’ ” I reply with what I thought was a apt mixture of brevity and sarcasm.
The kid of course improved without biologicals ,but I’m sure that with the next recurrence ,if it occurs , the father will go hunting for another doctor willing to start ‘biology’ therapy
( or whatever is the latest in the ‘states’ ).

PS : On a personal more serious level , I feel it is always better for patients to be more educated regarding their disease.I personally like guiding patients to relevant and RELIABLE web sites related to their disease.It really helps people allay unfounded fears and misconceptions. However it is necessary to understand that the web is at best an aid to knowing their disease better.The doctor remains the best advisor.