Date: 1st June 2021.
Mayuri and I had an appointment with Dr. Swapnil Rane at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Parel, Mumbai. I was a bit excited to go. Subah mast kaam kia, pack-up kia and lab choda. ACTREC se bus lia. Dono ne window seat pakda and earphones on! I was listening to Britney Spears, Pink Floyd, Zingaat, Golmaal, Sar Jo Tera Chakraye, Kisi ki Muskurahato pe etc etc. Reached TMH and I had to pause Barso (By Ritviz). All good by far. Mayuri showed me a beautiful library. Thoda ghumaya TMH. Iss aasha se ki shraddha ko yaad rahega. But, I am very bad with road maps. Sab bouncer!
While roaming around all I could see is people with IVs and Tubes. A few on the wheelchair. A few waiting for their turn to use the elevator. We had lunch. And, started climbing the stairs. Kon wait Karega itna. By far, I not only saw cancer patients in the hospital dealing with pain but there were families on the street too. With a stove. Some with a shawl and their luggage. Yes, in the pandemic. To mention, TMH is doing a great job to treat cancer patients. I know people who have been treated and are in good condition right now. Treatment is affordable to almost everyone. It was right in front of my eyes. Whenever I met Dr. Nair (surgeon), he was always quiet. Calm. Someone who speaks less. There are so many doctors working day and night for cancer.
We went inside Dr. Rane’s cabin. He started to grade our IHC slides. I was still thinking of the people I saw. The sight was definitely not pleasant. It's all of the pain. At that moment, Dr. Rane got a call. As he was at the other side of the table, he asked me to pass his mobile which was plugged to a charger. I took off the charger. As there were many switches i got confused😭. Ended up switching off the wrong which was connected to the main PC!!!!!! Damn! Why am I so zoned out! I looked at him and he looked back. He said this PC had programs running and all the data. Now what? I quickly turned on the switch. I started laughing hard. He was laughing too. Couldn't control that laughter. But Mayuri was very serious. Must be thinking, Ye ladki yaar!!! Ab has kyu rahi hai. I am terrible at controlling my laughter. It was just for that moment. While leaving TMH, again the picture was right in front of me. Couldn't eat properly for two days. Felt helpless. Shubhangi (My roommate ) and I used to go for walk at night to grab our dinner at TMC-ACTREC. All the mothers and nurses used to get their kids for a night walk. I started interacting with the patients at ACTREC during my breaks from the experiment. Idk if “interaction” is an appropriate word. Just listen to them. I had nothing to offer. But all of it will definitely reward me one day to find a cure. I surely know that. These months at TMC-ACTREC, not only got me close to Cancer. But taught me a lot of lessons that I couldn't have gained in my life.
Forever Grateful!
Until then,
Shraddha
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