On call...

I had my first on call the weekend before Christmas and I’m very grateful that it’s over for a month.

One patient made me feel like I was participating in a melodramatic soap opera as she told me about the “bahot ziada taklif, doctor saab” (big trouble) that she was experiencing. I could feel myself becoming equally flamboyant as the consultation went on in my attempts to assure her I thought that she was probably going to be alright. (She was.)

One patient came in semi-conscious with at least 10 accompanying relatives who all wanted to talk to me at once. He hadn’t eaten his medicine or applied his injections for 2 weeks (a literal translation from the Urdu) and that isn’t very good for you when you have diabetes.

One baby died on Sunday after struggling for nearly 2 weeks. She had pneumonia and despite our best efforts she didn’t have the strength to fight it any more. The anguish of her mother haunts me as they wrap up the small still body, now peaceful.