Health Negligence

Have you ever had problems which could have been handled easily if there was a lack self importance in the society. Hello Steemit! My name is Binod Singh and this is a story of how I cheated death! But not necessarily. More specifically, this is a story of how I, along with the people around me, cheated health care with poise. After all we are humans and bound to neglect many things that are happening around us. But, sometimes these neglected things could have bigger consequences. So a great deal of attention must be paid no matter how small things are.

The main purpose of this post is to create awareness as to why we should never neglect a sign showed by the body to us, no matter how small it may be, by sharing my own firsthand experience. In the paragraphs to come, I’m going to explain how my negligence nearly cost me my life.

It all started with a timid pain in my right abdomen. And if you happen to be from the Asian part of the world, especially South Asia, you tend to neglect these signs until it gets very serious. So, accustomed to and influenced by the culture, I was also the same type of person, even though I belonged to the community of so called elites, “THE EDUCATED”.

“Ignorance is bliss” motto embedded in me, continued to ignore the pain until it grew so hard that I went on to tell my mom about it.

So, before I continue with the story, let me just stop you right here and tell you what exactly is wrong with us, with our mentality. Every one of us is a doctor. No matter our actual profession, we are our own doctors. And if you happen to come across our kind, with a complaint of any kind of pain, anywhere on your body, we will know what kind of medicine you have to take. (This is what we think of ourselves)

For example, suppose you have had this headache for the last 5 days. If you went to the doctor, they will ask you of other symptoms that you have observed like have you vomited, is your vision clear and all kind of stuffs.

But if you come to us, we will recommend you an XXXXX medicine, even though we are an elementary school teacher. You might have migraine, tapeworms or blood clot in your head but none of that will matter.

So, back to the story. Mommies are always right! So, my mom offered me a painkiller and stated her non-sensical reasons for the ache. As moms are always right, took her advice and swallowed a pill. After a few minutes, the medicine starts its’ process and I somehow feel relieved.

Now 24 hrs. or so has passed. The pain resumes again, the same region as the day before. Maybe GASTRITIS, I say to myself, as I continue to ignore the pain. As its said a man can only bear so much, now the pain has become so intense that I call my MRS. MOM again as she might have the answers.

Getting a bit confused, angry and irritated she goes on to talk about how I might have eaten something yesterday when I was with my friends and maybe it’s Food Poisoning again and asks me to take the medicine the doctor had prescribed 3 months ago. No questioning of her authority again, I subtly swallow the medicine with my both hands on my right abdomen.

(……………………..)

(*Vomiting series, intense pain bearing episodes, a drama, and me mom panicking as hell. *)

So, they rush me to a hospital and get admitted in an emergency. Now the doctors are rushing to my side, trying to figure out what has happened. My right side of the abdomen gets shoved and they with their innocent voice ask me ‘AJAI BADI DUKHYO (Nepali language)’, which roughly translates to “Does the pain get worse son?” I reply with a nod, and most of them are convinced that it’s a call for appendectomy, and am sent to the USG (ultra-sonography) room, to get detail on the size of my appendix.

As complex the name might sound, the surgery is as simple as it can get. In simple terms, it means that your appendix, due to some reasons, have become larger than its nominal size. It’s a normal procedure and the surgery roughly takes about 30 minutes at max. But, being that the patient should be brought into doctors’ attention within 24 hrs. After that, the situation becomes complex and the consequences could be fatal.

It was already past 24 hrs. and my result on the USG came, it showed the appendix was now very unstable and needed an emergency operation right away and I was rushed to the operation theatre as fast as possible.

Took about 1 hour and 30 minutes and overheard an doctor say how you just might have survived, your appendix was on the verge of bursting and only if I had arrived a day later, the scenario would have been very much different.

This is the exact moment, it hit me as to why there’s a difference between a DOCTOR and a common man. By this story, I don’t want to put great emphasis on my condition, as to there are people living with more serious conditions. This is not a plea for sympathy or sadness. It is rather a post to aware people about the importance of professionalism in terms of our needs. We just cannot be denying the services that are necessary to us.

The sole purpose was to create awareness, do not neglect any message that your body puts before you.

Care for your body, your health like you care your smartphones, Laptop. GOOD Health is the biggest prize one can hope for, as we are taught in our primary school “HEALTH IS WEALTH.”

Love your health like Joey loves his sandwich!