No, I am not talking about any Russian blonde of this name, with a slight change in the spelling. I am talking about the medical term. Now you got it. Wondering what I am going to write? Just my experience or the lack of it, under a spell of Anesthesia!
What a wonderful invention it was for medical science. When American physician Crawford Williamson Long found out the effects of this chemical combination he might not have thought that centuries later, the same compound is still injected into the veins of patients undergoing surgery to alleviate the pain of being "operated".
It was a first time experience for me to go under total Anesthesia. I think when I was studying in 9th Standard (back in ’93), the local doctor of my village had put certain portion of my leg under local Anesthesia. I had accidentally put my bare leg (yeah, who in the villages wear chappals?!) on a fallen branch of palm tree. To those of you who have not seen palm tree, I got to say, that it has natural saw on either side of the leaf. I had, I guess half inch deep, 5 inch long tear and local Anesthesia helped to alleviate the pain when the village doctor (not ‘that’ sort, a proper BAMS grad) put 13 stitches. That was good 16 years ago.
My “full” stint with Anesthesia happened recently in a Bengaluru hospital when doctors had to attend in to the inside of my left shoulder joint. Dr. Vishwanath , Antistatic surgeon came and spoke to me a night before the date of the operation and explained the process of Anesthesia. However, the surgery did not take place as my blood pressure was on the higher side and the general physician did not give the go ahead for Dr. Arun Kumar, the ortho surgeon who eventually operated on my shoulder. Finally, with a bunch of medications they made my BP under operable limit, the next day.
The operation was stated to be at 10 AM in the morning and I was advised not to have any solid food after 10 PM the night earlier. I was also asked not to drink (water) after midnight. This was a huge ask to comply with; as my system is accustomed to get at least half a liter of water before 6 AM each morning for quite some time. I managed somehow; but had to sip in a bit of water as I got up, chori-chupke.
The hospital staff put the Operation Theatre dress on me and asked me to lie on the stretcher that took me to the OT. Dr Arun and Dr Vishwanath welcomed me sharp at ten. Dr. Vishwanath asked OT sisters to inject the “antibiotics” on to my arm. And he got chatty. Usual doctor trick, I thought. I was waiting to see the Anesthesia injection to come. They continued to inject more “antibiotics”. “Man, you are 30 and you say you are a bachelor” he began, “you seem to be a wise man”. Not to be flattered, I joked “You should ask a person whether he is unmarried or never married like the North Americans do”. He smiled ,“Yes, to your generation. Then, I assume that you are unmarried. So where is your wife?” With a wry smile, I retorted back “well doc, she has just run away with her paramour”. All at the OT had a hearty laugh. We bachelors can talk just anything! The hospital life is such that people only see sufferings. When young, never-say-die (literally) patients come, they get a sort of breather as we try to laugh at just anything, taking nothing serious.
Before the loud laughs came down, I felt sort of “something” happening in my body. I was anxiously waiting to get the Anesthetic process to begin with; and go through the process of becoming unconscious. For those of you who practice Yoga, it becomes a habit to observe breath and thought during Pranayams and Dhyan. But this happened rather quickly. I thought that I don’t have much time now and murmured to the doctor not put too much of chemicals ( I mean - medications) in my body. Somehow I am mentally allergic to Allopathic medications though I am on long therapy to control my blood pressure. As seconds tickled, I started feeling heavier and heavier. Further heavier within no time. And sleepy. And steady loss of conscience. All this happened within may be half a minute from the moment we had the loud laugh!
I sensed couple of hands patting my cheek. They are trying to wake me up, I guess. It was true. They eventually succeeded though I was still half asleep. They told me to shift on to the stretcher. I told I can’t. So all the OT staff lifted my 80 kg weighing body and shifted me on the stretcher. Still I was half asleep. I was shifted to my room where a friend - who had rushed to the hospital in the morning as he came to know about my fate-, was waiting. I asked him the time. It was quarter past 1 in the afternoon. I sensed a bandage on the shoulder and sling on the arm to restrict movement of the shoulder. I was on liquid diet the whole day and eventually got discharged from the hospital. I must agree that with a week in the hospital, I lost few kgs of weight for good and a bit of humor!
This was first time in my life (and hopefully last!) when I was dead for little over 3 hours. Yogis say that there is not much difference between death and unconscious state. But, "dead" may be a harsh word to the weak souls; so let me say – Induced sleep. To be less scary and be politically correct. Does it really matter, though? May be, to my old parents. Otherwise, the whole world carried on. Without waiting for me. Planes went scheduled; trains jam packed; and people had their lunch, on time. How small, I am? I have a big ego and I think high of many a thing that I possess. But, It does not matter to the world whether ‘I’ is there or not. That is the ultimate truth of life…!
What a wonderful invention it was for medical science. When American physician Crawford Williamson Long found out the effects of this chemical combination he might not have thought that centuries later, the same compound is still injected into the veins of patients undergoing surgery to alleviate the pain of being "operated".
It was a first time experience for me to go under total Anesthesia. I think when I was studying in 9th Standard (back in ’93), the local doctor of my village had put certain portion of my leg under local Anesthesia. I had accidentally put my bare leg (yeah, who in the villages wear chappals?!) on a fallen branch of palm tree. To those of you who have not seen palm tree, I got to say, that it has natural saw on either side of the leaf. I had, I guess half inch deep, 5 inch long tear and local Anesthesia helped to alleviate the pain when the village doctor (not ‘that’ sort, a proper BAMS grad) put 13 stitches. That was good 16 years ago.
My “full” stint with Anesthesia happened recently in a Bengaluru hospital when doctors had to attend in to the inside of my left shoulder joint. Dr. Vishwanath , Antistatic surgeon came and spoke to me a night before the date of the operation and explained the process of Anesthesia. However, the surgery did not take place as my blood pressure was on the higher side and the general physician did not give the go ahead for Dr. Arun Kumar, the ortho surgeon who eventually operated on my shoulder. Finally, with a bunch of medications they made my BP under operable limit, the next day.
The operation was stated to be at 10 AM in the morning and I was advised not to have any solid food after 10 PM the night earlier. I was also asked not to drink (water) after midnight. This was a huge ask to comply with; as my system is accustomed to get at least half a liter of water before 6 AM each morning for quite some time. I managed somehow; but had to sip in a bit of water as I got up, chori-chupke.
The hospital staff put the Operation Theatre dress on me and asked me to lie on the stretcher that took me to the OT. Dr Arun and Dr Vishwanath welcomed me sharp at ten. Dr. Vishwanath asked OT sisters to inject the “antibiotics” on to my arm. And he got chatty. Usual doctor trick, I thought. I was waiting to see the Anesthesia injection to come. They continued to inject more “antibiotics”. “Man, you are 30 and you say you are a bachelor” he began, “you seem to be a wise man”. Not to be flattered, I joked “You should ask a person whether he is unmarried or never married like the North Americans do”. He smiled ,“Yes, to your generation. Then, I assume that you are unmarried. So where is your wife?” With a wry smile, I retorted back “well doc, she has just run away with her paramour”. All at the OT had a hearty laugh. We bachelors can talk just anything! The hospital life is such that people only see sufferings. When young, never-say-die (literally) patients come, they get a sort of breather as we try to laugh at just anything, taking nothing serious.
Before the loud laughs came down, I felt sort of “something” happening in my body. I was anxiously waiting to get the Anesthetic process to begin with; and go through the process of becoming unconscious. For those of you who practice Yoga, it becomes a habit to observe breath and thought during Pranayams and Dhyan. But this happened rather quickly. I thought that I don’t have much time now and murmured to the doctor not put too much of chemicals ( I mean - medications) in my body. Somehow I am mentally allergic to Allopathic medications though I am on long therapy to control my blood pressure. As seconds tickled, I started feeling heavier and heavier. Further heavier within no time. And sleepy. And steady loss of conscience. All this happened within may be half a minute from the moment we had the loud laugh!
I sensed couple of hands patting my cheek. They are trying to wake me up, I guess. It was true. They eventually succeeded though I was still half asleep. They told me to shift on to the stretcher. I told I can’t. So all the OT staff lifted my 80 kg weighing body and shifted me on the stretcher. Still I was half asleep. I was shifted to my room where a friend - who had rushed to the hospital in the morning as he came to know about my fate-, was waiting. I asked him the time. It was quarter past 1 in the afternoon. I sensed a bandage on the shoulder and sling on the arm to restrict movement of the shoulder. I was on liquid diet the whole day and eventually got discharged from the hospital. I must agree that with a week in the hospital, I lost few kgs of weight for good and a bit of humor!
This was first time in my life (and hopefully last!) when I was dead for little over 3 hours. Yogis say that there is not much difference between death and unconscious state. But, "dead" may be a harsh word to the weak souls; so let me say – Induced sleep. To be less scary and be politically correct. Does it really matter, though? May be, to my old parents. Otherwise, the whole world carried on. Without waiting for me. Planes went scheduled; trains jam packed; and people had their lunch, on time. How small, I am? I have a big ego and I think high of many a thing that I possess. But, It does not matter to the world whether ‘I’ is there or not. That is the ultimate truth of life…!
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