Well first of all I'm in the happiest of moods this season.My practical exams are over too and so this marks the end of two years of studying basic medical sciences.Plus we have a months vacation before we start our third year !!!
Anyways there's this interesting incident I've been wanting to share for the past week.A few days ago while I was in my room studying for my physiology test I heard my mom call me from her room across the lounge in a somewhat panicky voice.She was looking out of the window, calling for me and saying something about someone being ill.But before I could reach her she rushed towards me and said that the security guard of the property in front of ours had fallen of his chairs and was having some kind of tremors.She was cleaning the windows when she suddenly saw him fall off .He was on duty with just one other guard who just stood beside him with no idea what to do, he was obviously too startled by what had just happened.Then mom looked at me and said "I think you should go tell the guard to get him to the hospital and see if you can do something to help him in the meantime,you're a medical student they listen to you !". Okay, I know I'm a med student and people expect a lot from me but truly speaking I haven't even passed my second year yet and have no past experience in dealing with emergency situations on a practical level.Reading about emergency management is one thing but doing it is another.But nevertheless I rushed out of the house towards him across the road while making up the multiple possible diagnosis and first aids in mind.By the time I reached the spot there were many people gathered around him and he had almost normalised by then, he did seem a little dazed but the tremors had gone.I asked him how he was and he just looked at me.The other guard told me "Isko mirgi hai bajji' (he has epilepsy)
After that there was nothing much I could do but I asked him again if he needed something but before he could respond I heard someone calling my name from a distance, when I turned I saw a few housemaids from the adjacent homes all gathered togethor on the other side of the road at the corner,the one who had called me had once worked at our home and hence knew my name.I thought she was calling me because my mom had asked her to from the window or something I gestured her to wait. I turned to the guard again but before I could ask him or hear his interrupted response one of the men among the people gathered around him (the house maid's husband) looked towards me and went " go child go,you should go" he did n't seem to like my standing there and wanted me to leave asap.I just said "I hope you're better to the man" and rushed back to the maid to listen what all the rush was about.What I heard from her was the most shocking and annoying thing I could hear in that situation.
" You should n't have gone there, young girls dont go near people who're having seizures, who knows he might just have spirits on him, what if they got you ?"
These housemaid's usually come from rural areas to live in the city and make a living.They have minimal education and can barely read and write.Ofcourse with illiteracy comes a lack of awareness a whole lot of taboos,superstitions and false made up stories about logical things which they fail to understand.It took me a few seconds to register what she had just said, but thank god I was quick enough to say " those are all stories ! , he has epilepsy and besides ghosts and witches dont exist"(in a stern voice) ..I must say it took me a lot of self control to hide my annoyance.I mean there's a man who was seizing and needed help and here across the street were standing four ladies making up ghost stories !!!!
Even though my initial response was shock it soon turned to pity for those woman, may god help them and the other women with her to differentiate fact from superstitions !
Anyways there's this interesting incident I've been wanting to share for the past week.A few days ago while I was in my room studying for my physiology test I heard my mom call me from her room across the lounge in a somewhat panicky voice.She was looking out of the window, calling for me and saying something about someone being ill.But before I could reach her she rushed towards me and said that the security guard of the property in front of ours had fallen of his chairs and was having some kind of tremors.She was cleaning the windows when she suddenly saw him fall off .He was on duty with just one other guard who just stood beside him with no idea what to do, he was obviously too startled by what had just happened.Then mom looked at me and said "I think you should go tell the guard to get him to the hospital and see if you can do something to help him in the meantime,you're a medical student they listen to you !". Okay, I know I'm a med student and people expect a lot from me but truly speaking I haven't even passed my second year yet and have no past experience in dealing with emergency situations on a practical level.Reading about emergency management is one thing but doing it is another.But nevertheless I rushed out of the house towards him across the road while making up the multiple possible diagnosis and first aids in mind.By the time I reached the spot there were many people gathered around him and he had almost normalised by then, he did seem a little dazed but the tremors had gone.I asked him how he was and he just looked at me.The other guard told me "Isko mirgi hai bajji' (he has epilepsy)
After that there was nothing much I could do but I asked him again if he needed something but before he could respond I heard someone calling my name from a distance, when I turned I saw a few housemaids from the adjacent homes all gathered togethor on the other side of the road at the corner,the one who had called me had once worked at our home and hence knew my name.I thought she was calling me because my mom had asked her to from the window or something I gestured her to wait. I turned to the guard again but before I could ask him or hear his interrupted response one of the men among the people gathered around him (the house maid's husband) looked towards me and went " go child go,you should go" he did n't seem to like my standing there and wanted me to leave asap.I just said "I hope you're better to the man" and rushed back to the maid to listen what all the rush was about.What I heard from her was the most shocking and annoying thing I could hear in that situation.
" You should n't have gone there, young girls dont go near people who're having seizures, who knows he might just have spirits on him, what if they got you ?"
These housemaid's usually come from rural areas to live in the city and make a living.They have minimal education and can barely read and write.Ofcourse with illiteracy comes a lack of awareness a whole lot of taboos,superstitions and false made up stories about logical things which they fail to understand.It took me a few seconds to register what she had just said, but thank god I was quick enough to say " those are all stories ! , he has epilepsy and besides ghosts and witches dont exist"(in a stern voice) ..I must say it took me a lot of self control to hide my annoyance.I mean there's a man who was seizing and needed help and here across the street were standing four ladies making up ghost stories !!!!
Even though my initial response was shock it soon turned to pity for those woman, may god help them and the other women with her to differentiate fact from superstitions !
Hi Najwa! Some people will choose to believe their superstitions even after you have shown them the facts... it seems they do not want to change. Or perhaps they were told the story by their parents (also uneducated) and so will not change their beliefs based upon what someone else is telling them now. Thank you for trying to assist the man having the seizures. It shows you are a very caring person! I think you will make a great doctor.
ReplyDeleteaw poor epileptic man. i have this reallyy cute 3-year old kid who lives right in the house in front of mine and he has it too... sad part, it has no permanent cure...
ReplyDeletebut najwa, again, there may be no 'ghosts' or 'witches' but our kalilma requires us to believe in Jinns regardless. and yes, they do have certain powers over us, that we can not deny.