The morning after my first meeting with Dr Vishwanath I was admitted on Ward Six for 36 hours - I had a single room, nice and clean. I had decided to get a Chemo Port - a valve implanted under the skin underneath the color bone, which allows the Chemo medicine to flow directly into the main veins leading to the heart. If the medicine is entering through smaller veins near the wrist, there is the risk of blocked veins, which easily allows the Chemo medicine to infiltrate the surrounding tissue, and this leads to bad infections and ulcers. Here in India I had seen ladies with big dark holes in their arms - the flesh being eaten away by the Chemo medicine. It looked rather scary, so I definately wanted to have a Chemo Port to be saved from such misery.....
The day before I had spoken to Dr Chandrashekhara, the senior surgeon, who would perform the little surgery. He was a real gentleman - very trustworthy and competent. He showed me the valve and explained me all the details of the surgery. Knowledge always removes fear and builds trust. I had requested him to give me only a local aneasthesia - I did not want to burden my body unnecessarily with a full one, just before starting the Chemo.
I had to get all kinds of tests and investigations done as preparation for the surgery, and of course I had to be with empty stomach. One young boy came to my room with a wheel chair to drive me to the Xray department. He didn't speak much English, but enough to tell me that I had to put the seat belt on. I laughingly said: "Oh, it's like in the plane: 'Please fasten your seat belt'! So where are we flying to? Russia, or Germany?" He didn't answer, but simply smiled. Just when we were heading towards the lift a nurse came and requested me to go back to my room, since somebody from the lab was on the way to take my blood. So we returned to my room, and the boy wheeling me along said in broken English, with a cheeky grin in his face: "Sorry, Madam, flight is canceled!" He looked like he had never been on a plane.....
Everything was so well organised - I was impressed with the high standard of professionalism, the high standard of medical care and the polite and cultured staff. And I hadn't even made prior appointments - they simply fitted me in on the spot, on Uttama Damodara Prabhu's order, immediately, without delay. It was certainly surpassing German efficiency. And everybody had such a nice service mood! Needless to say, I had so many opportunities to preach. Being in a sari and tilak attracted of course attention, and so many people eagerly asked me questions - staff and patients alike. I met many nice people who knew ISKCON and had been to one of our temples somewhere in the world.
Finally I was ready for the surgery, which took around 40 minutes. I had some little fear that maybe the senior surgeon would not have the time to operate me and would get some young fellow to do it instead. So I was anxiously looking for Dr Chandrashekhara to turn up on the scene. Finally he came, saying: "So, we are going to do this little surgery now." Looking at him I burst out: "But you are not even dressed for the occasion!" He didn't have his green and sterile gear on. He laughingly assured that he would do this right now. Dr Subramanyam, the jolly aneasthesiologist, gave me a local aneasthesia and a light sedation by giving me an oxygen mask with something else mixed in, which would make me sleepy. I pretended to sleep and kept very quiet, but I was fully alert and followed everything going on around me. My eyes were covered to protect them from the strong lights, so I could not see anything. At some moment I heard my surgeon say: "I think she is asleep now." And I promptly answered: "No, she isn't! I am fully awake and follow every word you are saying....!" Needless to say, the whole team in the Operating Theatre cracked up laughing! And for the rest of the surgery we were chatting away.... When I was done - still laying on the operating table, with the oxygen mask in my face, I talked to the nice nurses, who eagerly asked me questions. At some point one lady said: "Oh, the women in Germany should also be submissive to their husband? Not only in India?" I laughingly answered: "Yes, they are meant to. But because they aren't, that's why we have a very high divorce rate in the Western world."
She was struck by my answer, which had a deep impact on her mind....
I remembered Prabhupada's statement in the purport to 9.3.10: "When the wife becomes as irritable as the husband, their life at home is sure to be disturbed or ultimately completely broken. In the modern day, the wife is never submissive, and THEREFORE home life is broken even by slight incidents. Either the wife or the husband may take advantage of the divorce laws....."
Prabhupada very clearly makes the connection between the wife not being submissive and divorce. And saying this does not mean we are blaming the women. No, a woman is so powerful, that she can conquer her husband's heart through her submissive and devoted service - no matter how irritable and cruel he may be. Prabhupada explains this in the same purport.
I was wheeled back to my bhajan kutir on Ward Six, where I eagerly took my lunch. By now I was indeed hungry. The dietician had contacted me before the surgery and had taken carefully note of all my diet requirements. And I was impressed to see that they followed everything minutely and served me a very nice and tasty meal - not bland and boring, as hospital food usually is. One lady from the Guest Relations Department came to ask me for my feedback, and we had a nice chat about Krsna consciousness. Then the head of the nursing department came and was training the young nurses in my presence. I was impressed with the amazing efforts they are making in order to ongoingly improve their standards of service. Our ISKCON temples could certainly learn from them! Prabhupada always called our temples a hospital, where we can get cured from the material disease. A spiritual hospital should even be better organised than Apollo Hospital. So we have a long way to go.....
I had further discussions with Dr Vishwanath, since we had not entirely finalized the first Chemo treatment which I was supposed to take the next morning. Upon meeting him I apologized for the somewhat firy discussions we had on the previous day. He responded: "No problem, no problem! It's good for me - I am learning something here....!" What a wonderful response - he was taking it in a humble way. I like to be a very active patient who wants to have all informations and take fully part in the decission making process, and I guess those patients are the most difficult one's to handle. Over the years I have learnt that nobody is more interested in your treatment and health than you yourself. One cannot blindly put oneself in the hands of doctors, thinking they will decide everything for us. One has to actively take part and think along. We finally settle on a plan of action for the Chemo: four cycles of Docetaxel and Cyclophosphamide - as Rowan had recommended. The surgeon this morning had made a comment while smiling away: "We had a whole discussion about your Chemo yesterday...." Dr Vishwanath had told me that they have a board of doctors where they discuss some "special cases".....
On the next morning I took my first Chemo - may it be a healing elixer as it runs through my veins.....
I was discharged in the afternoon of the 12th of May.
Your servant, Devaki dd
I had to get all kinds of tests and investigations done as preparation for the surgery, and of course I had to be with empty stomach. One young boy came to my room with a wheel chair to drive me to the Xray department. He didn't speak much English, but enough to tell me that I had to put the seat belt on. I laughingly said: "Oh, it's like in the plane: 'Please fasten your seat belt'! So where are we flying to? Russia, or Germany?" He didn't answer, but simply smiled. Just when we were heading towards the lift a nurse came and requested me to go back to my room, since somebody from the lab was on the way to take my blood. So we returned to my room, and the boy wheeling me along said in broken English, with a cheeky grin in his face: "Sorry, Madam, flight is canceled!" He looked like he had never been on a plane.....
Everything was so well organised - I was impressed with the high standard of professionalism, the high standard of medical care and the polite and cultured staff. And I hadn't even made prior appointments - they simply fitted me in on the spot, on Uttama Damodara Prabhu's order, immediately, without delay. It was certainly surpassing German efficiency. And everybody had such a nice service mood! Needless to say, I had so many opportunities to preach. Being in a sari and tilak attracted of course attention, and so many people eagerly asked me questions - staff and patients alike. I met many nice people who knew ISKCON and had been to one of our temples somewhere in the world.
Finally I was ready for the surgery, which took around 40 minutes. I had some little fear that maybe the senior surgeon would not have the time to operate me and would get some young fellow to do it instead. So I was anxiously looking for Dr Chandrashekhara to turn up on the scene. Finally he came, saying: "So, we are going to do this little surgery now." Looking at him I burst out: "But you are not even dressed for the occasion!" He didn't have his green and sterile gear on. He laughingly assured that he would do this right now. Dr Subramanyam, the jolly aneasthesiologist, gave me a local aneasthesia and a light sedation by giving me an oxygen mask with something else mixed in, which would make me sleepy. I pretended to sleep and kept very quiet, but I was fully alert and followed everything going on around me. My eyes were covered to protect them from the strong lights, so I could not see anything. At some moment I heard my surgeon say: "I think she is asleep now." And I promptly answered: "No, she isn't! I am fully awake and follow every word you are saying....!" Needless to say, the whole team in the Operating Theatre cracked up laughing! And for the rest of the surgery we were chatting away.... When I was done - still laying on the operating table, with the oxygen mask in my face, I talked to the nice nurses, who eagerly asked me questions. At some point one lady said: "Oh, the women in Germany should also be submissive to their husband? Not only in India?" I laughingly answered: "Yes, they are meant to. But because they aren't, that's why we have a very high divorce rate in the Western world."
She was struck by my answer, which had a deep impact on her mind....
I remembered Prabhupada's statement in the purport to 9.3.10: "When the wife becomes as irritable as the husband, their life at home is sure to be disturbed or ultimately completely broken. In the modern day, the wife is never submissive, and THEREFORE home life is broken even by slight incidents. Either the wife or the husband may take advantage of the divorce laws....."
Prabhupada very clearly makes the connection between the wife not being submissive and divorce. And saying this does not mean we are blaming the women. No, a woman is so powerful, that she can conquer her husband's heart through her submissive and devoted service - no matter how irritable and cruel he may be. Prabhupada explains this in the same purport.
I was wheeled back to my bhajan kutir on Ward Six, where I eagerly took my lunch. By now I was indeed hungry. The dietician had contacted me before the surgery and had taken carefully note of all my diet requirements. And I was impressed to see that they followed everything minutely and served me a very nice and tasty meal - not bland and boring, as hospital food usually is. One lady from the Guest Relations Department came to ask me for my feedback, and we had a nice chat about Krsna consciousness. Then the head of the nursing department came and was training the young nurses in my presence. I was impressed with the amazing efforts they are making in order to ongoingly improve their standards of service. Our ISKCON temples could certainly learn from them! Prabhupada always called our temples a hospital, where we can get cured from the material disease. A spiritual hospital should even be better organised than Apollo Hospital. So we have a long way to go.....
I had further discussions with Dr Vishwanath, since we had not entirely finalized the first Chemo treatment which I was supposed to take the next morning. Upon meeting him I apologized for the somewhat firy discussions we had on the previous day. He responded: "No problem, no problem! It's good for me - I am learning something here....!" What a wonderful response - he was taking it in a humble way. I like to be a very active patient who wants to have all informations and take fully part in the decission making process, and I guess those patients are the most difficult one's to handle. Over the years I have learnt that nobody is more interested in your treatment and health than you yourself. One cannot blindly put oneself in the hands of doctors, thinking they will decide everything for us. One has to actively take part and think along. We finally settle on a plan of action for the Chemo: four cycles of Docetaxel and Cyclophosphamide - as Rowan had recommended. The surgeon this morning had made a comment while smiling away: "We had a whole discussion about your Chemo yesterday...." Dr Vishwanath had told me that they have a board of doctors where they discuss some "special cases".....
On the next morning I took my first Chemo - may it be a healing elixer as it runs through my veins.....
I was discharged in the afternoon of the 12th of May.
Your servant, Devaki dd
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