A GLASS HALF FULL

 

"Morning Mary, How are you doing today? I hope you had beautiful dreams and you would like to share these with me today."

"Doctor, she is not going to answer you." Nurse Rama was experienced hand at the institute and in her life had seen many such patients that would never tell their dreams.

"Rama, you are so low on life, I know you do not believe in miracles and you have taken care of countless patients in our Endeavour Sanatorium, but believe me if you don't give up on life the life doesn't give up on you." The doctor replied, somewhat sternly, he knew in mind Rama was right, but she is not the doctor, is she? He has taken the oath, and he will take it upon himself to see life not giving up on hope.

"Doctor, here's your scope, with regards to our arrangement about taking Mrs. Mali in, I would tell you one thing, she is in a half-dead state already, how are we going to help her?" handing over the scope, Rama checked the pulse of Mary, she was so accustomed to the pulse check that with just touch of a hand she could tell the signs of life, yet she was honest to her values and none the less took the pulse for the entire one minute, no more no less. Today it felt different rather than feeling low rhythmic beats of Mary, she found erratic counts, she waited for a minute and checked again.

"Is there any problem Rama, you never retake pulse?" 

"Doctor, I think our Mary is listening to us, there are signs of activity, Doctor!"

She looked at her watch again, it was already over 80 counts to a minute, highest in a comatose state, it was not a miracle though, often times comatose periods last from 24 hrs to years, sometimes patient never recovers but this was huge, Mary's case was different.  She was a young mother, and while returning from the office one day she met with an accident, now her two-year-old was in hospital creche and Rama was very fond of little Krishna. So, when the pulse of mary was erratic, no one was more overwhelmed and happy than the sanatorium nurse Rama.

They named him Krishna when a police constable arrived with a 1-year-old baby and asked for help, there was no one that would take in the baby, Mary was a single mom, her marriage lasted only for two years, but when it was impossible for cohabitation, she applied for divorce and came to Pune. She arrived in Pune, unaware that she was three weeks pregnant, but her husband never accepted the child on grounds of infidelity but she just carried on, she hadn't any problems with the father about the child and she loved her baby. 

It was the only thing hospital staff knew about the little baby and Mary, as was explained by the neighbour who once or twice dropped in to see the baby, since the neighbour did not know the name of the child, they name him Krishna, a name for the baby, whose conditions are most similar to the Hindu god Vishnu's Avatar Krishna. 

Little Krishna stayed in the sanatorium, he grew old in the stern and matronly love of nurse Rama. She took charge of him as her own kid and even the doctor was taken aback at the possessive motherly love when vaccine shots needed to be administered to little Krisha.

Tears ran from Rama's eyes, she could not believe the way Mary recovered as if the motherly instinct literally shook her wake from her deep sleep.

Doctor Santosh took the pulse and he was taken aback too, the pulse was strong and erratic, They took it as a sign of glass half full, and worked with Mary, she was never alone, she has shone pictures of Krishna growing up whenever she could barely lift her eyelids, it motivated her and within two weeks Mary's eyes watched the face of Dr Santosh.

She thanked him with her watery eyes, her limbs were still heavy and weary of long sleep and they needed special attention and Rama took care of it, she massaged them with special oils and would stay with Mary whenever she could get free time, telling her all about the urchin's mischiefs.

By the second month of her first pulse check, mary was able to ask for small things, she couldn't get up herself but needed attendance. Yet the recovery was fast in medical terms. We have heard the stories of mothers doing incredible things with sheer willpower and love. This was one such case.

Mary was walking with Krishna in the sanatorium garden, within six months and everyone was amazed by the way she recovered but she still needed medical attention from time and again. She loved the name Krishna and decided to keep it. 

One day doctor asked Mary about the future, and Mary decided to stay, it was her home now, the way the sanatorium took care of her and her child she is going to do the same. 

Mary's bed was filled immediately with another person, in the same comatose state and the doctor would talk to the person every day, asking about dreams telling stories, asking about their dreams and the nurse would always keep it down.

Yet these conversations were inspirational to the patients', Endeavour Sanatorium, soon got renowned and person after person recovered from their sleep, some early, some late but recovered nonetheless.

30years Later

Doctor Santosh married Mary and now the little Krisha is himself a doctor, the nurse Rama still is the head matron.

In the cabin of Dr. Krishna

" Rama, get me details of patient I-42, I am going to wake him up today" the nurse could see Dr. Santosh in Krishna every time when Dr. Krishna brimming with optimism would start his day by waking up the patients and asking them about their dreams. She was the second mother to Krishna, yet she liked him to call her Rama, for on the first day this little urchin now doctor spoke his first words were Rama

"Don't bother Krishan, I don't think that the patient is going to wake up soon"

"Oh my dear Rama, why are you so down, the glass is still half full"

The End.

Life never gives up on us, if we don't give up on her... So, don't be discouraged to have the little optimism that is needed to get you going, life is a gift, and it has many other smaller gifts to offer.

Sharad.

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