It was 2.45 pm today when we finished lunch at Kamath restaurant at Murudeshwar on our way back from Goa. I had a splitting headache & badly needed a coffee. The waiter said no coffee at that hour. I came to pay the bill n saw this old man at the cash counter sipping coffee
I just smiled n told him I was refused coffee n there he was having it . He gave a smile back n said they have just put the fresh decoction into the filter n it will take some time . I went to wash my hands n then returned to pay the bill.
I walked out after paying n kinda judging the old man for the privilege he had for his coffee ! I was getting into the car when the waiter came out n called me. I thought I had forgotten something but as I went in,the old man asked me to take a seat & brought me a cup of coffee !
I was genuinely surprised & enjoyed every bit of that.
The decoction was not strong enough, but I couldn’t have asked for more. Later learnt that my dad had explained to him why I wanted the coffee desperately when I gone to wash my hands . I learnt two things today
1. Parents would always have your back 2. Don’t judge people for their privileges. Probably that was his cup of coffee from the morning left over decoction.
I took a snap of him staring at a board which said everything ! !
#SundayMusings
Parents left to Bangalore back today .. It’s a heavy heart for all . Few thoughts on parents in their old age , especially when you meet them after almost an year
Dad has definitely slowed down compared to Mom.. His walking, his reflexes etc.
I realised how thin our patience is with elderly people. It took me couple of days to adjust myself to their speed & not become impatient , especially when we travelled out. We need to slow down for them n remember our own kids when they were tiny. Parents become kids again
The most striking was Dad’s struggle with his denture while eating. Got it changed here & the joy of chewing food without pain was immense . Lesson to be learnt is look after your teeth well into your old age & of course, your general health as well,to the maximum extent possible
#VIPsyndrome: A syndrome in medical field where something goes wrong somehow with "VIP" patients..
I am sure many of us have come across this phenomenon where some sort of complication of varying degree happens in patients who come with that tag /1
These can be of various categories 1. Real VIPs in your practice ( mostly hospital staff/celebrities/politicians) 2. Those who come with a heavy recommendation
3.Those who are closely known to you ( family/friends) 4. Medical tourism related /2
These categories behave in various ways 1. Total trust in you,ask relevant doubts,not interfere in your decisions
2.Patient trusts you but family/friends have lot of doubts & interfere in everything
3.Irritating right from beginning ,mistrust ,high handedness at you n staff /3
Once upon a time was an era of multiple entrance exams, quota systems, paper leaks,obnoxious capitation fee etc which have been largely controlled with more transparent systems now. /1
I won’t deny that they don’t exist in their own mutant ways even now. But It’s much better than two decades ago.
Coming to the students per se, we know that internship has almost become a formality now except in few colleges./2
Very few institutions implement it well or, if there is a compulsion of manpower shortage, then interns are forced to work . Otherwise I know many colleges allow them to sign off n go for their PG prep . The fall out of this is seen when they join the post graduation. /3