My mother

I am worried about my mother these days. Recently, I observed depleting condition of my aging mother, when she complained of feeling a little discomfort while speaking last week (in Oct., 2009). Her left side of the lips looked slightly pressed. It frieghtened me, as I immediately took her to our family physician fearing paralysis. He gave some medicine to prevent any such attack.

As I told my brother after returning from the doctor, he consulted the problem again with him over phone. By that time I was away for my evening freaking out with Rajesh, my childhood friend, just like we usually do on my weekly off. My brother called me to return immediately as he wanted to discuss something. Tu Arya hai ke nain…..he said in Punjabi meaning whether I was returning home immediately or not? It was summoning me to return to discuss some crucial matter. I was surprised. He used such words after many years. He would use such a tone only while he wanted me to study or face the consequence at night. But this time I was perturbed to think why he would have called me at that time. If there was actually some serious problem, many such questions passed my mind in a short span of time.

I reached home and he said that he consulted Mumma’s condition with the doctor who advised to see Neurologist by the following morning. I agreed it was intelligent of us if we could urgent see the neurologist if the case is related to him. Both of us feared early stage of paralysis.

We reached Teerth Ram Shah hospital at Rajpur Road, 10 minutes from our locality. My father, who died of cardiac arrest at 83, used to get treatment for his all ills at this hospital and it looked reasonable of us to visit a tried and tested and relatively trustable and affordable hospital.

We met the Neurologist and he advised some tests including the MRI for brain scanning. And, it felt scary when wheil leaving he said actually the vessles of her mind were skewing. It was alarming for both of us. We put up a smiling face and lied to mother saying he just suggested some tests as we didn't have any single medical record or history of hers. She agreed. But on reaching home, after an hour or two she asked me: "Sach bol, doctor ne kya kaha hai". I modified my version and said he said he wasn't able to suggest any medicine or point out the problem till we have a report with us. I couldn't befool her.