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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Revsiting the Euthanasia debate

It's a very difficult time for the family of a terminally ill patient under any circumstances, and it is even more difficult if that same family is called upon by doctors attending on the patient to take the final call on whether the patient should be allowed to continue suffering or take the option of letting that patient go- slowly but surely..
All these thoughts as well as so many others crossed my mind some years ago as I stood inside Medanta, the Medicity in Gurgaon, India, (after my mother had been through a minor surgery and was being discharged that same night) and listened to a conversation between some doctors as well as the family of what was clearly a terminally ill patient.
I heard one of the sons tell the doctor how he didn't  want to come back home from work in the evenings because he was faced with the sight of his ill father groaning in pain, day after day. At that point, a friend of theirs chipped in with the comment that despite all that was wrong with that older gentleman, it was their duty to ensure his life was prolonged as long as possible.
“‘To what avail,’ asked his older daughter, “when all my father can do is look at us from his hospital bed and ask all of us, 'Why are you crying'?”
And that really was the crux of their dilemma to hold on or to let go? Not something that many of us are even prepared to think about as it seems so far away. And if I might add, far fetched as well, until it impacts one directly. 


(Image source-http://www.catechism.ca/the-bible-and-euthanasia/)


But Mark Twain once said, “The fear of death follows from the fear of life man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” And I agree with him completely! Ten years ago a British man with terminal cancer travelled to Switzerland and drank a lethal solution of barbiturates to end his life, with his son and daughter by his side.
He was the first of more than 180 Britons to be assisted to die at Dignitas, a Swiss organisation founded in 1998 which helps people with terminal and incurable illnesses to end their own lives.
While euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in the UK, other countries, like Switzerland, do permit assisted suicide in specific circumstances and Dignitas is the only Swiss facility to accept foreigners.

Dr MC Mishra, the former Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, while talking of passive euthanasia says   "We doctors encounter this dilemma when we are faced with terminally ill patients, when we know that it is an exercise in futility to use resources to keep the person alive. In such cases, we talk about passive euthanasia with the concurrence of family members. Passive euthanasia is partly permitted and implies withdrawing life support when a person is not mentally alert. Mental alertness is assessed by the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, which tells us the level of consciousness. In normal individuals, the score is 15, and for those who are brain dead, it is three. A GCS score of less than eight means that the patient is not conscious, her airway is threatened, and her chances of recovery are less. But if the GCS score is three, the possibility of recovery is practically zero unless there is a miracle. I have not seen such miracles happening in clinical practice.

On the other side, the right to life is an old debate. When the Supreme Court heard the challenge to the imposition of Emergency, it rejected the argument that in India, the right to life available to a citizen flows from Article 21 of the Constitution, and that if such an Article were to be deleted or suspended, the citizen would have no right to his life under law.

As far as I’m concerned, this is an extremely personal decision and choice and I can understand that some people with a terminal illness might be tempted to use this route.
 
Then again, many others would definitely have exactly the opposite point of view. I am not there to sit in judgement either way. Suffice it is to say that each family knows what is best at any given point in time.

And the debate over euthanasia- to do or not to do, will probably go on and on...

(NB-These are excerpts taken from my piece in the Muscat Daily Oman.)

Monday, March 7, 2022

The Turning Point, A Short Story

Nitin and Varsha were invited to Sulekha's birthday party.
Sulekha was Varsha's 'forever' best friend and the party was something that was bound to be a fun affair. Starting off as a leisurely lunch on a Sunday, it was meant to progress on  to tea and who knew, the possibility of the cocktail hour loomed large as an exciting prospect as well.

But things don't really change very much and  as it happened, today was no different. Nitin was ready, dressed in his 'Sunday best' while Varsha was still in her nightgown.True, she had already bathed and her clothes lay neatly on the bed. Nails varnished and make up applied, all she had to do was change, run a brush through her hair and she would be ready to leave.But what about all the household chores?  There was a mountain of laundry to be tackled, she had to sort out all their clothes for next week's ironing and the groceries had yet to be ordered.

Suddenly it was all too much for her and Varsha felt overwhelmed. The last week at work had been really tough, she had completed a very tough assignment and handed it over to her boss who had taken a cursory look at it and in a few words, told her it wasn't upto scratch. Net result- she would have to go in tomorrow and start it all she had all over again. To top that, she had the beginnings of a splitting headache and despite the painkiller she had just taken it seemed to be building up.

And how!

"I really must lie down for 15 minutes", she thought. It was just past 10 and they had to leave by 1230 in order to get to Sulekha's place in Andheri East.


The thought had barely crossed her mind when she did exactly that. Five  minutes later, or was it just two, she was lying in her soft, and comfortable bed. 

Fast asleep...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Varsha, we will be late", called out Nitin from where he was busy watching the IPL unfold on television. 

"Come on, lets leave soon Varsha"

"Or at least as soon as you get ready."

 No response...

Another beer and 15 minutes later there was still no response and that was when Nitin decided it was high time to look into the matter. Driving to Andheri wasn't going to b e easy, even on a Sunday and he wanted to be sure they made a whole day of it.After all, it was the weekend, wasn't it?

Grumbling under his breath, he went towards the bedroom, everything was silent.

"What the"? he muttered and opened the door.

Looked in and saw Varsha stretched out on the bed.

Fast asleep.

Looking around, he could clearly see the signs of all her work in progress. The laundry basket with the dirty clothes, neatly separated into whites and coloureds lay on one side while another basket held the clothes that clearly needed to be ironed.

And Varsha looked so small..and very tired.

He felt his heart melting and in that split second, he realised what a male chauvinist pig he was! In the two years that they had been married, she had borne the brunt of running the household, He was ashamed to recall, the many, many times 
( just like today) when he had treated his "weekend" as sacrosanct and made the most of his time off.

" Chilling out" he called it- a couple of beers, good sex with Varsha followed by the evening out. And to him, it was all perfect- Time out for both of them. 


But something had to must change now,he told himself sternly. 

He wasn't going to be his father all over again.

Sitting with his feet up and relaxing while his mother, also a Professor at a leading women's college, worked hard through the week and then worked hard during her weekend as well. Cooking, cleaning and getting the house organised for all of them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

                                                          


                  

"Oh God, have I been sleeping"? Varsha woke up with a start.

She felt rested but she also felt worried. She still had to tackle the laundry, the ironing... 

..and...and..

Looking around, she could see that something was different. The room was neat and there was no sign of the piles she had made some time ago.

And what was that sound? 

Could it possibly be...?

the washing machine?

That was when she saw Nitin come into the room. Very quietly so that he wouldn't disturb her.

"Oh you're awake? I hope I didn't...?"


And in a flash, Varsha understood.

Understood why everything looked so neat and clean.And why she could hear the sound of the washing machine in the background.


It was all because of Nitin.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Coming up to her, Nitin stretched out his arms and drew her in gently.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She could see the glint of tears in his eyes and knew that it was a turning point.

Life had changed for them today.

And she was convinced, life was going to stay that way.

Monday, November 16, 2020

Sheer Coincidence or Divine intervention?


Say you decide to take the Shatabdi Express from New Delhi station to Chandigarh, something that you've done at least a hundred times earlier.But this time, there's a real difference. For just after you've boarded the train and reach out for your wallet to pay the coolie, you realise that you've been pick pocketed.

Far more important than the money you've lost are your ID cards, particularly those related to Health and Insurance, which might take upto six months be re-made.

But then you console yourself and finally shrugging your shoulders, you tell yourself that it could have been far worse.And then you carry on with your way of life and living.Exactly two days later, your front door bell rings and standing there, are three young schoolboys. After having introduced themselves, they hand over your wallet...which is now much lighter, but still has all your  6 ID cards!

Looking at your open mouthed surprise, they decide to enlighten you. 

They were on a school trip to the New Delhi Zoo  and saw this wallet thrown in a bin just ahead of the monkey's cages.

So they did simply what they thought they absolutely must.

And brought it back to you.


Image courtesy- Flipkart

Now this would be a story that I would find hard to believe, but I did. For it was told to us by my own father in law, Major General Sampuran  Singh  Ahluwalia some years  back, who is amazed and delighted with this sheer coincidence.

Or I'm left wondering.

Should I re-phrase it as 'Divine intervention'?