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Showing posts from March, 2017

ICU intimacy

ICU is  the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital. I had gone to see my Uncle who was unwell and by God's grace has recovered now. It is not easy to see your loved one on the hospital bed, with tubes and monitors. Your eyes brim with tears even when the patient is recovering..tears of joy, relief and gratitude. Sometimes it is tears of fear, the 'what if' kind of fear. The mind plays dirty tricks with your wellbeing as you wait in the hospital. It makes you think of the worst possible scenarios.  In ICU, there is a scenario which is most dreadful. It is when the Doctor says that there is nothing more we can do. The family members who have to hear this, are shattered. Then it can be a  matter of a few hours or a few days. When the family visit the patient inside the ICU, they all smile. They talk of recovery. They never tell the patient that the end is near or the doctor is saying it is all over. In fact, they don't even tell the patient that the situation is critical.