A day at the hospital

I thought the skiing course was really reasonably priced at Rs 4500. And then I went and slipped on the snow and hurt my knee. I ignored it for a few weeks, thinking it was yet another small injury. But that was not to be. The knee now has already cost me a few thousands to repair already 🙂

My 10-day physiotherapy started yesterday and I must say I rather enjoyed it. Earlier, I would feel physically sick whenever I had to go to the hospital for anything – usually to visit someone.

But Manipal where I thought I’d get my knee treated is nice and clean (and mighty expensive, I might add). There are user-friendly boards everywhere (and cash counters too 🙂 at every corner. Last evening, they put this machine over the injured knee and let it get all warmed up. It felt rather good actually, as I nearly dozed off. The physiotherapist, a young peppy woman who joined a year or so ago, kept me busy with her chatter. She promises that all my bones and joints are intact and I just need rest to let it heal. I was rather scared about a permanent injury.

Getting back to my point, I am not fond of visiting hospitals at all. I guess most of my distaste comes from the state of some of the hospitals I have had the misfortune to step into. I have one particularly bad memory of the Guwahati Medical College hospital where everything is so depressing, you’ll fall sick even if you aren’t!

The beds are creaky, the sheets are dirty, the walls are covered with spider webs and falling apart, you can hardly step into the loos (they’re so disgusting), there are people sleeping everywhere (beds, floors, corridors), syringes thrown carelessly in corners, overflowing bins. I wonder how anyone gets better there! I had to go there during a family emergency and I hope I never have to go there again. I’m just amazed at how doctors manage to work there despite all of this.