The Countdown

Just about a week more to go, hopefully. It has been a really long wait this time. BP, Bed rest and Blood Sugar had put me down for much longer than what we’d expected. Had to take rest for the first one too, but somehow it didn’t seem so long. Maybe because I was already used to being at home then and of course, thanks to my hilarious friend Shruthi, who was staying next door. In she would barge, any time of the day or night with wise cracks in her very own inimitable style. And I just had to say I feel like having something, it would be ready the very next day.

Five years have passed since Georgie came and I haven’t grown any younger. A more or less sedentary lifestyle, hypertension was already my friend. To expect some complications was but natural. I had already told my manager that even though the baby would come only in May, I would be out before that. Little did I know then how early it would be.

Manu used to make fun of me last time saying I was like “Kilukkathile Jagathy” – in and out of hospital every other day. I have to admit, it was actually true. First it was a headache, not a simple one, mind you. I couldn’t move my head even an inch and it took two days in the hospital. Then it was a bout of bronchitis, which took me a week. The third one was a slight spotting and that was just for a day.

Well, to make a long story short, history repeated itself in a different form. This time, the hospital was different, causes were different, but stay I had to in hospital for four times till now. Durations were more or less the same as before, a day, two and then a week. The last one was just three days back – for a day. Now when I go there, the nurses treat me like a long lost friend. This time, no room was vacant and they put me in the post-op bed. One of the nurses came in looking for something, saw me there and with a pinch on my chin asks, “Ah, look who is here again”!! Another motherly one who used to take extra care of me every time told me very worriedly when I left, “Do remember to check your BP everyday, and pray that everything is alright till next week”. Made my day, is the least to be said.

The most depressing part was the two month long rest in bed. As it is, with my chronic sinusitis and a bent nose, I have to sleep with my head elevated to breathe properly. Just imagine my plight when I had to be in bed 24hours a day with the foot part up by at least a feet. Got used to it slowly, in fact started finding it really comfortable after some time. Now I have a permanent companion in bed – a bottle of nasal drops. Can’t breathe otherwise, my nosed is blocked, perennially.

Then came the next shock – gestational diabetes. When it comes, it comes together. The bright side of it was I had to get out of bed to go to hospital every morning and evening. Surprise of surprises, two weeks of going up and down everyday, nothing happened, except a constant back pain. Who is bothered about that when expecting to be in bed for at least another three months? Started getting out on weekends slowly and then to Thrissur too. That was another luxury which none of us had expected till July. Well man proposes and as always, God disposes in a different way.

Now, here I am waiting for next week. The wait has been too long, I have lost patience. Anyways, sometime in between this forced house arrest, I have started putting out my sometimes wild and otherwise mild thoughts. And my friends seem to enjoy it. There is a purpose for everything in life, you see.

The day is fast approaching and I am waiting for the big relief that comes with it, purposely trying not to think of what comes after that. The never-ending feeding sessions, diaper changes, constant eyes on a crawler, running after an active toddler….. Well, this time there is an elder one to run after the little one and I just can’t wait to watch the two of them together.