Dad Gets Dentures and Russel's Case Gets More Complicated...

Friday, April 12, 2019
Bombay

Dad Gets Dentures and Russel's Case Gets More Complicated...

     Namaste from Bombay!
     It was a day spent at Doctor's offices! Exactly the sort of day you know will be waiting for you when you come back from a rural retreat!  

Preparing for a Visit to Orthopedist Number Two:
    So, awake at 6.00 am after a near-sleepless night filled with hideous nightmares (what on earth is going on with me???), I awoke to take stock of my day. I knew that Dad and I had to get to Orthopedist Number Two at Lilavati Hospital on behalf of Russel as a follow-up visit after we'd done blood work and taken new X-rays of his fractured shin (this was because the orthopedist wanted to make sure that his fractured bones had actually set).
     So after breakfast of muesli and coffee and a long chat on the phone with my cousin Blossom who wanted to hear all about my trip to Matheran and about Russel's prognosis, I got ready to check my email--only to find that nothing was working yet (I had returned from Matheran to find that I had lost network connection). Llew called me using our landline at home (instead of Whatsapp) and we caught up.
     That's when Dad called: he had a bunch of things with which he needed my help--not least of which were putting together papers and X-ray reports correctly for our 1.00 pm meeting with Orthopedist Number Two.
     He also wanted me to review all the blood reports. I told him that I cannot read medical jargon or make any sense of them and, therefore, as a rule, I do not even look at pathology reports--I leave doctors to do that.
     Next, he told me that although he had picked up his dentures (temporary ones--for use until he gets his dental implants 2-3 months from now), he does not know how to put them in--he has learned how to take them out.  This meant another visit to his dentist!
     Finally, because his eyesight is so weak, he cannot find the biopsy report on Russel's synovec that the Orthopedist Number Two wants to review. I would need to lend him by eyes.
     So with tons of work to be done, on Dad's behalf, I had to put off the work I had intended to accomplish this morning and go over to his to give him a hand.

Working at the Cyber-Cafe:
     But first, I went to Jay at the cyber-cafe because I could see that I had email from the Fulbright folks in Delhi but could not open the message as lack of network connection in my studio made it impossible for me to access it. If the email message contained clearance and approval of my travel to Uzbekistan, then I would need to print out all sorts of papers pertaining to my visa and other travel formalities. So I had a lot of work to do at Jay's.
     When I arrived at Jay's, I found that I was right. My travel application to Uzbekistan to conduct Writing Workshops at Tashkent State University on the invitation of the Head of the English Department there, had come through. Clearance and approval had been given. I would now have to sort out aspects relating to my visa and purchase of my ticket. I printed out all the documents I needed to make that happened and responded to the folks at Tashkent to let them have the good news that I would actually be able to take up their invitation. So...I am off to a republic in the former USSR! Not that I had even the remotest thought of ever getting to Uzbekistan...of all places...when I left the US on the Fulbright Fellowship!

Lending Dad a Hand:
     After Jay's, I went to Dad's and, one after the other, I tackled the chores he had lined up for me. I found the biopsy report, I put the X-rays, date-wise, in the correct order in the appropriate sleeves with their corresponding reports, and I suggested that we should go to the dentist before we got to the orthopedist--that way we would finish everything in one fell stroke.

Off to the Dentist for Dad:
     Dad was agreeable. So, off we went to the dentist at Linking Road by rick and in about 45 minutes, our mission was accomplished. Dad's dentures were adjusted for discomfort and Dr. Sudha Shenoy told him to practice taking them out and putting them in several times until he felt confident enough to do it himself. Its ironic...but the reason he has decided to go in for dental implants at age 89 is because he hated the thought of getting dentures! And now he is saddled with them anyway for about 2 months until his jaw bones are ready for the implant caps! He is tired of eating mashed food, however, and is quite happy to compromise by wearing dentures. His energy levels have also dropped since he went in for the implants as his food intake has dropped correspondingly! Gosh! The complications of aging are not something to be sneezed at...that's for sure!

Off to Orthopedist Number Two at Lilavati Hospital:
     Next...our visit to Lilavati Hospital, by rick, to see the orthopedist. Sadly, the doctor's worst fears were confirmed. As a result of a neuropathic deficiency (his inability to feel pain), one of the bones of Russel's fractured shin have not really joined together. This means that he will need bone grafting surgery to try to get it to set. To aid in the setting process (because Russel's body does not have the natural capacity to heal itself), he will need the insertion of a synthetic material called BMP which the orthopedist hopes will hasten the bone-setting process. This material, to quote the actor, costs a bomb! This process, after surgery, will take 3 months to heal--with X-rays carried out every month to monitor the healing process. It is only after the bone has set to his satisfaction, that the orthopedist will even consider the insertion of the rod fusion surgery to take care of his arthritic knee. The entire proposed surgery is wildly expensive...but that apart, it will entail prolonged immobility (most of which Russel will have to spend in bed as he does not have the mental capacity to know how to walk without putting body weight on the operated leg). However, according to Orthopedist Number Two, if this is not done, the titanium plate that has been put in his leg will break and will need to be replaced.
     Needless to say, this prognosis disheartened Dad very much. We sat down outside in the lobby of the hospital for a few minutes to weigh our options and have decided to go back to Orthopedist Number One at Dadar to see if he agrees with this diagnosis and prognosis. I told Dad I would make the appointment when I got back home.

Off to Holy Family Hospital:
     From there, Dad needed to stop off at Holy Family Hospital to pick up the receipt for the blood tests that were carried out last week. I had picked the reports up and had presumably not brought the receipt--Dad needs to submit a receipt for reimbursement to Russel's insurance company When we got to Holy Family Hospital, we found out that the home blood sample collection company has been recently changed and that the new company does not give receipts! So it was a wild goose chase and I was vindicated in knowing that I had not left anything behind when I went over to pick up the reports on Tuesday evening.

Getting On with My Chores:
     I hopped off the rickshaw at my lane while Dad carried on and because it was about 2.00 pm then, I had my lunch: I forgot that it was a Friday in Lent and ate kheema mattar with cabbage and a chapati with a piece of chocolate covered chikki for dessert as I read a new novel on my iPad--because my TV had no network connection.
     I was in the middle of my lunch when the technician called to tell me he would be at my place in ten minutes. And right enough, after he pottered around for about half an hour, my network services were restored and I could get my email, watch TV on my smart hub and get internet connection again. It is amazing how wired we are today and how badly we suffer when something goes wrong. It appears that a cable outside my house had broken and needed to be replaced. A temporary cable has been installed and I am told that they will take care of the larger network issue from their end in due course.
      That done, with my services restored, I was able to put my itinerary together for my trip to Uzbekistan, blogged on my trip to Matheran and loaded the new posts on my blog, made a few calls and sent out a few whatsapp messages for more interviews that I shall carry out until the time of my departure to Uzbekistan and finished off transcribing the interview with Joe Cordo that I had not finished before I left for Matheran. I also began downloading a whole lot of tourist material from Lonely Planet websites so that I will make maximum use of my time in Uzbekistan and manage to get to Samarkand and Bukhara as well--they are only a few hours away by the high-speed bullet trains (so it does seem as if my tourism plans might actually materialize).
     Before I knew it, it was 5.30 pm, I jumped into the shower, had a cup of tea with a few nuts and told Dad I would be headed to his place.
     We attended Mass together (but did not stay for the Stations of the Cross today as they were scheduled after the Missions session that is currently going on) and then walked back. I stopped off again at Jay's to photocopy the visa forms that have been filled out for me by the US Embassy in Uzbekistan (because they are in Russian).  All I need to do is sign them, affix my photograph and present the form at the Uzbekistan Embassy in Delhi to get my visa sticker in my passport before I can fly off on my assignment.
     I had my dinner (repeat of my lunch) while watching a new season of The Sinner which is so compelling (and chilling) that I watched two episodes back to back before needing something lighter and ended up with Grace and Frankie before going to bed at 10.00 am. Hopefully, I will sleep better tonight.
     Until tomorrow...