I began the new day at half past three in the morning! This happened naturally, as I had already had over 5-6 hours of sleep. I brushed my teeth and opened the laptop to connect it to the net. I was surprised when the net actually began to be accessible. Actually, to view this logically, it should not have surprised me as the net traffic was bound to be less at such an unearthly hour! I therefore used the opportunity to read my emails, all the notifications on FB and post a few entries or revise them on this blog. I also began to watch “Rock Star” the Ranbir Kapoor movie that I had downloaded at Juzer’s place in Jeddah some days ago.
By 6 o’clock, I began to doze, and indeed, did, waking up at about half past seven, which is actually the time to report in the hospital. I hurriedly finished the morning chores and reached the hospital a little before eight a.m. The muster-signing area was swarming with specialists, and I introduced myself and was introduced to the many doctors chatting with each other there. It was a pleasant community indeed, and my observations over the next few days would convince me that the doctors, including the specialists and residents in this hospital are a happy lot and willing to help newcomers like me.
After breakfast, I joined Dr. Yasser in the Pediatric OPD, and for the rest of the morning and right up to half past three, the two of us saw patients. I think there were about 9-10 patients in all, the youngest being 3 days old and the oldest over 10 years in age. I saw about 4 of these 10 patients. In between, the two of us used our own laptops either for browsing the net, or to read something related to Pediatrics from a file. We also went for the Dhuhr prayers, and at the end of our timings, we did the Asr’ prayers and then went homeward … each to their own homes. I went to the house where Dr. Shahid stays. He is one of the surgeons on the hospital’s specialist panel, and has recently been on leave as he came down with a prolapsed inter-vertebral disc. In a few days, he is expected to be flying to India (from where he comes) in connection with the marriage of his sister-in-law, and also to rest his back. I requested him to allow me to share his premises, and he agreed readily. This quiet acceptance by him came because I offered on my own to share all the house-related expenses and to participate in the cooking as well.
After meeting with Shahid, I returned to the hospital, visiting a few market spots on the way. The evening was spent in the cafeteria, the ER, and my own room surfing the net … in sequential order. I slept early, and would perhaps awaken early too.
My achievement of the day may be summed up thus: I saw and advised treatment for the first patient today … after a gap of over 15 days. And the fact is that it went quite well, thank you, and this is thanks to a Filipino nurse and my Arabic speaking Egyptian paediatrician Dr. Yasser.
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