Ever heard tick tock tick tock of your wrist watch. Being stressed over your brothers health when he struggles to exist. How would he struggle, does he even understand life. His existence might be insignificant for most of world but matters above all to this family. Suddenly he starts having these weird attacks, makes weird faces and hands shaking. Dad rush to call ambulance. Puts my 70kg brother on my back. Me and my brother get into car. He drives and rages car out to nearest block where ambulance stands with that sound. We put him in ambulance and the nurse double taps the driver window.
Me sitting beside my dad. Nurse and attendant still trying to figure out what is happening and just pretend to be taking some actions so we feel like something is happening. Dad looking down his feet. I reach out for his hand and hold it. I’ll never forget those eyes which looked at me. With all mixed feelings of calmness, helplessness, patience, stress, and those tears about to drip from red corners. Puts his hands on my hand and mumbles with closed eyes “I’m fine”.
A firm handshake makes bizarre situation little better. Meanwhile nurse puts on oxygen mask on brother. Asks for any allergies my brother has from anesthesia. We look at her with a blank face. “He’s just fine. Calm yourself down now. When we reach at the hospital. One of you head to reception and sign for emergency ICU request and someone come with the patient”. “He’s Gotu… not a patient.” Dad exclaimed just as she finished! She gave back a smile. I was too afraid to leave my dad and brother alone so ask for alternative. Dad looks at me and says my name with a rough voice. Attendant interrupts with its ok sir. And shouts to driver “direct to emergency section”. Those attacks had diminished considerably since my Gotu was on oxygen. That painful face we had to see every second was not showing up for more than ones in a minute.
She attached 2 tapes on my Gotu’s chest and started monitoring heart rate. Knocks driver’s window and asks him to radio hospital so they keep a neurologist ready with EEG and ECG. Looks at those digital screen, tells attendant, he’s having fever. We need to make him unconscious now. Test anesthesia on his brothers hand. Suddenly my hand is injected with small amount of liquid which makes my hand feel warm. He double taps my hand and then pinches me. “Did that hurt?” I look at him with a confused face. It didn’t hurt. But what just happened I had no clue plus I had started feeling like I lost my hand. With eyes wide open showing astonished glare I said “No!” before I could say anything he turns his head towards nurse and shouts “Clear!” My brother is put to sleep and attacks stop immediately in 10 seconds of injecting anesthesia.
Suddenly sound of ambulance changes…driver honks 5 times. Nurse and attendant hold my brother. Me and my dad wonder why. Suddenly ambulance jumps over a speed breaker. We hear whistles from guards of hospital directing us to emergency section. It takes us to a room where we stops…door opens up and we see a ground leveled to level of ambulance floor. My brother is taken to ICU along with all machines attached to him. We run but are stopped by a doctor who turns out to be a neurosurgeon. He asks me to wait outside ICU and takes my dad to a cabin.
I run to catch up with my brother. And I see him enter ICU with a bang sound. A stand looking at doors close. Let myself down on seat with my head resting on my hands. Stressed out. Thinking what just happened in last 20 mins. Listening to wrist watch. Tick tock tick tock…
-Sagar Zodpe
