The broken stethoscope

I remember the happiest day of my life. The whole household was in celebration. We distributed sweets to all the neighbours and we invited all our relatives to share the good news. The farmer's daughter managed to get a seat in one of the most prestigious colleges in the state. I was to be the first doctor from my family. No, correct that. The first doctor from my village. I remember my father's proud eyes looking at me, making me feel like a little girl again who finished learning to recite her first nursery rhyme. My father whose entire life revolved around giving me an education and making me find my place in this world. As I gazed into his sun worn face, I remember something he told me once when I was small. Your mother died giving birth to you because there were no doctors in our village at the time. That's why you should respect doctors. They are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. I made a silent promise to myself. I would be the best doctor I  could possibly can.

I remember the hardest days of my life. Studying late at night. Trying to learn as much as possible, it was a. Struggle which I enjoyed because I knew that the harder I fought, the stronger I would become. I remember when my father gave me a surprise visit  and he caught me just as I came back after posting, still wearing my apron. The expression on his face is something that I'll never forget. It was a mixture of raw pride and happiness that made every cell in my body glow in joy. I'm sure astronauts would have spotted me from the moon. But there was also a tinge of sadness, and I later found out that he only regretted that my mother wasn't around to see me.

My father passed away shortly after I graduated.  He died a happy man, surrounded by family and friends. Before he left my hand and  join my mother into the great adventure awaiting them, he told me something I nearly missed. Remember me in every smile your patients give you. I will, father. I will.

For many years I worked towards that goal. I worked with a devil's frenzy and an angel's grace. Every smile was like a golden coin I greedily collected. I didn't want money. The smile was the only thing I wanted, to make my father live again in their eyes.

I remember the night it all changed. There was a bus accident. A lot of casualties and many more injured. There was a small boy whose injuries were too grave for me to do anything. Half his torso was crushed in and there was definite cerebral hemorrage.There was literally nothing I could do. The medical officer in charge told me to tend to the other victims who had a chance to be healed.  A man with a broken arm caught me and yelled at me, asking me to do something and pointed angrily at the child. I tried to comfort him and make him understand that it was beyond me, but he pushed my hand aside and gave me such a venomous look that it frightened me. Even after I turned away from him and rushed to the other victims, I felt his hateful gaze, like a deadly snake gliding over poisoned waters.

They say that your life flashes in front of your eyes in the last seconds of your life. Its true. I'm lying down in the parking lot of my hospital next to my destroyed car. The glass pieces glitter the sunlight and cast beautiful rainbows into my eyes. My apron, which I remember wearing with pride when I started the wonderful journey of becoming a doctor, is now torn and tattered, drenched in blood. My breathing is short and shallow as I take in the sweet April air. My stethoscope is crushed beyond recognition and splintered. Somehow that makes me feel sad. The pain comes in an intensity that makes me want to howl like an animal. I felt like a paper boat tossed into a raging river of pain and blood. As my vision slowly fades, I collect my last thoughts, I think of all the smiles I collected during my profession, all the thanks and praises. But in spite of all that, all it took was one look of hate. It was all a mistake of circumstance. How could I be blamed for this? How could I be punished? But all these feelings of anger and despair wash away like cobwebs in the wind. I can hear sirens approach me and the sound of people shouting from the hospital and I can hear my colleagues rush toward me. But ironically, I'm in the same condition as the boy was last night. There's nothing that can be done to save me. Before I slip into the void that awaits us all, I smile as best as I can. It would be strange, considering the painful way I died, but my father was right. Doctors are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. I have no regrets. None.

Vaginitis Proper

The atmosphere in the hospital canteen felt warm and soft. The doctors who sat there during the midnight shift embraced the relaxed atmosphere like a child clutches a teddy bear during his sleep. There was laughter and a steady conversation floating above the men and women. The owner of the canteen looked on as he wiped the already clean counter and hummed to himself. He glanced at the doctors who sat at the table by the window to make sure they were not in dearth of tea or biscuits.

He knew and respected these  doctors. He knew they were capable and decent people. He didn't eavesdrop, but he observed enough to know each one of them with impressive clarity. The doctor who played with her  grey curly hair and laughed easily was Dr. Savita who was an opthalmologist. She was so cheerful and her smile had so much light, she could make a blind man rub his eyes. The  muscular and stocky  doctor was Dr. Carlos who dominated the pathology department. He rarely smiled, and his students trembled at his shadow. A stern yet fair man. The lean  balding man who was currently making  Savita laugh was Dr. Marshal, the paediatrician whose wisdom and friendliness made him popular with even the most bitter and troublesome personnel in the hospital. The canteen owner frowned and glanced at the large clock on the wall. The fourth member of the group was late tonight. An intern walked in, with the look of a tired cat which was left in the rain. He grasped his hot cup of tea and sat down holding on to it like a titanic survivor to his lifeboat. The doctors ignored him and carried on their discussion without pause.  The owner felt sympathy towards the intern. The boy worked harder than his peers, pulling out so many late nighters, the dark circles beneath his eyes gave him an owlish look. A very intelligent and perceptible young man. He would be an excellent doctor soon. 

The door opened and a plump man entered with an anxious look and an agitated pace. He looked like a man who was afraid he had done a terrible thing and that the punishment would occur at any moment, leaving him helpless to change his fate. He went to the table by the window and sat down silently. Dr Stanislaus, one of the well acclaimed gynaecologists in Mother Teresa Medical College looked at his friends glumly. "I'm in trouble" he said shortly. "We could never had guessed." said Carlos dryly. "What's up?" Savita asked giving her worried friend's hand a gentle squeeze. Stanislaus took a deep breath. "I think I broke my Hippocratic oath." They all fell silent. Stanislaus admitting that was like a pig admitting to play violin. Marshal's mouth fell open. "You had sex with a patient?" he blurted incredulously and immediately looked defensive as 3 pairs of eyes aimed at him like angry pistols. "That's the only part of the oath I ever remembered." he muttered as he stirred his tea. Stanislaus turned to his friends. " I revealed very sensitive information about my patient " he said forlornly. The others looked slightly puzzled. It wasn't a very serious offence, but then waited patiently as he told his whole story.
" A few  week ago a very respected woman, the Assistant Commissioner of Police came to the clinic with some discharge. I did a few tests and it turned out to be vaginitis secondary to an STD. She was embarrassed and asked me to keep this in perfect confidence. I assured her readily enough and gave her the drugs myself.
So just earlier today, I was referring a journal in the library and as I returned back, I saw a boy and girl giggling in front of a book and the boy whispered to the girl's ear- " Assistant police commissioner has vaginitis proper". Stanislaus looked at them with fear welling up in his eyes. " somehow, without my knowledge I let that information spread. And when she finds out.." He finished the sentence with a grim swallow. The other friends looked at him without any words to say. Carlos was the first to recover. " Do you have any idea how this might have happened? " Stanislaus rubbed his hair tiredly. "The only other person who would know anything about this case was my staff nurse Ruth. But she's been with me for so long, she never seemed to be the gossiping type". Carlos considered this gravely. "They never do, my friend. But nurses gossip. It's a earth's truth."
Savita looked troubled at this generalisation. She knew Ruth as a friend and always considered her to be a sensible and professional woman. This was a very sticky business indeed. A cough nearby alerted them. They all stared in shock at the intern. Stanislaus' face grew even more paler if that was even possible. "Boy... What gives you the right to listen in on our conversation?" Carlos growled like a pit bull smelling a strange dog. "Sir, I couldn't help but..." His words were cut by Stanislaus' quivering voice. " If you repeat whatever you heard to anyone else , I swear...I'll make your life a devil's nightmare " Savita gasped. This was hardly the way to talk to a student, regardless of situation! .
Marshal placed a placating hand upwards, like a man trying to stop a raging bull. He gestured comfortingly " calm down, Stan. The lad could have slipped out silently and spread whatever he heard if wanted. Instead, he came to us. I think we should at least listen to him, don't you think? ". A huge pregnant pause ensued and finally Stanislaus looked down ashamedly " you're right. I'm sorry. What is it you wanted, son? "
The boy sounded humble yet confident as he asked. " sir, would you remember what those two  students were reading in the library? " Carlos snorted rudely. Even Savita seemed baffled. How on earth would be useful? . But Stanislaus frowned thoughtfully. " It was biochemistry, I think. There was a picture of heme synthesis, I recall." All three friends were barely surprised. Among them, Stanislaus was blessed with a near perfect photographic memory. The boy nodded and sat back scribbling with a piece of paper as if none of them existed. Weird kid ,thought all four of them. The silence was then broken by Marshal who asked " even if Ruth did the gossiping, how would it reach the boy in the library? " Stanislaus looked up at that. " that's the thing!  I did some research, and it turns out that the  boy's mother is a nurse in our hospital! What are the chances? " Stanislaus slapped the table with his palm, rattling the teacups. " that makes it conclusive! It's easy that this Ruth spread that piece of information on to her! Stan, you must report this woman at once."  Marshal tried to take control of the situation. " now hold on. There's no need to do anything rash without any solid evidence.. " Stanislaus turned to him, an angry response ready, when they were one again interrupted by the intern who wore a mysterious smile on his lips. "Sir, I think I know what really happened." Carlos sneered and was about to retort but was hushed by Sativa, who encouraged the intern with a nod. He cleared his throat and read from his paper. " acute intermittent porphyria, congenital erythropoeitic porphyria , porphyria cutanea tarda, hereditary coproporphyria, variegate porphyria and protoporphria. " All the doctors looked at him as if he recited the Russian national anthem. Then Savita hissed. "Its a mnemonic! Assistant commissioner police has vaginitis proper is just a way of remembering the list of porphyrias in sequence of heme synthesis!" The intern just smiled and nodded. Just a coincidence it reflected your case, sir." But still they were not satisfied. " how are you so sure? " asked Stanislaus, but his voice lost all its previous rudeness and harshness. The intern looked at them as if it was the simplest thing in the world. " why call it vaginitis proper?  It seems a pretty redundant term. And why would the boy tell the girl such boring gossip? If one of their classmates contracted an STD, then it would make sense, since it would be interesting. But the assistant commissioner of police? Boring. They don't even know if that post is held by a woman. "
The  four doctors stared at this intern in a new light. The canteen owner smiled as Dr. Stanislaus called on one more round of tea  to celebrate and invited the intern to join them. Yes. He would make an excellent doctor soon.