Blessed Life

Life is precious, invaluable.  As long as we are blessed with it we do not understand its value.  When we know how lucky we are to be born and alive we will use our life in a better way. 

I was just going through a topic ‘fetal wastage’.  I read it previously.  But my understanding was more of scientific approach to deal with it in clinical practice.  Now I have a different perspective.  In a menstrual cycle of 28 days, ovulation occurs on 14^th day.  Fertilization of this ovum can take place on 14^th, 15^th or 16^th day.  After fertilization the resultant zygote will undergo certain changes and divides and redivides to form a ball of cells which will get implanted in the uterus by 20^th to 21^st day.  Once implanted further changes will take place and embryo develops and pregnancy specific hormone, HCG, is released.  The presence of this hormone can be detected in the blood by 27^th day.  The powerful tests can also detect this hormone in urine as early as 2^nd day of missed period.  The detection of this hormone 2-3 days prior to missed period to immediately a day after missed period is indication of pregnancy – biochemical pregnancy.  More than 80% of these biochemical pregnancies are simply eliminated by nature and are not recognized clinically.  In fact, more than 50% of the fertilized ova fail to implant in the uterus and 30% of the implanted ova fail to develop to the clinically recognizable stage.  A woman in her early stage of pregnancy may show a weakly positive pregnancy test but may have bleeding within a week.  If the test is not done it will be taken as delayed periods having normal or a little bit of excessive menstrual flow.  The rest 20% are clinically recognized pregnancies.  From this number another 20% are lost in the early period of pregnancy, between 9^th and 12^th week.  The demise of fetus as early as 8^th week can be detected sonographically as blighted ovum or in later period recognized as missed abortion.  If the pregnancy continues well after 12^th week and live by 16^th week the loss of fetus is about 1%.  But, though the fetus is live and active it is estimated that 3-5% of fetuses will have gross congenital malformations which are incompatible with life.  The recognition of these fetuses through ultrasound sonography and terminating the pregnancy will result in further loss. 

Apart from this natural losses and elimination by selective process, there can be another 5% loss due to maternal disorders, pregnancy and delivery complications, and fetal anomalies.  Another factor to be considered is voluntary abortion, which is practiced legally or illegally worldwide.  A woman voluntarily or forcibly subjected to abortion, and the new life is eliminated in the early stage.  Now considering various factors, calculate the percent of lucky chance you had to live your life. 

Standing against the test of nature, facing various genetic, environmental hazards, being live and healthy is once a life time opportunity.  Once we understand the Nature’s blessings we respect our life, value it more and live to accomplish it.

Mother

Elderly woman of average built and height, slightly bent, appearing to be from middle or lower middle financial status and widow entered my room.  As she entered took out my prescription and put it on table.  I asked her to sit and looked into my prescription. She is Lakshmamma, 57 years old and that prescription was given to her a year and half ago for abdominal pain, backache and body aches.  There weren’t any serious complaints or symptoms and signs noted then.  She sat in a chair in front of me.

“What is your problem now, Lakshmamma? I enquired. She put forth list of general complaints she has – body aches, occasional abdominal pain and general weakness. 

“For all this you could have consulted a family physician or general physician”, I said.

“Last year I came and your medicines kept well till now. That’s why I have come to you again.  Examine me and write some good medicines, amma.”

I examined her.  I found her anemic; there was no other obvious problem on clinical examination. 

“You are weak and anemic.  You need to take rest.” I told her.

“How can I take rest amma?  I have to work all the day”, there was agony in her tone.

“You have children.  Don’t they take care of you? I wanted to know.

“I live with my son.  He has a kirana shop.  All day I have to clean the grains and pack them” she said as a matter of fact.

“You can take rest an hour in the afternoon and sleep early in the night.  So that your back ache will be less”, I advised her, afternoon nap can really help the elderly woman and keep her active rest of the day.

“That rascal won’t allow me to rest in the afternoon, amma.  He takes care of the sales and I have to do all this”, a bit of anger in her tone.

“Why don’t you ask your daughter-in-law to help you?”  I wanted to know what her daughter-in-law does and how she treats her.

“Poor lady, she has to take care of domestic chores and look after three kids.  She is ever busy with her work”, she appeared sympathetic to her daughter-in-law.

“Don’t you have daughter?  Why don’t you stay there for few days?”  I was inquisitive.

“My daughter is kind”, a streak of happiness and smile in her face, “but my son doesn’t allow me to stay there, amma.  If I go to my daughter and stay for more than two days he will come to take me.  Says don’t you feel ashamed to stay at daughter’s house, and brings me back home”, helplessness in her voice.

“If you are sick you should tell him and stay at home”, I advised her.

“No amma.  His survival is on the kirana shop only.  If I am not there who will clean and pack.  He won’t engage any worker.” She seems to have understood her fate.

“OK.  Then I will write that you are sick.  I will write some blood tests.  You are saying you are having frequent abdominal pain, you are post menopausal, better get abdominal scan done.  Though clinically you are ok I don’t want to miss any thing”.

“Please don’t write any tests amma.  Just write some good medicines”. She told me.

 “Show this to your son.  He will get these tests done”. I insisted.

“Why amma.  Just write some good medicines. Last time you wrote, for more than a year I had no problem.  My son is a poor man.  He has to bring up three children.  If there is any problem, I will come to you again.  Write some good medicine for good health”.  She requested me.

 I wrote medicines, gave few samples I had and also handed the list of basic investigation required for her.  Bowing to me she walked out.  She left the requisition written for investigations on my table.

Impact

We think that a newborn is innocent and it does not know anything and does not learn anything.  But the moment life is formed and the embryo develops into fetus, activity starts in the fetus.  Also the learning starts.  In conditions where nutrition is compromised, blood is diverted to brain optimally and the rest of the bodily growth is restricted.  This is the survival instinct of the fetus – nature.  

Every incident since birth will condition the mental development of the person.  The different behavioural patterns in a person can be traced to early childhood environment.   This is true for animals too.  An elephant tied by iron chains in its early day will never try to escape later in life even if tied with a simple rope.  This is because it is conditioned by the remembrance of its futile attempts to escape when tied with iron chains in early days. 

The effect of physical and mental trauma will change the character of person or animal forever.  This I felt when I saw Benny.  Benny is my brother-in-law’s (BIL) pet.  They have adopted it when it was two years old.  This beagle’s behaviour has saddened me, and for the few days I was with it, I tried to pamper it.  When I went to my BIL’s home for the first time, Benny was alone at home.  The moment Benny saw us, strangers, it looked so scared and tried to get into corner and be out of our direct vision.  I was surprised at its behaviour of avoiding human beings.  A day later when I questioned about this queer behaviour he told me that in its early days it was treated cruelly by the owners.  When they brought it home also, twice it tried to escape.  But they finally got it live with them in peace. 

It never looked straight into the face

Benny is never aggressive.  It is rather meek.  The moment its master comes it simply stands by the side.  Unless the master talks it doesn’t fall on him.  If he is doing his work it will simply sit beside him and wait for him to pamper.  If he is busy with his work it would walk and sit in its couch.  I stayed there for a week.   Whenever I was in the living room it would come to me and stand, I would touch it, stroke it and talk to it.  When I leave the living room to retire into my room it would follow me up to the room and then go down.  It never ate in front of us.  My BIL told he never saw it eating.  It would eat when no one is around. 

I really feel bad for Benny.  The dog which is taken for hunting has become so timid and is scared of human beings.  How cruel could have been his previous masters to change its basic nature.  Benny had made me to understand how anyone can become scarred for life because of cruelty.  Though we cannot shower love on all, we should at least not be cruel to anyone.  Physical or vocal cruelty in childhood can have everlasting impact on the mind and character. 

Childhood is the formative period of a person’s character.  Let us all try to be kind to all and children in particular.