PsychoBabbles.

Today we saw another Case of cerebral palsy. 6 yr old with development of 6 month old (DQ was 27%, cooing sounds, sits with support and can recognise his family).

The boy does not hear, there is no bladder bowel control, he doesnt chew and does not stand on his own. Does not make eye contact and probably also comes under autistic spectrum. EEG shows epileptogenic discharges and child has had seizures since age 2 has been on rx. It is a case of Global Developmental Delay that is spastic quadriparetic Cerebral Palsy but of unknown etiology (most commonly, the causes are Intrauterine infections or Inborn Error of Metabolism)

Sir broke the news that there can be no improvement. Only vocational and physiotherapy can be done i.e rehabilitation measures. It is sad how these people wish to see their child 'cured'. Financially they are not stable and the mother has to carry her son for quite a distance to take a bus from Honnalli to Shimoga everytime they consult the doctor and all these money making doctors have fed them that child is going to be normal so that they can keep visiting. They have travelled to Davangere and around Shimoga seeking better treatment for their son. Thats just sick. They've already spent 1lac on this because someone gave them hope. Mother was in tears.

So basically he was saying same child in UK would be in a better condition. Self operated wheelchair, much more aggresive speech therapy and vocational therapy would be given. Atleast in the rural set up it is hard to get these facilities. Maybe scenario is better in urban areas. It is tough to handle such situations.. you need to do what is ideal for the patient.. Be practical; but not give up hope of improvement.

I have truckloads of work to do and I am in a state of panic about it rather than tackling each of these tasks one at a time!

• I've got paediatric records to write.
• End posting next week for which I've got to study.
• The case presentation which I need to prepare for and present once in front of my college staff.
• I've got to prep for that debate that I signed up for (there is a need for more policies on adolescent health.. I've chosen to speak against it..)
•  I'm also part of the basic life support workshop and they have a frikkin pre test they want us to qualify for by studying, so yeahh.

Another highlight of this month is Sanjana in Shimoga! So the much awaited visit from the Hassan medico happened last week and we had a lovely time as always. After much running around, I was lucky enough to get a gaadi for the weekend. We went on a ride on the Gajanur Sakrebyluru route (which most visitors to Shimoga always marvel) and spent some time in the hostel. Good food and good company always wins hands down. Here's to many more such medicomeetups ahead!

When you are sad, when you think you cannot exterminate the sorrow that engulfs you, when you thinking you are falling deeper and deeper into the well of regret and recollections; remember, you are worth much more. Remember, you deserve the best, remember everything you ever believed in and hold on to it, even if you are clinging to thin ropes that threaten to snap, hold on with every inch of your self worth. Remember, there is potential to better yourself to unforeseen heights.

Immerse yourself in everything that might take you further, drown yourself in work, take a run in the sun or under the stars, break into a sweat until you taste the salt either way. Interact with positive energy and (try to) radiate positivity. Push yourself until you can no longer see where you started from. 

And for heaven's sake, listen to the right kind of music. You'll be fine. Trust me, you've got to be fine.

I recently watched:

1. American Beauty (what is that movie? -_-)
2. Lost In Translation (Some similarity that I can now relate to, eh? Haha. The equation between the lead actors is one that leaves you wanting more but something whole and complete as it is, too. I loved the last sound track (Just Like Honey by Jesus and the Mary Chain)
3. Rudy

Apart from this, I'm probably glad to have this happy hectic schedule and I'm thrilled about this upcoming trip. We're going to be 25 excited college kids! :)

Many of my old classmates (friends) are going overseas to pursue higher studies, some have been placed with generous pay packages and some are into new ventures. *slaps self for drawing comparisons.*

I probably sleeptalk. Or sleepytalk. Ugh. Lol.

More Than Equal

Little ones that come to Earth,
Maybe they are not all equal at birth;
While some grow up with beauty and intelligence,
Others grow on unconditional love and patience.

With eyes that smile but do not see,
Little do they realize everything they could be.
Perhaps a story they would like to say,
With voices that do not see the light of the day.

The same blood that runs in their veins,
Pumps a heart untouched and pure.
Forever they remain free of the stains,
For which the rest of mankind knows no cure.


Written as an ode to the 9 year old girl with Cerebral Palsy..

BayBoo Days and Movie Nights.

So today was my case presentation in Paediatric postings and seeing how I come up with a blogpost during the course of every clinical posting, here is a low down on today.

Basically I was assigned a neonatal case and we (Likitha, Ankitha and I) began by taking the history from the mother. The baby was born preterm at 36w 1 day and was in the NICU for about 18hr since delivery. After the routine history taking and details about the family and socio economic status, we proceeded to examine the baby.

A cuddly mass of pink, the baby was bundled in layers of clothing which we slowly uncovered until I placed my steth on the bare chest of the little one and there it was; the crystal clear beating of the heart at about 140bpm. I think it was the first time I heard the heart sounds of a newborn and I realized how I should do this more often. After finding the other vitals to be normal, we measured the head circumference, chest circumference, length and weight of the baby and based on the centiles it falls between, it was termed as an 'Appropriate for Gestational Age' baby.

After this we did the Head to Toe Examination of the baby and then we did elicited the neonatal reflexes. Some of them include the Glabellar Tap where a tap on the glabella with a finger causes the baby to blink, Rooting reflex where we touch either side of the mouth and the baby turns to the same side and opens its mouth (in anticipation of feed) and Morro's reflex (where a sudden drop in the level of the head by about 30°causes the baby to extend both its arms with flexion at the elbow and extension at the lower limbs.

The case presentation went without major glitches (thanks to L and A) and we found a 20 day old baby girl in the OPD to demonstrate the reflexes in front of Sir. Although the little one was crying, we managed to intermittently examine the baby.

I don't know if this is just me but Bayboos make me grin from ear to ear, fill me with happiness so much so that I can almost sense the oxytocin surge. The way they regard you intently as you hold them in your arms, the way they blindly grasp your finger in their soft little hand and their incessant cries in soft voices for the next feed are all the more reasons why you would want to play with these angels at all times.

Now that I'm done with the case presentation, the record dilemma awaits me and I hope I shall be done with them given that the Dilli trip is also coming up.

On an unrelated note, it is sometimes amazing to note the diversity of the world we live in. Although we pride ourselves to 'stand out'/'one in a billion', isn't it ironic that we seek out similarities when we fraternise?

We look at the intersection of the Venn Diagram and think, "Oh hey, that's something in common!". We, as humans, like patterns and familiarity and anything that we can resonate with becomes something we value. But what we forget is that the intersection is NOT the whole. Beyond the similarities lie a world of differences that make us so wonderfully unique. And these differences can sometimes make the intersections pale in comparison.

Here's  an update on my playlist which is indeed a long long overdue. Current favourites include:

• Good Life (From FF8)
• Bad Liar (Selena)
• Strip that down (Liam Payne)
• Thunder (Imagine Dragons)
• Ijazat (Arijit Singh)
• Roke Na Ruke Naina 
• Pal Bhar (Chahunga reprise)
• Baarish (Half Girlfriend)
• And I shall not put in Despacito like everyone else because thats probably one of the few decipherable words of the song :') 

Recent movies I've watched include:

• Beauty and the Beast (with Di)
• Bahubali 2 
• Hacksaw Ridge
• Psycho (a must watch thriller from the 1960s)
• Forrest Gump

That's all for now! Cya later :)