Surgical OPD
A frantic Google search on phone
To figure what the surgeon hid
Beneath his charming facade
A confounding jargon
Of procedures and tests
He knew me inside out
Strange! Wasn't it my body?
The first was an emergency
Critical...life and death situation
Three months later
The second incision
I asked him how long the cut was
He chuckled, "That should be your least concern right now?"
"Remember! It's my body, my guts, my feelings...you are talking of"
But I kept quiet
Even a sheepish smile I managed
Did he see through me?
After the third
He said, "Go back to routine. Lead a normal life."
What so normal?
New normal... You've scarred me right?
"The wounds have healed...no puss...no bleeding... "
"It's hard...no sensation when I touch it..."
"Apply coconut oil...give it six months...the suppleness will be back..."
Half a year to feel my own self
I laugh
My long lost friend apologized, "Am sorry! I did not know. I should have checked on you more often..."
"Never mind," I say forgivingly.
"I have survived..."
Today's Prompt : Scar
Shared with Poets And Storytellers United
Indeed, scars are the marks of our survival. We should wear them with pride!
ReplyDeleteTrue and well said
DeleteOh what a difficult experience but I am glad that you can write about your scars and you survived
ReplyDeleteYes. It was a difficult situation but writing about it I realise is catharctic.
ReplyDeleteI do sympathise with you and I think I know what you are talking about. I was just lucky I had an empathetic skilled surgeon ...no mastectomy although it could have easily been the case. Take care and thank you for your poems.
ReplyDeleteMy surgeon was also very sympathetic but he saw things from a medical perspective and I from an emotional standpoint.
ReplyDeleteJust like it is, even the numbness. I've had total kneecaps replacement surgeries by two different doctors, the first was the better. (I remembered this after you read my poem, have a picture of them now.) The second cuts were made by a robot and are the straighter.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid of robotics. Hope you are doing well now. Many more verses to you.
ReplyDeleteSurvival is the only viable option.
ReplyDeleteYes. It's the key to evolving as well.
ReplyDeleteI think there's some power in letting go and putting your life in someone else's hands. Of course, I've never been in a life and death situation though!
ReplyDeleteYes. That's a thought provoking perspective. Surrendering to a surgeon's expertise. Ar that time I didn't think that way but I guess that's what I did. Thanks for your views.
DeleteThat's what my knee surgeon told me. Year since knee joint replacement in July. It's still numb. Nice write, best wishes.
ReplyDeleteEven my sister got total knee replacement done. She too suffers from heaviness and numbness. But she says regular exercises are the only option and cure.
DeleteI wish you complete recovery of function and freedom from pain, with which, a little surface scar hardly matters!
ReplyDeleteYes a little surface scar does not matter. You are right ๐.
DeleteStay free of pain and scars, but keep survival going.
ReplyDeleteA touching critique of the clinical detachment often found in medical practice, while also celebrating the quiet courage of survival. Wish you the best of health.
ReplyDelete