He went walking across the hall, asking them to be seated, in a voice rambunctious
Teacher he’d been, at a high school, listened to him forthwith, his teenage students
He’d fill the board with illustrative diagrams, until every single student was familiar
With the concepts in Science, resolute in his mind, each kid would be a scientist or a doctor
His children were still young, we’d seen him drive them to the school daily
He’d also once in a while mention that he’d play tennis and soccer with them frequently
Occasionally his clothes though would smell of cigarette smoke
When discussing ‘pre-med’ subjects, he’d advice though, to stay away from drugs, alcohol and such addictions which are nothing but havoc
In his forties he was & would quite often say he lost his father prematurely to heart disease
Dolorous he’d turn, in his eyes was to undo certain things that could’ve prevented his demise
Then one day at the school were sirens from the ambulance
To rush him to the nearest hospital, as he dropped down unconscious
The students said he started off with slurred speech, his face drooped, he’d developed blurry vision
His marker fell off, arm dangled down, couldn’t draw anymore, leg giving out, he fell down
The kids called 911, some calling for help hurried out the door
some holding him, their dear teacher as now lay on the floor
Helpless, feeble, weak, paralyzed.. an acute stroke he had, no hemorrhage on the scans seen
In a few minutes, he was in an angio-suite, a team of techs, nurses, wearing masks and gloves, came the stroke neurosurgeon
He could only look at them, but mute, bedbound, disabled.. a victim of cerbrovascular accident or destiny’s cruel joke
He probably couldn’t ambulate on his own ever, he might even need to get a feedingtube in his stomach
Numbed was his groin, a catheter put in
Through his arteries, all the way into the brain
Where stuck inside blocking the bloodflow was a clot, though teeny-tiny
But big enough to cause death of the portion of the brain, lifelong morbidity or even mortality
Pulled the clot out the doctor scrupulously
Checking the teacher’s sensory and motor strength simultaneously
With full recovery of his speech and swallowing, resolved too was the paralysis
He just didn’t go back to teaching, but preaching about lifestyle changes, as unlike genes, in our hands are a few modifiable risks
And being a stroke survivor, he meant to spread awareness
That permanent handicap wasn’t the only way out, unlike the olden days
That ‘time’ was the key and if a suitable candidate, to get immediate intervention
For not just staying alive, but to be able to live life must be, just as him, he learnt was also the healer’s prime intention!
NotesOfADrMom 