My Mummy Strongest

There is a person who in the last 2 months has had to really slog,

Hence i thought it was very worth mentioning her on my blog.

I never knew this lady was really so strong from inside,

Coz every setback for him in hospital she took in her stride.

She lived her entire life under his shadow,

But throughout his suffering she did not mellow.

Every single day she was there with him in hospital,

And do believe me that in itself is very brutal.

With every passing day his health condition started looking very grim,

But still she managed to never break down a single day in front of him.

It was always expected that his passing away would bring out all the tears she had so long controlled,

And despite efforts by one and all there was no better person from whom she would get consoled.

I know she will miss his presence every single day of her life,

And that is something one can't help as she was his wife.

Hopefully with time she will come in terms with his loss,

Coz that is something in words we won't be able to put across.

Every moment that we fell down its you we used to clutch,

For everything you have been to us mom, thank you very much.

I know that words don't express everything one feels. However i think i did manage to express some things she had been through in the last 2 months.

What's Cooking?

I always wanted to learn cooking and i have tried out small things every now and then. Going to China and watching my colleague George cook so easily, motivated me to learn cooking. Hence 2day i decided to cook a complete meal for myself as i was alone at home. So i decided to cook chicken masala, rice, and tomato curry. I had the recipe for chicken masala so i went ahead accumulating the ingredients for the same.

Chicken Masala (Time: 1:30 minutes)

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken pieces, 500 gm
Chilli Powder, 1 tea spoon
Ginger-Garlic paste, 2 tea spoon
Oil, 4 table spoon
Salt, 1 table spoon
Onion, 2 medium sized
Tomato, 2 medium sized
Potato, 1 medium sized
Green Chillies, 3
Coriander leaves, according to requirement
Water, according to requirement
Chicken Masala, 3 tea spoon

Preparation:
Marinate 500 gm of chicken pieces with 1 tea spoon of chilli powder, 1 tea spoon of ginger-garlic paste, & salt. Keep this as it is for 1 hour. Fry 2 chopped onions in 4 table spoon oil. Add 3 chopped green chillies. 1 tea spoon ginger-garlic paste, & 3 tea spoon of chicken masala. Fry this stuff for 2 minutes. Add marinated chicken, 2 chopped tomatoes, water, chopped potato, and coriander leaves. Cook for 30 minutes. Ready to be served.

Tomato Curry (Time: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
Tomato Puree, 2 table spoon
Onion, 1 medium sized
Coriander leaves, according to requirement
Water, 200ml

Preparation:
Heat 200 ml water for about 5 minutes. Add 2 table spoon of Tomato puree and stir it in the heating water. Add chopped onion pieces and coriander leaves to this mixture. Boil this mixture for about 10 minutes. Ready to be served.

Cooked Rice (Time: 25-30 minutes)

Ingredients:
Rice, 300 gm (according to requirement)
Water, 500 ml
Salt, 1 tea spoon ( Change according to rice quantity)

Preparation:
Heat water for about 10 minutes in a utensil. Wash rice 3-4 times to clean it properly. Add rice to this boiling water, and add 1 tea spoon of salt. Stir occasionally. Heat this mixture till rice becomes sufficiently soft. Turn off the gas, and drain the water from the utensil. Keep this drained rice for about 15 minutes. Ready to be served.

Hoping that the food has tasted good enough so that i can continue my attempts at cooking.

TRIBUTE

The last 2 months or so have really been bad,
As its been a very painful time for my loving dad,

He looked hale and hearty just a few months back,
But all his sickness and suffering just took us aback.

Never ever thought my dad would have to endure such pain,
But in the end it seemed he had to go through this without any gain.

He struggled all his life without any personal gain,
However his beliefs and ideas will definitely not go in vain.

When people are alive and healthy we take their presence for granted,
Its only when they pass away we wish if he/she would not have departed.

There were so many things i wanted to learn from him,
However by his physical absence this possibility looks grim.

I know it is no good pondering over what brought him death,
Hence am looking forward to doing things that would have made him happy before his last breath.

Earlier when dad was healthy and fine i had written an article on him. Click Dad to check that post.

DAD (18.02.1941 - 31.10.2006)

I had started writing this article as I sat with dad during his critical period in the ICCU of Nanavati Hospital. For those who don’t know, my dad had been diagnosed with multiple complications after being admitted to hospital. This was dads 45th day in hospital.

My dad was very fine till about the first week of September. However after I left for Pune, my dad had got himself admitted to Asha Parekh hospital for some tests after he had complained of chest pain. During his 6 day stay in this hospital he was diagnosed with chronic renal failure. In simpler terms it meant 90-95% failure of the kidneys. The only solution for this was performing an operation for setting up a fistula in the forearm by which he would need to undergo dialysis for his entire life by coming to hospital 2 days in a week. The doctors had updated that the fistula was not required at the moment and so they discharged him after specifying some medicines.

During the period of 4 days after being discharged from hospital, my dad developed rashes on his entire body. He complained of chest pain again and had vomiting and so the local doctor was called home a couple of times. On the following Sunday afternoon he complained of severe chest pain and hence we moved him to Holy Spirit Hospital. The doctors after performing some initial tests confirmed that he had some complications in his heart and immediately admitted him to the ICU. During this period his Fistula operation was done, however the chest pain increased once dialysis had started. As Holy Spirit Hospital did not have a Cardio Unit he was moved to Nanavati Hospital. My dad had been in Holy Spirit for about 12 days.

After being admitted in the ICCU of Nanavati Hospital, the doctors performed an Angiography operation which is needed to check if there are any complications in the heart. This operation confirmed that my dad had 3 blocks in his heart which was the cause of chest pain. So the doctors suggested a Bypass Surgery which would get rid of these blocks and we agreed for the same. The 72 critical hours after the operation passed peacefully, however because of his kidney problems some complications arose. He developed swelling around his stomach and the doctors passed this off as nothing serious. They treated this with some medicines; however my dad was wreathing with pain for more than a week. The doctors said that because of his multiple problems of Diabetes, Blood pressure, Bypass Surgery and Kidney problems some complications may have taken place. During his 23 stay here in Nanavati Hospital he was admitted in ICCU for about 75% of the time.

We had thought that after having come out of that 72 critical hours after Bypass he would recover. However God had something else planned for him. Till the 40th day we had hopes that he would be discharged and we could take it home. However the problems intensified during his last 5 days and he even did not have the strength to speak. The doctors had left hope on the 44th day and seeing the pain and agony he had gone through during these days, even I prayed that to god to give him death. My dad always wanted a peaceful death; however god had some other plans. On the 44th day in hospital he was put on ventilator because of his breathing problems. Me and my cousin sister stayed that night in hospital.

His Blood Pressure had started dropping throughout the night despite of strong medications from the nurse to prevent this. At about 4:40 A.M on October 31st the screen which indicates the Oxygen showed zero, and a red line came on screen with a sound and my dad just banged his head on the left side and he passed away. This was the first time I had seen someone dying and believe me it was not a good feeling. The nurses and doctor ran into the ICCU at the moment but it was a bit late. They tried their best to bring him back to life, however it was not possible.

The doctor then broke the news to me and I informed my brother and sister firstly. I then called my cousins and my Dads elder brother and wife went home and broke the news to mom. It was a very hard time for the entire family. After being in hospital for so many days everyone expected him to get well so that we could bring him home. My Mom had stood like a rock with him during the entire 45 days. She did not break for a single moment until the 44th day. It was expected that she would show all her emotions on his death and she cried her heart out.

One thing I will regret is that we could not bring dad back home alive. My dad was always telling in hospital to take him back home. When we told him we would take him home once he recovers, he always said I know that you people will take me straight to the Cemetery and no where else and that proved the case. The last 45 days were physically, mentally, and financially exhausting for all in the family. However my brother left no stone unturned in his recovery. It was only possible due to my brothers help that dad managed to get all this treatment.

We will miss dad’s physical presence every day of our lives. However his thoughts and beliefs will definitely guide and strengthen us throughout our lives.