Last year in the month of November, one of my young relatives met with an accident. He is in the last year of his engineering course. Just before his final exams were to begin this accident took place. He was returning home from college, with his friends on bikes.
Two were riding before him, and one was following him.
No one was able to recall, what exactly happened. This boy skidded on coarse dusty gravel on the road and fell down, with the bike on his left.
As the bike fell down he managed to shift on his right side, and for maintaining balance sat on the road. As he was about to get up, a car which right behind him slammed on the brakes, but not before the bumper guard gently tapped his ribs. Three of his left side ribs were fractured. The friend who was following him, put him in an auto, and admitted him in the nearest private hospital.
His friends call his parents, who rushed to the hospital. I joined a few hours later. The X -rays, and scan reports showed that no other part of the body was damaged, except the ribs.
The boy was admitted into the ICU and the doctors inserted a tube in his left chest to drain out the fluids to facilitate breathing.
After 2 days he was shifted to a private room.
He was in the hospital for 14 days and then discharged. The bill was around 1.5 lakhs Rupees, which was settled by the medical insurance.
During these 14 days the schedule of all the close relatives, went for a toss. I stayed during the nights in the hospital, and my wife stayed with the boy’s mother [who was her younger sister], in their house.
His parents, uncle, aunties, grand-parents, took turns in taking care of him.
He then was in bed rest for almost 2 months before he could venture out.
While the incident once again reiterated the importance of relations, the coming togetherness, the co-operation, the affection and love, it also disclosed the price of carelessness.
The tensions and worry of the parents, their helplessness in times of stress, the daily routine that was displaced by chaos was needless, and could have been steered clear of.
One moment of sloppiness, put so many people into unwanted strain.
The boy had could not attend his exams. He has lost a valuable 6 months in finishing his studies. He could not lie down on his left side for 2 months, and had to lie flat on his back. The recovery was slow and not comfortable. Today he is back to normal, but only after 4 months of unnecessary suffering.
When a relative meets with an accident, the entire life routine, finances, and emotions all are thrown into uncertainty and disarray.
All of which can be avoided with a small sense of responsibility and restrain.
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