Open Your Eyes!

Open your eyes!

Me: Hi Susanna! Is Mrs. Whitney here?

Susanna: No Doc! She is not here yet.

Me: Ok, Please let me know when she arrives.

I came to the call room. Somebody knocked at the door.

A colleague: This is my call room. I moved the table and chair from another room to this room. It’s not nice.

Me: Hey, I wasn’t aware of that. If it means that much to you, you can have it. All yours.

I vacated the room and went back to the patient floors.

Phone rings! Unit clerk speaks: One patient just arrived on the floor. Is that the one you are looking for?

Yes! That was my patient. Mrs. Whitney. A soberly dressed woman in her middle age, wearing sunglasses, with a serene expression on her face.

Me: Hi Mrs. Whitney, How are you doing? What brought you in today?

Mrs. Whitney: I have been having this weird chest pain for the past week which is annoying.

Mrs. Whitney and I talked for some time to get more details about her problems. I needed to review her home medications. She opened her bag nicely and took out all the medications from the bag without difficulty, handing me the medications one by one. Then she politely asked me to put them back in her bag which she left open for me. She kept her sunglasses on all the time while attempting to look at me. I put all her medications in her bag once I was done looking at them. Then she closed her bag and turned her face to the front.

Me: I like your sunglasses. How are your eyes?

I saw a little tear trickling down her cheek which she tried to hide and wipe away quickly as if something went in her eye.

Mrs. Whitney: I am blind.

There was a pause.

Mrs. Whitney: 5 years ago, I went for photocoagulation for some eye complications from diabetes. There was another complication and I lost my 1 eye. My other eye still perceives some light. In the past, I could see everything.

Me: Are you able to manage your tasks. How do you take your medications? Is there someone to help you at home?

Mrs. Whitney: Yes, I have my kids and my spouse. They help me. They put the medicines for me with big inscriptions. I am able to recognize them by feeling them and perceiving different cloud patterns using my better eye.

Me: Mrs. Whitney. You are a very fine person and a strong woman. I am very happy to see how you carry yourself and be as independent as you can. I will help you out with your other problems and will keep you posted once your results are back.

Mrs. Whitney: Thank you!

As I walked out of the door, I closed my eyes for a few seconds. I was scared to imagine how it would feel if the eyes would shut down permanently. I remembered doing this in the past when my mom was legally blind before she got her cataract surgery. She still painted beautifully with her mind’s eyes. Thank God! My mom sees good now. Touchwood! I opened my eyes, went back to my desk, and placed orders for Mrs. Whitney.
The thought kept bothering me.

I don’t know how Mrs. Whitney bravely accepted her fate. May she get the best in her future?
Life can change so much over time. This woman who could see in the past, can not see anymore. Which means she cannot do so many things now. Her life would be filled with darkness. She would not be able to enjoy light, nature, colors, people, or things mundane or spiritual! She would not be able to drive around independently.
Life has so many uncertainties. At one moment you can be at the peak of the mountain, the other moment you can fall off the hill.

One should do one’s best to make use of every moment in living one’s life to the fullest. We must indulge in doing meaningful things and help others. There is no room for hostility, enmity, quarrels, egoism, competition, or power play when there are so many peaceful, beautiful, and meaningful things to do and enjoy.

Everyone is unique and everyone is a winner in one way or the other. The real power is not in being bossy to others but in controlling one’s own mind and ability to let one’s inner angel win over one’s inner devil. The real victory is to rise in one’s own eyes through good deeds and leave a good mark on someone else’s heart. The real possession is not the possession of wealth or material but is of inner peace…’ Inner peace’ which brings eternal joy, which is beyond any kind of power or praise.

As I continue with my journey in pursuit of inner peace and happiness, I also wish everyone else, success in attaining real power through inner peace and joy.
Open your eyes! Enjoy your 5 senses, while you have them… coz’ you never know! Bon Voyage!

-Jaya Sonkar MD MPH

Disclaimer: The names of the patient and the facts have been modified to put it in the form of a story. Any resemblance of any other character in the story to anyone living or dead is coincidental.
Thanks for reading!

©All rights reserved. Jaya Sonkar 2017