One mis(step) towards Cleanliness

ONE (MIS)STEP TOWARDS CLEANLINESS

??????????In Shimoga, we have home collection of garbage, for which a truck is deputed under Swach Bharath Mission. The garbage collection truck promptly arrives on alternate mornings and a young sanitation worker picks the garbage bag from each house. People usually do not keep the garbage bag outside till the truck comes, for the fear of stray dogs tampering the garbage and making a mess. The arrival of the garbage truck is heralded by music from loudspeaker. They play remixed kannada songs aimed at spreading awareness about importance of sanitation workers, need for segregation of wastes and keeping the surroundings clean. When people hear the music they race out of the house, keep the garbage bag outside and feel content when the garbage is finally collected.

?????????My patient, 75 year old retired civil engineer was taking treatment for a cancer of lymph nodes called ‘lymphoma’. Even a mini-dose of chemotherapy was taking a toll on his health. He was getting admitted every now and then with fatigue or fever. He was made worse by his newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease and was having trouble walking and his chores.

?????????One morning he heard the music of garbage truck and called out for someone to keep the garbage bag outside. His son was bathing and daughter-in-law in kitchen. His wife bedridden with stroke would not budge. Panicking that the garbage disposal would be missed, the old man took matters into his own hands. He got up from his chair and hurried towards the door stooping forward in short shuffling steps. He missed a step and fell over. Hearing the ‘thud’, his daughter- in- law came running and helped him gather himself.

?????????He was brought to me later that noon. I did an X- ray and found a fractured collar bone. Oh, so much for cleanliness! Our honorable?Prime minister Sri Narendra Modi said, “Cleaning up the country cannot be the sole responsibility of sanitation workers. Do citizens have no role in this?” My patient took this rather seriously. I feel everyone has to learn from this old man. Thankfully what he needed was only a shoulder sling and he recovered after a month. In the due course of time, his tumor also shrank and he was eventually cancer free.

???????Later I learned from his family that when the incident happened, the garbage truck was not even there in their street that morning. My patient had mistaken that the garbage truck arrived. Sometimes we hear the music from a nearby street when the truck would not be expected to come to our street that particular day. Age related decrease in hearing, Parkinson’s disease and exhaustion due to chemotherapy had tricked my patient! His attitude towards cleanliness is admirable though.