Damage Vs. Deterioration

I had a procedure today, a slight one done here at Green Park Hospital on the 3rd floor (the green floor). This floor is unique in that it holds a small Operation Theatre as well as a Labor Room; I, of course, veered right towards the Operation Theatre. There I met OP and his gang, along with Dr. Ashish.

The injection today was stuck strategically at the base of my spine so that I could be graciously placed quasi-upside down to let the cells flow in the direction of my brain. This reverse motion is not much unlike the way our own bodies respond to stimuli. The nervous system has a sort of dual function in that an external point will be felt by the sensory nerves at the extremities and be sent from the accessory nerves to the spinal cord and brain. From there, your brain processes that feeling and reacts by sending a reply of electricity (through the motor nerves) downward to that same location to create the appropriate response.

After it was all over, I was placed in room 305 to rest for 4 hours until I could turn to one side and eventually sit up. This room was small, square, and lacked any translucency to the outside world. Because of this, the room was pitch black without the lights on... which turned into a welcomed discovery to both Graham and myself.

Although I am beginning to love my orange room here on the 1st floor, keeping the windows exposed at all times so that I am always aware of the happenings there on Green Park Extension, it can be a little loud and eternally lit up with business signs and car lights. Therefore, making darkness simply a thing of the past.

With all of that said, Graham and I were both out as the lights as soon as we had this such realization.

Throughout all of this time in deep sleep, I also seemed to produce a fair amount of deep thought as well. One thing that has stuck out in my mind a whole lot this trip so far has been the differences in the patients.

It is fairly obvious that people come from all over the world seeking virtually the same thing out of Dr. Shroff-- to get better. But getting better is something entirely different for each of us. I have figured that there are two very distinct problems that people suffer from that end up here: those with physical damage and those with physical deterioration. To some this may sound like one in the same, but alas, they are quite different indeed.

The patient (like me) that ails from damage engulfs these stem cells as a way to attempt to permanently repair attributes in their bodies that cannot be repaired on their own. Any improvement that this patient regains, will hold with them for as long as they hold on to this world. This is very promising, because if you do the math, this patient has much calculation for improvement.

On the other hand, the patient that suffers from deterioration, like the Lyme Disease patients and the patients with MS and ALS will still see improvement, and it seems like sometimes at a much more rapid pace. However, the truth about a disease or malfunction due to deterioration is that the body will continue to breakdown, regardless of the influx of those little cells. So patients in this category must resort to viewing their bodies like vehicles that will only rely on sufficient amounts of gasoline to continue to thrive. These patients' bodies will continue to falter and the cells will only improve their current status.

In my experience here, I have come to know well many such patients and commend them for such courage, strength, and grace of being. Each of these beautiful people could not be more deserving of a life, poolside, with little umbrella drinks and oiled massages. But for some reason, somewhere along the line, life handed them a tsunami that soiled their surroundings and flattened their insides. How is this fair? How is any of it tolerable?

All that I can say is that much respect and heart go out to those who deal with things far beyond my stretch of knowledge, far beyond what is right and just, and far beyond the tepid woes of modern man.