My first hand experience with Tuberculosis is when my 86-year-old grandmother was diagnosed with it. She was hospitalized for almost a month. We thought we almost lost her. Side effects of the anti-TB drugs were creating havoc on her already frail body. First three months were the testing time for all of us. But being the 'Iron lady' she is, she fought back and defeated the dreaded disease. She was under medication for almost a year. I know three more people personally being diagnosed and treated in the last two years, friends and family alike.
I can remember our lecturers' referring this disease as Kocks during practicals in college. There was a special wing for those patients.
Is it rampant these days or is it only me who is encountering this? The answer is, TBC, India says, in India today two deaths occur every three minutes from tuberculosis. Ambitabh Bacchan candidly said he suffered tuberculosis a few years back at the launch of BMC's TB awareness campaign.
Tuberculosis is a disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacteria usually attack lungs, but they can destruct other parts of body too. Tuberculosis spread through air when a person with tuberculosis sneezes, coughs, or talks. A person is more likely to get this if he/she has a weak immune system.
Symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis are weight loss, loss of appetite, weakness or fatigue, a cough that lasts more than three weeks, night sweats, fever, and coughing up blood or mucus. Blood tests, skin tests, x-rays, and other tests can confirm the presence of TB.
With proper care and consistent treatment, tuberculosis patients can be cured. It takes minimum 6 months to a year. Side effects of medications are unbearable, but only for a few days. The DOTS strategy (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course) is implemented under the Revised National Tuberculosis Programme in India is a comprehensive package for tuberculosis control. If you come across any of two or more above mentioned symptoms in your near and dear ones, please seek medical advice. I wish and hope we could eradicate this dreaded disease completely in the future.
PS: Is BCG vaccination effective is a nagging question in my mind right now. "It is not" said by an eminent doctor in our last trip.
Weekend Watch
1. Phantom. I had great expectation from this movie as being directed by Kabir Khan, still rolling in the success of blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The story is of a disgraced Indian soldier hunting down the 26/11 master minds. I couldn't contain myself from comparing it with "Baby" and "D day" almost of same concept, brilliant movies. I wish it could have been a better edge-of-seat thriller, but turned out be tad bit boring. As it is common for all Kabir's movies, locations are captured magnificently.
2. Bhaag Johnny, a thriller. When I started this one, I had no idea what the star cast was. This one is directed by Shivan Nair, starring Kunal Kempu, Zoa Morani, Mukul Dev. And surprisingly I liked it. The story is about choosing right path in life after leading two lives simultaneously within the time span of 72 hours. As it was picturized in Thailand, I could easily relate to a few places and the country side.
3. Bangistan, a comedy directed by Karan Anshuman. Going by name, I thought this one is an adult comedy and presence of Ritesh Deshmukh confirmed my doubt. How wrong I was. The story is about two protagonists who are extremely religious and being molded and pushed to terrorism by religious leaders. An apt movie in this time of intolerance, radicalism, and terrorism. A serious topic like religion and terrorism are told in a satirical manner. Krakow, Poland is depicted exquisitely in this. I enjoyed this one too. Sometimes it doesn't have to be a big budget or big star casting to be a good movie.
PS: Movie marathon was a perfect way to spend weekend, staying inside, doing nothing because of constant downpour and chilly weather of Bangalore.
Ten 10 things you don't know about me.
1. I must/should have a bar of chocolate or a chunk of snack immediately after lunch and dinner. I do have a rather exotic name for this habit, which I'l not divulge now.
2. I can't have food without reading a book or watching TV or some browsing on laptop.
3. I'm not a bad cook as I pretend to be because I just don't like to raise people's expectations, or relatively I don't want to entertain them.
4. I hate shopping. Yes. You heard it right. Going to shopping is a monumental task and I do it only when I'm left with no other choice.
5. I'm direction dyslexic. I can't fathom east/west/north/south even if I wrack my brains. A person who maneuvers road, street, and city is nothing short of a god to me.
6. I can't sit idly even for a second. No, please don't confuse that I'm a workaholic. I need to do something, reading, browsing, tidying up, whatever. I'm inactive only when I'm asleep.
7. I'm paranoid, big time. If somebody doesn't show up in said time, my mind thinks all the horrible things like accident, kidnap, murder, etc. Hubby is the victim most of the days. Gosh! It is not easy living with me.
8. I don't like 98% of people in the first meeting and 1% after knowing them. There is only 1% whom I genuinely like and love. Well, I hate to admit, but I might be a snobbish.
9. I can hold my drink pretty well. In fact, hubby and I call call ourselves opening batsmen when hanging out with a group of friends and we go strongly till the end.
10. I emotionally get attached to fictitious characters, be in a movie/novels/TV shows and elevate them to extended family. Nothing surprising after reading point 8 I must concede.
Books I'm reading
1. The Fourth Estate by Jeffrey Archer. Sidney Sheldon, John Grisham, and Jeffrey Archer makes a perfect Holy Trinity of Thriller/crime fiction for me. It is a chronological story of medial moguls, Richard Armstrong and Keith Townsend. It is very similar to Kane and Abel and Sons of Fortune by the author, albeit the empire is clearly zeroed down to media alone. Archer is a gifted story teller, but the pace is tad bit slow.
2. Tell No One by Harlan Coben. I had never read anything by Harland and a colleague recommended it. It is a suspense/thriller and definitely a page turner. It is a stand-alone novel. I've heard so much about Coben's Myron Bolitar series and I can't wait to get my hands on them.
3. The Promise by Danielle Steel. I simply love Danielle Steel. She can spin a tale and you get hooked right from the beginning. It is a love story, and as usual let you believe true love really does exist. It is perfect for the current Bangalore weather, curled up in a nice big blanket and a hot cuppa.
