Cricket, Foggy Eyes and Swollen Leg!

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Cricket, Foggy Eyes and Swollen Leg!

Oct 31 2007 | Views 295 |

It all started 3 days ago.

My parents, both in their (early to late) seventies, have become avid Internet users in recent months.

I got a call on Skype via video tele-conferencing from my Dad and Mom on Friday. My father complained of a swollen leg due to sudden leg cramps. He had been advised by his doctor not to walk for a few days, not something that my father wanted to hear. He is not an expert PC user by any means, but he is a highly experienced city road-trekker. At his age, he knows exactly how to navigate those crowded streets with potholes, boulders and a few cows thrown in his way.

So, he wasn’t a happy man.

Father complained that the swelling caused excruciating pain. My mother tried to demonstrate exactly what he meant by lifting his leg up to the little video camera fixed on top of their monitor (4 feet from the ground!). After some huffing, puffing and tugging sounds from the other end of the world, a brown blurry long leg came up on my monitor’s screen! Unfortunately, they held it too close to that low resolution camera and I just could not get a good look at the actual swelling. The pixilated picture was even scarier.

So I took their word for it. Our usual conversation started with me advising him to take an auto henceforth and dad arguing that auto drivers were arrogant, therefore did not deserve a penny from him. Anyway, the conversation ended as usual.

Yesterday night, my regular phone rang and I was shocked to hear my mother actually weeping! In between sobs, she said that her eyes had suddenly become foggy and she feared it may be due to retinopathy, a serious eye condition that diabetics dread. She complained that both eyes were afflicted this time and she feared becoming blind. She was unable to watch TV or anything from a distance of 4 feet. We talked about everything she had eaten and all the medicines she had consumed. Was there a drug interaction or maybe her diet lacked essential vitamins, we conjectured a lot. She even mentioned diarrhea in this midst. She was going to see her doctors that day. So we ended the conversation with an assurance from me that I was ready to travel to India if needed for assisting them. Son is 15, husband is…..well you know, both are old enough to manage on their own.

So, after the phone call ended, I called for an emergency family conference. I was sad about my parents’ sudden health issues. I knew this day would come, sooner or later. My husband gave his full support and assured to take care of business, if I needed to travel immediately.

Re: Cooking in America all alone for himself and hungry teenager, he appeared rather nonchalant. Having memorized a long list of local restaurants, he starting regurgitating them- Taco Bell, India Direct, Apna Bazaar (for vadas), Pizza Hut, and Subway, he ended. Good, food is taken care of!

Next, it was my son’s turn. I lectured him about parents, old age, diseases, immobility, blindness, swollen legs, diabetes, cataract, retinopathy and a myriad of other earthly conundrums. His eyes turned misty. He raised his left hand (he’s a lefty) with a pencil stuck between fingers and took an oath that he too would take care of teen business like washing hands before eating, keeping his room and the cranny behind his ears clean, of doing his homework without peeking into Wikipedia, driving car only in daddy’s presence, feeding the cat, cleaning his poop (kitty’s I mean) and not playing his B-flat clarinet after 10:45 PM.

Feeling satisfied with our war-plans, I started making a mental plan for traveling to India in such short notice. I did not sleep well yesterday night. Elderly parents all alone in a mega city, struggling daily, one partly unsighted, other limping around with swollen leg, cursing every auto driver in sight…..all this was absolutely tragic. I couldn’t wait till morning. I got up early and called my mother again to inquire about test results.

My father picked up the phone. I was obviously worried and eager to find out about his leg.

“How is your leg now?” I asked.

“Here, talk to your mother, will ya? I am a little busy here. There is a very important match going on. My leg is fine, I am fine, can’t miss the game. Bye!” He sounded energetic, surprisingly!

Mother came to the phone.

“Whaa hapunned?” I asked.

“Diarrhea has been taken care of, but fogginess in eyesight is still there. Now will you look at that ball? Gosh those Indian boys look so young! Anyway, good news, the doctor dismissed fears of retinopathy and hemorrhage. I will go for follow-up tests tomorrow…….Wait, wait!! We won!!” She yelled.

“Huh? What young boys? Who won?”

“We, we!”

“India? Great! So tell me more about Diarrhea…what caused it?”

I was not going to be side-tracked by a game. I had worked on my game plan to save the elderly, all night long!

“Oh diarrhea? One of those stupid medicines caused it! Did you know that Pakistan team was facing a whole team of youngsters this time? We beat them all in ….how many overs….?”

Excited talk continued between mom and dad. Noise from TV and sound of fire-crackers could be heard from the street downstairs along with clapping and cheering from two 70 plus “ailing” parents who forgot all about their problems for a few minutes.

“Hello?” I stood there, while preparing breakfast in Portland. Husband was looking at me, trying to study my facial expressions to interpret parents’ health. Husbands are generally not endowed with skills such as face-reading or interpreting wife’s hand signals.

“Yeah,” my dad picked up the phone this time in a hurry. I felt he was a bit fast for someone limping. “Look at all those cheering Indians in South Africa!” He was giddy by now.

“I can’t see, but I shall take your word for now, I will watch Google video later. So, are you still experiencing any pain in your leg?” I felt stupid asking that question.

“Listen Ranjini dear, can we call you tomorrow? Say Hi to hubby and grandson. The award ceremony is going to begin in a few seconds. We cannot miss it. Thanks, bye!”

The phone went dead!

Wow, the power of a cricket match between India and Pakistan was amazing! It just cured all our family’s problems in one go!

No more quickie travel plans, mom’s diarrhea, worries about partial eyesight, dad’s swollen leg cramps, husband’s shoddy cooking, teenager’s lonely struggle without mommy, hungry (and dirty) kitty and other undiscovered woes.

My mother had developed temporary Twenty20 vision!

Jai Hind from America!

Copyright © 2007 Ranjini Sharma All Rights Reserved

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