An Appointment with Dr Pande

We only realize how delicate and vulnerable human beings are once we get sick. Yes, my knee pain took me to Dr. Chakra Raj Pande. I was in fact unwilling to check up with this young and versatile doc, but somehow I was compelled to.

I drove to Chabahil with a pang in my knee in today's foggy and hazy morning. I had to wait for Dr. Pande almost half an hour. Before that Dr. Bhaskar, after knowing that I was the same person who wrote the story for Nepal Magazine, approached me. I told him that I was there not for a story but as a patient. He scrutinized my limb. He asked numerous queries to which I replied honestly. I was a lone patient in the orthopedic section of Medicure Hospital. It was hard to pass the time. Then, I conceived the idea of writing this blog. A jovial Dr. Pande arrived excusing himself for being late because of traffic jam. We talked on current political stalemate, the recent Maoist attack in the Kathmandu Valley. Then, he asked me to lie down and started checking my knee. He told me some minor filament in my knee might have disjointed. He told me it can be operated easily. Alternatively, he suggested me to do few exercises that can be helpful. He asked me: "Or you decide what to do." I just nodded.

Then, he called a lady named Bibhisa BC (physiologist) and introduced me to her. He said: "Don't charge him, he's our great friend." I blushed in his compliment.
She took me to another room and started training me. She put a pillow under my feet and asked me to do this and that. I followed her instructions like an obedient pupil. In between, I cracked a joke or two. How can I forget that ladies look for sense of humor in men? Thank you Bibhisa, thank you doc Pande.