How dubious can life be? Well you may enumerate to me a 100 incidents where people of young age, pretty healthy and fit succumb to some common incidents that are avoidable or those that occur due to someone's fault. But what if I say I've seen a young, fit person in his mid 20s battling for a rare disease that has affected only a few people - a number so less that you can count them on the finger tips of just one hand. Yes, you read it correct. My friend, my college roommate was the fifth one in the world (according to the doctor) to get this rare disease - "sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP)". You may search it on the internet to find there's nothing grave about this disease and that my claim of my friend being the fifth one is factually baseless. But what I want to say is that his problem doesn't end but it starts here.
As a result of this SEP, a part of his intestine was affected by gangrene. Doesn't sound grave enough?? Remember Nirbhaya's case? Her intestine got damaged because it became gangrenous after it was contaminated due to the metal rod inserted in her intestine. Got some chills now? Though Nirbhaya's was the worst that can happen to a person. But the condition of my friend is no better because its not just SEP but gangrenous SEP as we may call it.
As a result of this SEP, a part of his intestine was affected by gangrene. Doesn't sound grave enough?? Remember Nirbhaya's case? Her intestine got damaged because it became gangrenous after it was contaminated due to the metal rod inserted in her intestine. Got some chills now? Though Nirbhaya's was the worst that can happen to a person. But the condition of my friend is no better because its not just SEP but gangrenous SEP as we may call it.
What I want to point out here is that how can life be so cruel, so harsh, so rustic to a person so jolly? Just a fortnight ago, I had a chat with him and he was all fine. As usual, we talked about our UPSC preparation, I inquired about the status of work in his office and everything was fine until suddenly he stopped replying to my calls and messages only to know that he has been admitted to a hospital in Bangalore and was in a serious condition after he reported ache in his abdomen. As of now (23 july 2017) he has undergone 3 surgeries within 10 days, with the third one being the most critical - open stomach surgery" and the only one who can save him now is, you know who, GOD!!!
We are so critical about our life, always complaining, always crying. To achieve what we crave for we leave issues like health, family etc on the backseat. To achieve what? - Satisfaction. We tend to remain unhappy with what we have, with what we have achieved and there's always a craving in the heart to get a little more. But do we ever ponder, do we ever think that there's more to life than just achievements, there's more to life than what we want to become.
True, the fault is not ours. The system in which we grow up moulds us to be like that. In a bid to grow "better than the others" what we miss is the moment we live in, the people we spend time with, the memories that would remain to be cherished for a life time. What do we do then? We compete to be "good" then to be "better" and then become the "best". We may become achievers, people will remember us but that remembrance will be temporary, short lived and the next time some other person achieves the same fete, our name will be a forgotten one. Deep down under there will remain a soul so hollow that, time and again it will pinch us for not living the moment.
Thankfully, I had tried to live my college days to the fullest and so I had spent some quality time with my friend the same as he did. His bond with some of the other college mates is so strong that they are spending days and nights putting in relentless efforts with the only hope that their efforts will make a huge difference - and I believe it will. Writing this post teary eyed, I have nothing to say except that there's much more to life than wasting it criticizing people, things around us etc. Experiences teach us much more than books or internet can. And with this incident i've learnt that the only mantra to live a life to the fullest is to be happy, to do better but not to crave for it so much so that you forget enjoying the good moments that make memories for a life time because there are many means to achieve an end. What matters is the means that you choose.
Ending this post with a hope that tomorrow would be better than today for my friend, for me, for you and for everyone. And yes a small request - Please pray for him. Why? Because when medical science fails, prayers heal. Amen.
STAY HAPPY! STAY BLESSED!
