A mother's curse
Professor B. K. was a diligent Hindu scientist at one of the medical colleges in Boston. He came to the United States at the age of thirty-five and suffered an acute myocardial infarction six months later. When he was in the coronary ward of the hospital, we were all trying to determine if he had a heart attack: there was too much demand for places in the coronary ward to keep a healthy person there in vain. In addition, it happened at the end of May, and the medical staff involved in receiving patients had been working very hard for almost a year.
I looked at the patient's medical record and was surprised that he ended up in the hospital, since tingling in the shoulders and chest is not a symptom of a heart ailment and, of course, does not indicate the presence of angina pectoris. This is clear to everyone. But my surprise disappeared when I saw Professor K.: it is rare to meet a person so deeply gripped by anxiety. He looked like he was ready to jump out of his own skin. Undoubtedly, his panic affected the young staff of the hospital, and the doctors decided that a heart attack was coming.
After a few questions, it became clear to me that his symptoms were not related to the heart. I asked if he was sleeping well. He said he sleeps intermittently after a successful coronary artery bypass surgery ten months ago. At night, if he can't sleep, he leaves the bedroom and watches TV until he finally falls asleep from exhaustion at two or three in the morning. He gets up at 6:30 a.m. and takes the kids to school. Sometimes at night he tosses restlessly in bed and does not sleep at all. After the operation, he stopped having intimate relations with his wife. Without sleep, he barely exists during the day. His wife is distraught and doesn't know who to turn to for help.
I instructed him sternly and confidently, as if I were a parent and he was a scared child: "You don't have angina pectoris. There is no slow or sudden death waiting for you. If you want to punish yourself for something, then don't interrupt your sleep. Come up with something else." He looked surprised, as if I had read his mind, and said, "Yes, Doctor, I believe you." I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out why, after the successful bypass surgery, he started having such a severe sleep disorder.
A few months later, I saw Professor K. again in the hospital. This time, he was admitted not with a cardiological problem, but with the lower right quadrant of the abdominal cavity. Suppuration with mild fever had been going on for several weeks.
— Are you worried about chest pain?
— No, it passed.
— And how do you sleep?
"I'm sleeping in my bed again."
I expressed my satisfaction about this.
— There is no doubt that you cured me, Doctor.
"In what way?" After all, our meeting lasted only ten minutes, and before that you were ill for ten months.
—Dr. Laun, I hope you won't be offended. But you remind me of the ancient Hindu healers of the last century. They never spoke ambiguously. They didn't say that you should try either one or the other. They knew their patients. With all due respect to science and scientists, I would like to point out that this professional activity is characterized by uncertainty. They say the words: on the one hand, on the other hand... A doctor should go beyond science. To help the patient, everything must be said definitely.
After such an increase in my authority, I became emboldened and decided to find out the true cause of the patient's heart ailments. I asked him to explain why a thirty-five-year-old man develops coronary artery disease in the absence of known risk factors for such diseases. After all, his cholesterol level was only 160 mg, his blood pressure was low, he had never smoked, he did not have diabetes, and he was born into a family of centenarians. He interrupted me impatiently.:
— I know exactly the reason. This is my vindictive, tyrannical mother. She was completely in control of my life. When I had the unique opportunity to go to America, work at the Boston Medical College and fulfill my cherished dream, she strongly opposed it. When I left India, despite her prohibition, she cursed me and disowned me.
He continued to speak in a soft singsong tone, "When I came here, I had nightmares every night. My mother was constantly choking me to death, and it was happening, as if in reality, night after night, without a break. I was afraid to fall asleep and see my mother punishing me. I ate four or five eggs during the day, and I felt too tired to exercise, but I worked feverishly to assert myself. When the heart attack happened, the nightmares stopped immediately.
In a sad reflection, he added, "I have paid my debts."
But, as it turned out, not quite. Six months later, we met again. Despite the fact that the symptoms of the disease had mostly disappeared, he still looked worried. He was afraid to return to India, explaining that there was poor medical care. In the conversation, a deeper reason was revealed: fear of his mother, who continued to destroy his life. I strongly advised him to talk to her.
The last time I saw him, he told me that he had called his mother. He told her, "Mom, I'm falling on my knees in front of you and kissing your feet. I suffered a lot. I had a heart attack and had to have heart surgery. Then I had an operation on my stomach. I received a punishment that no human deserves. Please forgive me." She replied: "Okay, I forgive you now."
— You should be satisfied.
She was being insincere.
— Why do you think that?
— By the tone of her voice, which I know well. Now my younger brother is her favorite.
It is possible that his coronary disease began to progress when he returned to India. I didn't know how to treat this deeply disturbed man: our cultures are too different. How to get a promo code in 1xBet There are two ways to get this promotion. In the first case, you can find the 1xBet promotional code in the appropriate storefront, and the second involves visiting a third-party resource that offers an affiliate bonus. The 1xbet free promo code you can receive a 100% welcome bonus of up to €130 when you make your first deposit. If a player does not want to spend time playing games in various contests and lotteries or he is not yet registered in the bookmaker, then the 1xBet promotional code can be obtained on a third-party resource.