A Hosp. Waiting Room Experience: Geeky but Awesome Surgical Knowledge Upgrade

When you go to a hospital... to meet a renowned Doctor who basically sees patients between surgeries.... you eventually end up in the waiting hall for like 2 or more hours... you either watch the TV on mute mode... drink some coffee... feast your eyes by looking at other people.... play games on your mobile that you never knew were on your mobile...doze off for a while... or keep pestering the receptionist "when" the doctor will be available....

Today... I took my mother to see a Doctor at a hospital for she was complaining of pain due to gallstones..... and guess what... the "waiting  experience" was so completely different today!!! why...??? 'Coz the TV installed played the recordings of a successful surgery (~30 min-45 min recording) over n over again... at first I did not wanna look for the fear that the mere sight (it just looked as if i was sitting in a mutton shop) of it would make me give up Non-veg once n for all..  but then i was so bored waiting.. that i started to follow the surgery... At first I did not understand what was the surgery for... though I could see the liver clamped to the roof to work on a duct beneath it (may be bile duct) ...Now for a medico... all this may seem plain... but for a non-medico.. its an "experience" that is worth sharing...

The surgery recording (after giving anesthesia of course) started with four tubes being bored into the patent's abdomen....in diamond shape...it was through these tubes that that the Surgeon inserted the various weapons.... the top one was for the clamp that held the liver to the roof ... the side ones for various "weapons" to go in n out... the bottom one for the camera.... 

First the liver was carefully clamped up... next one slightly bent beak like clamp from the left and a hair straightener like fat burner from right came in... [ I guess the beak like clamp makes it easy to maneuver around..]

Anyways... The beak Identified what to burn [Around the duct] and the straightener like thing simply melted nd burned that area when the stuff was pressed between its plates...I could clearly see the bubbles and fumes of the fat ns some tissue like stuff burning....

Now a lot of blood was oozing out... the surgical net like cloth with a black string attached was introduced [ The black string basically makes it identifiable even after it is completely soaked in blood and is sitting around with the organs chatting up]... The surgeon dabbed the blood and placed it in a small crevice next to the working area inside the abdomen [ I guess that is the reason why many forget to remove such things while concluding a surgery].

Now two beak like clamps were introduced... n using both of them like hands... the surgeon carefully ripped the tissue like thing around the duct ... slowly the duct began revealing itself.... the surgeon dabbed the excess blood again.. the ripped residues now looked like charcoal charred tikkas.... 

Then an instrument with a red light on the head was introduced.... inside the duct through another organ that was baby pink in colour.. God nd medicos only know what it is... may be its the stomach... [it was big like that of a stomach nd distended like balloon during the surgery at this point...] anyways the red light instrument went thru the duct... initially with great difficulty... nd then moderately smooth...[I guess it was used to remove or detroy bile stones or something]... the duct glowed like a torch in the dark...

Now a spl instrument was used to suck out debris in the abdominal cavity.... the same carried warm water inside for cleaning.... when this was being done... the fat around the area seemed leave oil and the water became all shiny.... the device again sucked out all the water like a vacuum cleaner...

The beak like clamp... and another clamp holding a curved needle [resembling hook of a pirate] with a bleak thread was introduced... and very artistically the left clamp held the pink organ over the duct and the right clamp pierced it with the hooked needle.. and then repeating the same with a tissue on the other side to join both ... the left clamp then pulled the string like when you do while you stitch something... it was now time to make a knot... the right wound the thread on the other side over the left clamp twice... the left held the thread on the right and now the clamps were pulled apart for making that knot... nd i was like ..WOW!! for some reason!!! this was repeated thrice on the same spot nd at 3 spots.... 

Now the washing process was done again... then the blood soaked surgical cloth was removed usiing a clamp that shoved it in the vacuum cleaner type instru...[thank God]... the tubes were withdrawn... nd finally the clamp lowered the liver back to its place [ the bottom of the liver turned blue probably coz of obstruction of blood flow... ] and was taken out... last came the camera nd its tube... Voila operation Successful... :)

And wait that's not all.... just then some1 came to the receptionist to show some advanced surgical weapons... and now I actually saw those instru... they were long nd thin like a kulfi stick... the actual clamps... straightener like  intru... etc were so small that If I have to tell them apart... I actually need my glasses...!!! The giant screen and the zooming made them look like mass destruction weapons... but in real there r so minute.... nd cute... :)

Aaah.... a good "waiting room" experience... though geeky... nd sharing this on a blog is even more geeky... I guess sharing such experiences makes you feel ... "Okay.... I learnt something today.. I appreciate what I learnt... I m not such a waste after all... " :)

PS: If any Medico reads this... and can explain to me what the surgery was all about... in a more  medical perspective... I would really appreciate it.... :)

An Idea can change your life....

Apart from the zoo zoos ads.... The ad that ends with.... black font "!DEA" against a yellow "page".... has caught my attention yet again...... I find their ads amusing..and at no given point can I forget their ads... no matter how well some ads were idea-ted and how some were super lame (the get idea series)...... I guess in someway or the other... the ad guru of idea did make an everlasting impression....and the name "idea" and its tag line just got stuck in the heads of both customers nd non customers of !DEA equally....

One may wonder ... why a mobile service provider would be named IDEA???? But behold.... Idea is a very powerful word.... like big bang is to universe.. an idea is to growth and prosperity. The tag line fully captures this very essence "An Idea jo badal de aapki duniya"  (an Idea can change ur life ) (supposedly for good).....  The yellow background seems to indicate enlightening and growth again...  the "I" of Idea is inverted.... i.e like an exclamation mark depicting the emotion of "Eureka!!!" With such strong brand elements... Idea sure sets itself apart..... 

The recent ad .... "Kabhi TV kabhi Biwi" that runs a social msg on population control.....  is one hilarious ad..... Though practically "You gotta do when you gotta do" ... the ad makes a sincere attempt to drive home the message both social and commercial very very clearly....( though the social msg outsmarts the commercial...) and the last dialogue.... "And your baby?? " "Before 3 G" adds a comical and realistic touch to the ad ..... 

I haven't used Idea services as yet... so I dare not comment on that.... but yes I surely can say... Idea has chosen the right brand elements right from the start..... is using each one of them very effectively..... and is on its way of building a brand that someday will "change ur life for good"....... 

Advertisements: The “Emotional Attyachar”-is (Victimizers)

Earlier, People loved Commercials as much as the program they were watching… today with more innovative and creative ideas… the Ad world is a huge industry in itself…. One reason for the increasing competition in creativity is competition itself. Another reason… even a couch potato tends to flick channels during the commercial break…

Today…If you stop a moment and not flick the channels…. You’ll notice a huge paradigm shift in the advertisement strategy…. And this has to do a lot with the management paradigm of “connecting” with the customers…. Pick any leading brand…. Pick any diversified brand… the tag line… the logos… the theme of the ad… etc… all have this element of victimization… an emotional victimization……

·    When you read... hear or see… Amul- The Taste of India… Hero Honda- Desh ki Dhadkan… Nokia- Connecting people… DLF-Building India…  et.al … there is an immediate sense of patriotism… a sense of unity….. a sense of emotion…..

·         When you see a commercial where a Man in his old age gifts his wife diamonds from Tanishq to impress her…. There is an immediate sense of love and want… a sense of eternity…a sense of emotion…..

·           When you see a wife serving different milk preparations to everyone in the house and turns up with plain milk for her kids…. There is a sense of you sometimes being a hindrance to growth…. A sense of guilt…. A sense of emotion…..

·         When you see a commercial where two squirrels dance to your favourite tune… while a guy munches on Kit-Kat… there is a sense of need of liberation… a sense of break free…. a sense of emotion….

·         When you see a commercial where a gal with Orange bubbly Mirinda playing pranks …. There is a spurt of hidden child-like nature in you…. A sense of not wanting to grow up…  A sense of emotion…

·         When you see a man jump off an air balloon after a sip of Mountain Dew…. There is a sense of adventure and fun…. A sense reminding daredevils of school and college…  A sense of emotion…

·         When you see a son buy his mother golden bangles laid with precious diamonds… there is a sense of responsibility… a sense of gratitude… a sense of emotion…

·         When you see a dad create a journal of her daughter online from the day she was born on Google…. There is a sense of happiness… a sense of keeping memories alive… a sense of emotion…..

·         When you see a Captain pilot an air hostess making out in the pilot cabin for fast track.. there is a sense of moving forward… a sense of mixing tradition with modernity.. a sense of emotion….

·         When you see a child troubling his father in the supermarket and he is completely helpless… There is sense of fear of not using a protection … the other sense of becoming a father… emotion….

One may go on and on and on… the bottom line is… that the advertisers… in bid to connect to the client’s customers…. Have chosen the path of “Emotional Attyachar” …. Dig deep into the emotions of the people and make that connect.. coz’ when the connect is emotional… it lasts for long…  and that’s what is required for the brands of today to sustain in this ever increasing competitive world…..

Dream BIG… Chase BIG… Live BIG...

“Everybody dreams… Some wake and chase their dream And there are others… who seem to chase their dreams only in another dream … What made me realise this intriguing fact???? Well…

Recently I was watching the movie Julie and Julia yet again… this time I had a company who constantly kept asking questions… The underlying point… my company failed to conceptualise and understand why Julia as well as Julie would want to do something like what they did… why they were so upset when things did go according to the plan… why Julie was so desperate to make her blog… her regimen…work…. !!

The other time… the same company asked why these reality show contestants cry so much… well answer for that may be ‘coz to raise the TRP… gain sympathy of judges or voters… or even… coz they genuinely felt so … and why did they feel so??? Coz’ they dream of fame… and recognition of their talents and themselves through these platforms…

Now I fail to understand… is it so difficult to understand it???

The company I am talking about… is not just another person on the earth… my company is actually talented in many things… but why did my company not receive due fame and recognition??? Well the answer to this question is … “this” attitude/behaviour/thinking… whatever you may call… among other factors…. The other factors being Family… and friends majorly….

My company is not at fault here… it’s been there since ages… generations through generations… they have all craved for fame and recognition with passion once… yet they fail to understand what the fuss is about when somebody else tries the same….  they all say the poem “The road less travelled” is beautiful… but they all seem to take it as a fairy tale… indeed there are a few people who wanted a fairy tale life… went on the road less travelled and are icons of today and tomorrow….

Take for example Chef Sanjeev Kapoor… I mean he had to fight and argue with his father who apparently wanted him to be a doctor…. And see now… even after so many years… and so many good chefs around… Sanjeev Kapoor is still a huge brand name!!! In fact he seems to have inspired a lot of Chefs to take up the profession and follow their passion for food and cooking.

A recruiter at my college once said.... "Choose a profession such that even if its a Sunday you would be happy to jump out of the bed and work on it"....  

Now all this “You can Win” type of lecture makes sense only if I am a dream chaser in real…. Am I a dream chaser?? Majorly… NO… but to certain extent.. Yes … am I willing to reverse it??? Hell yeah!!!! The incident I discussed with you above has actually inspired me to chase my dreams for real… how much am I going to succeed?? Only time can tell…. But will I succeed?? Hell yeah again!!!

What's ur flavor???

For the past few days, I have been thinking over a lot about my past… present… future… U know the stuff that crops up in your mind and agitates you as if you have nothing else to think about…… I realized an interesting analogy … it goes something like this…

From the smallest of things to the most critical decisions affecting our very existence; every time we run our grey cells on a treadmill, the question always arises…. “To Be or Not To Be”…. “X or Y”… I always followed what I like to call… “The Law of Elimination”. The law states that… “An option X is THE option if and only if option Y is eliminated”. Pretty simple isn’t it??? Now consider this….

All through my life… for every other occasion… I am asked to go get the “Best Cake” available. I would then go to the shop… sometimes excited… sometimes half heartedly… sometimes just for the sake. Whatever is the case… I would definitely go. After reaching the shop… I would browse through the various delectable cakes showcased in front of me… cakes of different flavors… cakes of different sizes and shapes. I would use my Law of Elimination and choose the “Best Cake” available… of course affordable too… If I had to choose a cake between vanilla, pistachio and blue berry… I would choose blue berry because I don’t like vanilla and pistachio in my so called “Best Cake”.

Now the question arises… was it my “Best Cake” ??? I now realize… No it wasn’t… I am not fond of blue berry…. I am fond of the chocolate truffle. … If chocolate truffle wasn’t available… I could have asked the Mongini’s guy to bake me one…. But I did not… I convinced myself… That the blue berry cake was indeed the “best cake”.

My conclusion…??? The Law of Elimination will hold true if and only if there are just two roads to choose from and the only option you have is to travel ahead and not go back from where you started. We OUGHT to know which flavor of cake we like…. Order the same…

PS: Oh yeah… by the way… I was actually referring to my journey towards a successful career… the flavors being analogous to the various options that were “made available” to me….. Science Vs Maths… MBBS vs Biotech… MS vs MBA….. When actually my flavor was something off the menu…..