To hell and back - The 2004 Tsunami - Epilogue

Some people I met after the tsunami tell me how lucky I am that I was part of a historical event. Excuse me! I would really have liked something less unnerving than a tsunami to be part of history.

Seriously the whole experience was so scary that no one can ever wish for something like that.

And personally for me, the tsunami marked a turning point in my life. A few months after that I had an infection in my PD exit site. This infection marked the beginning of the end of Peritoneal Dialysis for me. The infection subsided with antibiotics but resurfaced a few weeks later. The exit site infection graduated into a tunnel infection. The PD tube was repositioned. Did not help. Eventually I had peritonitis and had to discontinue PD forever.

And with PD was gone my independence. My ability to travel meaningfully. My freedom from fluid restriction. My freedom to eat whatever I liked. Nocturnal Home HD is good but not as good as PD. PD was a completely unshackled life. NHHD is like having one toe chained!

Was all this due to the tsunami? No one knows. They argue saying the infection started 3 months after the tsunami. So, it cannot be. I don't know why it happened then.

Globally too, odd weather has been observed after the tsunami. It snowed in the Middle East. There were floods in Rajasthan's deserts.

I have no idea if all this related. Maybe its all due to global warming. Is it time for us to become really serious about the issue? Is our existence at stake?

Do we need more than a Nobel for Gore and Pachauri? Do we need some more action at the grassroots?

The big countries discard theories suggesting that we're nearing doomsday. The problem is that these things cannot be proven. But don't we see a pattern emerging?

The stakes are too high for us to ignore the warnings.

A few weeks after we got back, we had a small party at my house. We played TT, laughed and joked about the whole thing.

From left sitting on the couch - me, Venkateshwar, Pushkar and M V Krishna; Pavan on the floor

I guess there was a bond the five of us had formed for life. We might go our own ways through life's twists and turns but we will never forget those hours we spent together on the beach of Mahabalipuram.

Comments

PDS said…
what a story kamal. Can visualise every bit thru your words.

By the way, nice to see a new pic of yours finally ;) (hope a smiley is in place here !)
Anonymous said…
Approaching the 4th anniversary Kamal. I can visual it and see how difficult it must have been. Hopefully this is the 'only' memorable bad event you have!

-Balu
Anonymous said…
Mahabalipuram.. was my first excursion post transplant, beautiful place..never gave a clue,so much happened to you at the very same place, its scary to think of..