Nice birthday - parents and parents-in-law at home, buffet dinner yesterday, special cake, plenty of phonecalls, FB messages, orkut scraps, SMS... and then... lone pediatrician at the hospital, 50 patients in OPD, 5 kids with seizures, a twin delivery, acting anesthetist for an ortho procedure, on call, 2 kids post-op and 2 kids planned for surgery.... loving it! It can't get more exciting, right!

- Parents watch eight month month old child play with a toy phone from a distance.
- Child slams the phone and breaks it.
- Parents recover most of it including a battery.
- The night is uneventful.
- In the morning they discovered 2 more discolored batteries - when the baby poops!

This child was very lucky that he also had a diarrhea and the batteries came out before they could cause any damage to his gut!
This was the perfect recipe for disaster - a toy with small parts in the hands on an infant. Not everyone ends up as lucky as this child!

As you can see the two swallowed batteries were quite discolored and almost rusty!

Just like the dozens of times before Harini came smiling and bubbly to OPD. This time however she was in her school uniform as she had come straight to the OPD after an exam. She made a little fuss as we took her to the treatment and winced as I poked her hand for the IV line. She sat and smiled as I slowly injected the medicine and then some saline to flush and she was ready to go back.
It was then that I noticed the smart badge on her uniform which said Class Captain.
Nothing very unusual - until you realise that Harini is being treated for Acute Leukemia (Blood Cancer) and today is her last injection. She was diagnosed at CMC 2 years ago and after the initial treatment was referred to us for continuing her chemotherapy injections. She has survived the leukemia, febrile neutropenia, baldness, anaphylaxis, chicken pox and thrombocytopenia in the last 2 years. Her family was thrilled that hopefully today would be the last ever injection she has!
I really admire the support she has received from her parents and school and the resilience and courage she herself has shown.
The Class Captain badge means a lot to her, her parents and to me!
They often tell me to continue to pray for her and I hope that you too will say a word of prayer as you read this blog.
And in case you ever doubted it - CANCER IS CURABLE!

Every time I need to choose a Christian gift item i either have to go to the local Christian store here or order it by ebay from the US and ship it. I've always hoped that I could find a store right here in India with the kind of gifts I find on ebay but not have to wait for it to be shipped from the US with expensive shipping costs. Finally I found one. My friend Praveen just started an online store with Christian goodies ranging from bracelets to candle stands at the Three Kings Store. i had a long chat with him and I hope the store does well. Browse through it and you'll see why I'm excited!
Three Kings Store - India's First Premium Online Christian Gift Store.

We had to travel about 150 KM to Sirkazhi today for the reception. I decided that it would be better that Venkatesh drove, especially as the return would be late in the night. The road was a narrow road that was winding. In an hour an oncoming car came really close and although venkatesh swerved off the road the rear-view mirrors hit and I heard a loud noise. We stopped and on inspection found that only the mirror had cracked and the whole assembly and car didn't even have a scratch. The other car didn't bother to stop! Just a few inches could have seen worse results!
The return journey at night was safe but quite scary through the narrow roads.

After witnessing the beautiful wedding and reception we had to make a mad rush to the Bus Stand straight from the wedding reception. The taxi reached late and we actually walked all the way to the main road to catch it. The 40 minute trip to the bus stop was crazy! I had to close my eyes and hold on tight as the taxi driver drove like mad. We reached in one piece and on time. Still sweating and white-knuckled, I boarded my bus amidst a noisy crowd of humanity. I was very lucky to get on a bus as all buses were full and the only reason I got a seat was because I had booked the ticket 3 days ago! I normally never book a ticket when i travel alone, but this time something (or maybe someONE) inspired me to book the ticket and that was the only reason I could actually get back to Trichy without a problem!
And if you're wondering how bad the crowd was, here is a teaser - this dark video shows people trying to get onto another bus... while I was safely sitting inside 'my' bus!

As you know Swine Flu has been making headlines all over the world. The news channels and newspapers are going overboard as they try to use the little they know to increase their TRPs and come out on top.
Today we had a taste of how blasphemously inaccurate and blatantly false even top newspapers are. We saw this article about a child called Tharika. you can click on the clipping enclosed to read the full article
Very emotional article! The only problem is that there is absolutely no truth at all. How do I know? Tharika is my patient and i am treating her (along with Praburam). Here are the facts:
1. She was admitted with fever on the 11th and not the 10th. (The closest the newspaper ever got to the truth!!)
2. She was never suspected to have swine Flu and had no symptoms even remotely suggestive of swine flu.
3. She was never sent to the Government Hospital - in fact the parents have never been there at all!
4. She was never tested for swine Flu and was never isolated either here or in the Government Hospital. She has been in the general paediatric ward at our hospital.
5. No tests were ever done in Chennai or even sent to Chennai.
6. She was confirmed to have typhoid based on tests done in the laboratory doen at our hospital!
7. The family faced more problems after the publication of this news item!
No-one contacted our hospital, me, Praburam, the family, the government hospital, the lab in Chennai, the health authorities or any doctor at any time about this patient. I wonder what their 'sources' are.
There was an immediate response and we had an inspection by a team of doctors and health personnel from the Government. As usual the truth triumphed and we had no problems at all.
I'll end this blog entry with a clear warning - "Do not believe or act on anything the newspapers and news channels say".
And if you're really looking for something to read that says the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth try reading the BIBLE

Its been a tumultuous year for India. There's recession, political confusion, corruption, violence, terrorism, immorality, pollution and impatience lurking everywhere. And I almost forgot to add swine flu to that list! This Independence Day I had some time to ponder about where the country is headed. To be frank, experiences everyday and watching the news daily makes me really wonder if there is any hope at all. 'Unity in Diversity' seems to be an old-fashioned saying that has lost its meaning and charm. I wonder if we can even claim to be secular. Is the real enemy across the border or actually within us? Will there aver be a day when women are treated with the dignity they deserve? Will the keepers of the law abide by the law? Will Health for All just be a slogan chanted and never a reality?
So many questions. I wonder if we can ever change anything. I finally concluded that each of us is not meant to change everything. We can change some things some of the times, but not all things all the time.
And yes - the only hope for every person in this great country is JESUS. I still believe it!!
"God, Give us the grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed, Courage
to change the things which should be changed,
And the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."
I hope that my ramblings make sense...
PRAY FOR INDIA!

It was a frustrating evening at church. I was on call and kept getting phonecalls during the service - all of them minor issues that could be settled over the phone. I missed most of the message and the worship. I decided to leave as soon as the message was over so i could rush back to the hospital just to make sure everything was OK. But Becky decided we'd stay till the very end and speak to the pastor. Grudgingly I obliged. At the end of the service after we had a pleasant chat with the pastor and his parents a lady walked up to me and asked me to see a child who was a little sick. The whole family had been saved from the brink of suicide just a week ago and today one of the children fell sick - she was vomiting and quite dehydrated.
I had to admit her and she needed IV fluids and also some injections. She got better and was discharged after 2 days.
If i had simply left the church early, i would not have been able to see this child or treat her! Thank God for a wife who ensured I stayed till the end of the service, a lady and other church members who had helped save a family.
Although I could not hear the sermon today i felt I learned so much more at church - just by staying till the end of the service!

Kevin shared this in church today. He narrated how he got admission to PSG College which initially seemed really difficult. part of the reason was the reservation for communities called BC (Backward Community), FC (Forward Community), OC (Other Community) and so on.
To cut the story short, beyond his expectations he got into college!
He ended testimony saying this:
"OC, BC, FC... whatever.... I belong to JC (Jesus Christ)!"
Woah! i finally got a partner for my Christian Punchline book!!

A very enthusiastic and helpful child I saw in my clinic the other day - wanted to help me examine himself! So there he is - grabbing my stethoscope and placing it in the right places!
Left me wondering - do you really need to go to Medical College to learn how to examine patients?

Sometimes the most awesome truths just blurt out of my mouth and I wonder where it came from. Divine intervention!!
We were at a family get-together. As we were still the newly married couple (self proclaimed!) B and me were the center of attention. A rather tricky question was thrown at me: "So Jeyanth, when it all started, who made the choice first? Did you choose B or did B choose you?".
The answer came out in 0.00026 seconds!
"Actually.... God chose us first!"
Blink of an eye and an awesome truth dawned on everyone.
Such words of wisdom inspire me to write a new book on Christian Punchlines! Wish me all the best!!

These local Tshirt companies don;t have any idea what they are printing! Most of the time the children I see in OPD have some gibberish written on their Tshirt - half of it unreadable or making no sense at all with lots of typos etc.
I was surprised when this 3 year old child landed up in OPD with this Tshirt advising safe driving tips! I don't think he had any idea what it said and probably could never drive a truck - but hey! It's never too young to spread the message!
Click on the image for a larger view, but if you still can't read it here's what it says:
"I will drive a maxi truck.
Stop.
Drive Slowly.
Look Signal.
Be Careful.
Blow Horn."
I can't add much to that except to tell you - "Drive safely!"

I still don't remember when I started trying to create a website and how I actually succeeded. But I do remember trying MS Word, then frontpage, cutting and pasting code, getting free scripts and creating my website and blog without knowing much HTML and absolutely no PHP, javascript etc. I've tried hard and the results don't seem really bad at all!!
So when my Dad was approached to help establish a Christian TV Network in Chennai, he requested me to create their website! I felt flattered but could not turn down the request. Inspite of my limitations I finally managed to get most of the website up and functional. I now understand the meaning of the quote "God does not look at your ability but your availability!"
You can now see the Rejoice TV website here @ www.rejoicetv.in.
The site has details about the TV network, audio, video, music, a members area, prayer requests and more. There's still a lot of work to be done and I hope I have the time and the ideas for it. Suggestions are welcome - but keep them simple and in English!!

One of the things I miss in Trichy is good music. Very rarely do we have bands or music programs happening here. A few days ago I bumped into Paul (I rarely meet him) and on casual inquiry found that a youth (teenagers) music program was scheduled on May 31st at St Johns Church in the morning service.
My parents were here this weekend and we went to church and were treated to wholesome Christian music. There were about 10 songs and the girls who sang were amazing. Their vocals blended in unison and the parts were phenomenal. Wish I had recorded the audio to share with you all! I can leave you with just a picture but even that does not capture the awesome music we were treated to!