A guest in the Ward

Sujata was surprised the next morning to find a new guest in the sick-ward of the hospital- None other than Mr Mitter himself! The nurse told her that he fell down in his house and hurt his chest the last night, and so Ghosh babu had to come and operate on him in the middle of the night, after which he was asked to stay in the ward under-observation.

So that ambulance at night was because he was brought here?!

Sujata went near Mr Mitter's bed. He was probably asleep, so she decided not to disturb him. Naren came there after some time and sat by the bed anxiously. Sujata completed her round and went back to talk with Naren.

"What exactly happened?" She realised Naren could not speak English, so repeated the question in Hindi. Her bengali was not worth giving a try at this point.

Naren looked up and talked to her in a heavily bong-accented Hindi:

" He woke up in the night... Was trying to go to bathroom maybe... But it was dark... Even I fell asleep... I heard a loud thud and woke up, and then he called out to me... He had slipped and hit his chest on the drawer.... There was blood... I was alone so I got really scared, even Chhote Babu and his family are gone.... So I looked up the Doctor Baabu's number in the directory and called"

"Chhote Babu?"

"Yes. His brother. Chhote Babu and Memsaab are gone to America to meet their daughter Arpita Didi."

"Oh I see. Did you tell them about his accident then?"

"Yeah, I called. They are coming here."

Naren now looked at Sujata with eyes wide in fear.

"Is he... Still in danger, doctor madam? Did he get hurt a lot? I... I could lose my job if something happens to him. Doctor Ghoshbabu said we will have to wait till he wakes up to know if he's okay"

Sujata really didn't have enough information to comment anything at this point, but it was obvious that such an accident could still have serious implications, given Mr Mitter's health. She still tried to console Naren;

"Look, he just fell down right, so it shouldn't be very severe. But we should wait until he gets conscious again to make sure."

Naren was obviously not very convinced with this, but he remained silent. Sujata moved from there and went to look after clinical appointments. Dr Ghosh came later in the hospital, and Sujata followed him to Mr Mitter's bed in the ward. 

He had regained conscious by then and Naren looked more calm. Dr Ghosh checked him and declared that Mr Mitter's lungs that were already weak, had turned weaker now because of getting hit. Dr Ghosh advised him to stay admitted in the hospital so he could be monitored at all times, atleast until the wound and strength of his lungs were in a better state.

"And how many days would that be?" He asked

"Well, atleast 3-5 days." Dr Ghosh replied.

"I don't have any other option, do I?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Mr Mitter sighed.

"Don't worry, Dr Sujata here will look after you well. You'll be alright."

Dr Ghosh took Sujata to a side and was discussing needed medications with her.

Meanwhile, Mr Mitter turned to Naren. 

"Did you call Topshe?"

"Yes, I... did."

"When is he coming?"

"He said he will come in the earliest flight."

"Earliest...." He sighed again.