Day 4, January 26, The Routine Sets In
The door bursts open at 5:50 AM to admit a cleaning woman in a beautiful, green sari and matching rubber gloves, carrying a basin of warm water in which is a wash cloth. After my eyes clear, I finally figure out that she is about to wash my entire body.
I made short shrift of that, I can tell you! “Thank you, but I think not,” I said, and indicated I could do it myself. I wasn’t able to figure out if the look she gave me was one of surprise or disappointment; the latter, no doubt. She abruptly left the room and, as I was about to drift off again, came back with a big bucket of hot water, which she placed in the bathroom, saying, “Wash!”
I had a good wash-off by pouring the water over my body, being careful to keep the bandage dry, with the smaller, liter-sized cup which is in all Indian bathrooms. I dried off, got back into my sleeping clothes, turned out the light and went back to sleep.
At 7 am the door opens again, this time by a nurse, with “breakfast.” After that is stuffed up my nose through the tube, I lay down again and slept until 8:30.
The rest of the day consisted of feedings every few hours, naps, some wanderings around, reading, watching a bit of news, some in English, etc. Final feeding at 10 PM, after which it was firmly suggested that I go to bed for the night. I did. There wasn’t much else to do.
That pretty well set the tone for the rest of my stay, except that the morning wash bucket came in about 6:30 AM, which I appreciated.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
