Rajat was a 15-year-old boy, living with his mother. He was suffering from a symptom of Mild cognitive impairment.
He remembered things for a very short period. He was required to be reminded to get any work done from him.
One morning his mother was feeling sick. She could not get up from her bed.
Rajat came to her room when she called out, “Rajat! Rajat!..” and found her still in bed.
“Please take me to the hospital”, his mother insisted.
He took out her car from the garage, carried her to the car, and drove without wasting any time. He was worried for his mother. “You will be fine mom. Don’t worry.”, He assured his mother.
Due to more traffic, there was a road blockage. After waiting for some time in the car, Rajat got down to check out the reason for the road blockage.
Instead of insisting the traffic police allow him to drive his mother to the hospital, Rajat, due to his weakness forgot about his mother’s illness and had an argument with the officer.
” This is not the way to teach us our job. We are doing our best to handle the situation.”, The police officer tried to calm down the raging Rajat.
“You aren’t clearing the road. What if anybody had an emergency?”, Rajat was in a never-ending argument.
“I need to handle you first young man. Let me speak to your mother. Tell me her number”, and the officer tried dialing the phone number when Rajat realized.
“I am extremely sorry officer, my mother is ill and I was supposed to take her to the hospital. Please help me”.
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With the help of a police officer, Rajat could take his mother to the hospital after around 2 hours.
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After the check-up, when the doctor came to Rajat, “How is my mother doctor? What happened to her?”. Rajat seemed restless.
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“You were on time young man”, as the doctor explained her condition, “You did get her here in time. And she is fine now”, was what the doctor confirmed.
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“Don’t worry. Your mother needs rest and by a little treatment here she will be fine in a few months”, the doctor continued.
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Feeling relieved, Rajat asked the doctor “Can I see my mother?”.
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“You can see your mother but keep in mind not to tell her anything that might stress her emotionally”, the doctor warned. “I will doctor. Thank you so much”, Rajat bowed to the doctor and went into the ward to see his mother.
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He sat there beside her for long hours, waiting for her to wake up.
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“Ra..Rajat..!!”, a weak tone woke up Rajat.
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“Mom! You are up! Thank you God”, he thanked God looking up at the sky.
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“What happened?”, when she asked. “It’s due to stress mom. You need proper rest.” Rajat replied.
“How are you feeling mom?”.
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“I am hungry son”, was what his mother said.
“I will go and buy some food mom. You are here”, saying Rajat left.
He went straight to the market and was buying food when he met a few of his friends.
He went with his friends and it totally went off his mind about buying food for his mother.
His mother waited a long time lying on her bed. After about 1 hour she could not bear so she called for the hospital caretaker.
The hospital caretaker, made her sit on the bed and brought her water to drink. Rajat’s mother knew about Rajat’s memory so she requested the hospital caretaker to get her some food as she is hungry.
The hospital caretaker arranged to get her suitable food from the hospital canteen. Rajat’s mother waited desperately for Rajat to return. She was worried about his safety.
During this time she took the matter seriously and thought of a way to make Rajat remind back what he forgets.
After around 2 hours, one of Rajat’s friends mentioned his mother. Then it struck Rajat’s mind that she was in the hospital waiting for him. He requested his friends to help him out so that he does not again get diverted.
Rajat with his friends arrived at the hospital to visit his mother. She smiled as they entered. Rajat apologized “Mom, I am so very sorry. I brought food for you, late”.
“It is okay son. I am fine. The nurse helped me to get food”, she paused and looked out at his friends. “I need a favor from you all”. Telling so, she asked them to help Rajat maintain a notebook of things he need to do. “This way he can recall things he forgets” and requested them to keep reminding Rajat to look at his notebook from time to time.
She came up with this solution, along with medication, to help Rajat not to decline in his confidence.
Social engagement may make life more satisfying, help preserve mental function, and slow mental decline. Reading books and other intellectual activities may help preserve function and prevent cognitive decline.
I hereby jot down a few points we need to keep in our mind handling a patient with MCI. These are my suggestions and are not to hurt anybody’s feelings.
- Don’t bring up topics that may upset them.
- Don’t argue with them that they are wrong about something.
Everybody has problems in life. A little bit of effort from family and friends brings great results.
P.S.
This is an original story by Shivani V. Gombi. Her second story published on our website.
In collaboration with Shivani V. Gombi. Heartfelt thank you to you Shivani. We value you for choosing us to collaborate with.
Author introduction:
Shivani is a budding story writer, a 6th-grade student staying at Sampige Nagar, Dharwad. She is born on the 22nd of July 2011. ‘The child who played happily with the monkey’ is her first story.
Friends boost our happiness and reduce our stress.
Focusing on inspirational words can empower, motivate or even heal a person.
Learning to pay attention to the words we choose to share with others or to use in our daily lives has a bigger effect than we might believe.
P.S.
- Images are only for reference.
- Credit to the right owner.