Ruminations of a doctor’s wife – life between Saturday to Monday.

In February, on our 23rd wedding anniversary I demanded a gift from the husband.

He said don’t ask me something I cannot give. I said you can, it is within your capacity.

He: if I can then I will for sure, just don’t be very demanding about my time.
I: I like kaikeyi, demand a vachan from dashrath maharaj i.e you that thy will stop working on Sundays. 
It has been 23 years , and this gift of yours will be the most precious one for me after our children. We never went on a holiday more than twice in last 23 years. Our children and I all the while tried to understand your ethical moral dilemmas about dividing the time between family and patients. We played the role of a good family for too long. Now it is your turn to play the role of a good husband /father.

He: but people are used to seeing me available on Sundays. It is very inconvenient for many of them to not find me on a Sunday

I: then what about our inconvenience / our suffering.

He: you are used to this life by now, why do you want me to change all of a sudden.

I: I haven’t been doing this happily, I was doing it out of compulsion, to see you happy, but I am tired of being good to you and to the world. It hurts me now to see you work so much. It hurts me more for you.

He: okay let me try to, I am not promising but I assure you I will withdraw Sunday work slowly.

I stick a notice everywhere in the centre that such and such doctor will not be available on Sundays from here on. And as assured he stopped going to work on Sundays.

The first Sunday break, he receives a couple of calls enquiring the reasons for non availability, he manages some reasons, and with great difficulty he utters a “NO”.

The festive atmosphere at home starts from Saturday evening extending up to Sunday midnight. Special meals are planned, small outings are scheduled. The father and children actually meet each other on a Sunday to Sunday basis. they catch up with weeks discussions….

I taunt him now saying

“see the world did not stop if you stopped working on a Sunday, we are not even falling short of money, most of your patients are not complaining either , none of your fears came true “ .

Look at your happiness when you can watch a match from first ball to the last ball, your happiness when you can sit with your friends on a Saturday evening for a musical adda.

In my 6 years of experience in health care, I can segment the patients into the below mentioned categories.

1) The rich and influential patients: they demand discount, early service, separate air conditioned waiting room, and more personal time with the doctor. For them the centers in town are a stop gap arrangement till they go to metros and visit big hospitals. (this category of people are usually our friends)
2) The poor patients: they pay the full bill amount; they find it awkward to ask for a discount. They feel intimated in Pvt. Setups. But in our centre it is a rule to extend discounts to anyone who cannot afford. 
3) The ailing and terminally ill: they are from middle class to poor background and they demand only quality service even if it is delayed by hours. They actually accept doctors as being equivalent to god. They value life more than anything else. they wait endless hours to hear doctor say “nothing to worry, all is well “ 
4) The fringe elements: They ask for discount by intimidation. They are easier to handle than the sophisticated 1st category people. The fringe elements accept the fact that they actual took a favor by asking for discounts, they in their hearts are thankful and ready to return the favor when required.

The 1st category of patients expresses their displeasure when we bump into them on a Sunday, for the non availability of services. ( I am not generalizing, just quoting from experience, ps : not applicable to everyone )

The rest of them greet him with a big humble hello and express happiness for their doctor enjoying a Sunday away from work. They introduce their families to him, and say few good things like how his timely diagnosis saved a life in their family. In Moments like this my heart swells with pride and I immediately go into a self introspection mode “am I doing anything wrong by holding him back on a Sunday ? “... and I ask him the same

He: its okay, you are giving a bit of my life back to me by enforcing the Sunday smash. More than you I am now looking forward to Sundays..