RECOVERY Diary

Of Sickness and Health|A Foreign Country|The Possibility of Healing

- Vineetha Mokkil

Of Sickness and Health

French writer Marguerite Duras once described writing as ‘‘a kind of illness’’ in an interview. Apart from this ‘illness’, which struck quite early in life, I hadn’t suffered from any serious disease as a child or an adult. That is, until I was diagnosed with a severe case of typhoid about a month ago.

Like the rest of humanity, I’ve had my share of headaches and fevers over the years. Headaches come and go (talking of Michelangelo). Best not to make a fuss about them. As for fever, there is always paracetamol in stock at the familiar neighbourhood chemist’s store. I manage to stay away from doctors. To dodge them—to be more accurate. It’s nothing personal. Doctors across the world who are snowed under their patients’ demands are fine people. The best of the best. My avoidance strategy is an inherited tic. Growing up, I saw my parents steer clear of doctors and hospitals unlike most of the adults in their social circle. Doctors came into the picture only when there was some sort of life-threatening emergency. Otherwise, it was all commonsense measures and home remedies—ginger and green tea, lemon and honey, turmeric, garlic, grandma’s potions— gulp them down, keep calm and carry on.