-Brian Mendonça
‘You didn’t fall in, did you?’
Falling is seen as an action
without volition. So ‘I’m falling in love,’ implies ‘I am doing something in
spite of myself.’ The question was
addressed to me. I was wearing a Velcro wrist support. I explained I had fallen in the cemetery of
St. Thomas church, Aldona where I had gone for a funeral service. As the
prayers at the grave were being said, it started raining. We exited from the
narrow gate and commenced walking on the slope towards our vehicles. What I had not noticed was the moss and
lichen that was accumulated at the sides of the path. Before I knew it I felt I
was in midair. For an awful moment, time stood still. Then I fell down with a
thud. I was helped up hastily by many hands.
I hobbled to my car. I had to get
home. So I drove the distance alone. When I examined myself I noticed only my
right side was affected. I thanked my good fortune that I did not fall
backwards. The body had swivelled to the right to brace itself for the fall.
This had prevented any head injury. The right side of the rib cage hurt. And my
right wrist? I couldn’t flex my fingers easily.
After a restless night we visited
an orthopedic surgeon. To our good luck he visited the hospital only on one day
– the day we went to consult him. He gently pried my fingers loose and made his
observations. He advised an X- ray. It did not show anything. All one could see
were the bones of the hand. In other circumstances the image would inspire
fear.
The doctor advised cold compress,
spraying Volini and the capsule WillgoSP for 7 days. I took rest for two days
while the pain subsided. On the third day I took the car to work. Driving with
one hand was a skill I needed to work on. I left a little early and used my right
hand only to operate the indicator lights.
It was nice to get all the attention.
Most were curious to know where I fell. As I strode to my place of work I could
not but help feeling blessed. This could have easily gone horribly wrong. I
counted my many blessings and applied myself to my duties with even greater
resolve.
If it had not been for the X ray,
the doctor would not have been able to rule out a hairline fracture with
certitude. Wilhelm Roentgen, a German
physicist, discovered how one could view the bones by using specific rays of
light in1895. In order to confirm and publicize his discovery, he took an X-ray
of his wife Anna Bertha’s hand which showed her bones in relief. On seeing the
image she is believed to have exclaimed, ‘I have seen my death!’ For his
contribution, Roentgen (1845-1923) received the first Nobel prize in Physics in
1901.
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