The Birth

 #Hornbill #Chapter:7 # The Birth 

Ch. 7 The Birth

The story of a newly appointed doctor in a remote mining town. He is in urgent need of establishing himself as a capable professional. His first case is the most difficult one where two lives are at stake! Does he succeed? Is he able to get his due? 

Vocabulary

Surgery- a place where a doctor, dentist or other medical practitioner treats or advises patients

Burly- (a person) large and strong; heavily built

Driller- someone who works at the drilling controls on the rig floor

Ye- an old written form of the word ‘the’
Contemplation- deep reflective thought
Abruptly- suddenly and unexpectedly
Perceptive- having or showing sensitive insight
Listless- lacking energy or enthusiasm
Premonition- a strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something unpleasant

Stout- (of a person) rather fat or heavy build
Midwife- a person, typically a woman, who is trained to assist women in childbirth

Bach- used as a term of endearment, often after a personal name
Smiled faintly- smiling with less energy or a smile that lacks spirit
Fret- be constantly or visibly anxious; worry

Overwrought- in a state of anxiety; tired
Snatch- manage to take (here)
Queer- strange; odd
Lethargy- lack of energy and enthusiasm

Rustle- make a soft, muffled crackling sound
Cinder- a small piece of partly burnt coal or wood that has stopped giving off flames but still has combustible matter in it
Probing- inquiring closely

Muddled- not arranged in order; untidy
Morbidly- (with reference to a disturbing or unpleasant interest or activity) in an abnormal and unhealthy manner
Sordidly- meanly selfish, self-seeking
Shrewish- (of a woman) bad-tempered or aggressively assertive
Dismal- causing a mood of gloom or depression
Wince- make a slight involuntary grimace or shrinking movement of the body out of pain or distress
Idyllic- like an idyll; extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque
Resentful- feeling or expressing bitterness or indignation at having been treated unfairly
Broodingly- preoccupied with depressing, morbid, or painful memories or thoughts

awful:very                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Resuscitate- revive someone from the unconsciousness
Ether- used as an anaesthetic
Haste- excessive speed or urgency of movement or action; hurry
Frantic- conducted in a hurried, excited, and disorganised way
Ebbing- (of an emotion or quality) gradually decreasing
Hypodermic- relating to the region immediately beneath the skin
Unsparingly-  generous

Flaccid- lifeless

Sodden- saturated with liquid, especially water; soaked through
Tallow- the hard fat of animals melted and used to make soap, candles etc.
Hastily- with excessive speed or urgency; hurriedly
Slashed- slit
Lolled- hang loosely

Haggard- looking exhausted and unwell, especially from fatigue, worry, or suffering
Asphyxia- a condition arising when the body is deprived of oxygen, causing unconsciousness or death; suffocation
Pallida - suffocation or unconscious condition caused by lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide in the blood, accompanied by paleness of the skin, weak pulse, and loss of reflexes
Faltered- lose strength or momentum
Pallid- (of a person's face) pale, typically because of poor health

Ewer- a large jug with a wide mouth, formerly used for carrying water
Plunging- falling steeply                                                                                               Stark- complete
Consternation- a feeling of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexcited

Draggled- dirty or wet, typically from being trailed through mud or water
Stumbling- tripping or losing balance while walking; moving with difficulty
Sopping- saturated with liquid; wet through
Whimpered- say something in a low, feeble voice that expresses fear, pain, or unhappiness

Pigmy- little (here)
Convulsive- violent; uncontrollable
Heave- produce a sigh
Giddy- weak
Unavailing- achieving little
Iridescent- showing luminous colours that seem to change when seen from different angles

Scullery- a small kitchen or room at the back of a house used for washing dishes and other dirty household work

Reading With Insight

Question 1:
“I have done something; oh, God! I’ve done something real at last.” Why does Andrew say this? What does it mean?
Answer:
The young doctor Andrew Manson had done a commendable work. His exclamation is justified. He had not only helped the middle-aged lady in the safe delivery of a male child but also restored them to perfect health. Susan Morgan’s strength was ebbing after the delivery. She was almost pulse less. Andrew gave her an injection and worked severely to strengthen her heart.
The major achievement of Andrew was to resuscitate the stillborn child. First, he covered the child with a blanket and began the special method of respiration. Then he tried the hot and cold water treatment dipping the baby alternately. He laboured in vain for half an hour. He then made another last effort. He rubbed the child with a rough towel. He went on pressing and releasing the baby’s little chest with both his hands. At last the baby responded. His chest heaved. Andrew redoubled his efforts. The child was gasping now. A bubble of mucus came from his tiny nostril. The pale skin turned pink. His limbs became hard. Then came the child’s cry.
Andrew called upon God as witness of his act which was no less than a miracle. It was not mere theoretical talk but a practical achievement—something real and solid.

Question 2:
‘There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practicing physician.’ Discuss.
Answer:
Normally, the medicines prescribed in the textbooks are used by the practicing physicians. However, in extreme cases of emergency, the physician’s experience, resourcefulness and practical approach become far more important than the theoretical knowledge. For example, a victim of bum-injury, snakebite or suffocation through drowning needs immediate help. The nearest available doctor may not have all the facilities needed for the case. In such a situation first-aid is a must to save the patient’s life before rushing him to the hospital for proper care. With limited resources at his command, the physician exercises all his practical experience to control the damage to minimise and check the victim’s state from further deterioration. A stitch in time does save nine in such cases. The improvised, practical help comes as a boon.

Question 3:
Do you know of any incident when someone has been brought back to life from the brink of death through medical help? Discuss medical procedures such as organ transplant and organ regeneration that are used to save human life.
Answer:
Yes, I have seen, read and heard of incidents where people have been brought back to life from the brink of death through medical help. Surgical operations, life saving drugs and organ transplant play a leading role in modern medical science. Leading hospitals in advanced countries have facilities for medical procedures such as organ transplant and organ regeneration. Blood bank and eye bank are quite common. Nowadays people willingly donate various organs of their body to the hospitals after their death. The techniques of organ regeneration help to preserve them for a certain period and use them for transplanting the defective organ of another patient. Nowadays eye, heart, kidney and liver are being transplanted. The time is not far off when artificial human organs will be made in laboratories from non-human sources.