November 21 2008

You expect to have to deal with health issues as you get older, but when they hit you when you are young, its a little more trying. I haven’t been blogging the last few days because my daughter Rasarani-priya has been rather sick and with her mother in Vrndavana, its been a bit of a trial.

She is no stranger to our constant companion, vyadhi. Since the age of three she has had pneumonia six times, and almost every year has serious breathing problems. But this time the symptoms were a little different.

She seemed alright when she returned from Indradyumna Maharaja’s kartika parikrama to Vrndavana, Jaipur and Hrishikesh last month.

Then a week ago she came back from the first winter procession of the Mayapur Deities with 101 deg. fever. I thought it was a 48 hrs. flu and she spent a couple of days in bed. But swelling behind and below her ears, a cracking headache and very sore throat all showed she had in fact contracted mumps.

Nothing to be done as far as treating a virus goes. All you can do is give some paracetamol to keep the fever down a bit and let the body fight it out. Once having been, it never comes again.

Unfortunately after three days her temperature suddenly shot up from 99 to 103, then 104 and then 105. We called the doc. and he prescribed some antibiotics. Not stuff we particularly like, but when its needed, its effective. We also had a blood test done and there results came back the same day. The big T, as in typhoid. I was glad we got the doctor in. I had typhoid once and its no fun. The doctor advised keeping the same treatment but for a longer period.

Its been a bit more of a trauma for Rasarani because she had just started her first week of Bhakti Shastri course with the MIHET. She was anxious that she not miss out on her studies.

Anyway, here she is (with Jahnu, Sri Radha Vallabha and Kamalakshi)

steadily recovering, with expert help from our resident mid-wife and nurse and erstwhile cook, Aunti Ramadevi

and an occasional visit from her friends, newly initiated sisters Sri Radha Vallabha and Kamalakshi.

  I hope within a few more days she will be over the worst and back in action. It isn’t pleasant having needles stuck in you several times a day

She’s a trooper though. She hasn’t missed her rounds and has been trying her best to keep up with the course materials. At least she’s having some practical realizations about the truths in Bhagavad-gita. And in the evenings she has been finding some solace from my reading for an hour from the Brhat-bhagavatamrta.

Here’s a few friends, including Tara (on the left) who stayed overnight with Rasarani-priya to keep her company

and Tara’s younger brother Jahnu dasa, who just turned 13 on November 20.

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