He was waiting patiently outside the reception. " How much longer for the bed, Mam? He is in the wheelchair for almost an hour. " " Sir, what can I do?, its covid times. More than half the beds have been allotted for covid. A Patient will finish chemotherapy in 15 minutes. After him, I will directly give you the bed". Before she could finish the sentence, another phone rang again. " Hello, ABC hospitals." "Yes sir, we still have few covid beds available. Only oxygen though." "Ok sir. Please ask the ambulance to come to the ER. The staff there will take care." She kept holding the receiver in one hand and kept talking to him. "It will be room number 4 in the third floor sir. Keep the admission slip with you. As soon as the room is clean, you can take him there". Another ring and another conversation. The endless loop answering phone and answering concerned relatives was continuing for her.
He looked at the slip. From his vantage point, the scene contrasted the empty streets outside. There were people everywhere, partly out of concern for their kins and partly due to the lack of organization. No once could have prepared for this. There is a small minority for whom the show must go on. Standing there, he could never know when the room would be free. All the precaution he had taken the last one seemed useless now. "Appa, can you hold on for a few more minutes? I will go up and check, if the room is empty. " The frail looking man on the wheelchair, that had in green letters "NOT COVID" nodded his head and slowly closed his eyes.
There was huge crowd waiting for the elevator. He took the stairs to the third floor. This floor was empty and the commotion was a lot less, than in the ground floor. He could see room no 4 at the corner. The door was slightly open. A nurse went into the room and began to carefully remove the IV from a old man's arm. "Sir, its over. These are the tablets you have to take everyday, 2 in the morning and 2 in the night. Please ask your attender to go and pay the bill and after that you can leave." She told it with the utmost care and immediately left the room. She moved on to room number 3.
He observed the old man looking at the bill. The old man slowly removed his medical gown, corrected his mask and started walking towards the door. The old arranged all the medical documents in a file and put it in his bag. There was no attender. The old man meandered outside the door towards the lift and waited for the lift to come. The lift had a lift boy and 2 other persons. The lift boy looked at the old man and noticed the patient tag still on the old man's hand. He quickly told " Sir, patients are not allowed in the lift, please ask your attender to help you in case you need something." The old man froze for a moment and stood still, while the lift boy closed the lift. The old man slowly started moving back, eyes watering up and not sure what he had to do. The nurse came out of room number 3 and was taken aback looking at the old man with watery eyes. She understood in a moment. "I am so sorry sir. Do you pay with insurance or cash?'
He could not watch it anymore. He slowly walked down the stairs. All he could do was be patient and not ask again when the old man will leave and the room will be empty.
