911

It was the beginning of a routine day for me when I got up. So after finishing my breakfast I was driving to work. I stopped at a traffic signal and then all of a sudden I felt a bit of unease. I started feeling dizzy and my hands were trembling.

I was in two minds whether to continue to drive or find a place to park so that I would take some time to recover. My worst fear was that if I chose the former option what if my condition continues to deteriorate I would most probably faint at the wheel and cause an accident. The red light was still on. At that moment I decided not to take a risk.

Luckily for me there was a right turn which I took and parked myself in the parking lot of a shopping mall. I reclined my seat and closed my eyes. After some time I got out of the car and began to walk. I thought maybe I am feeling a bit better now and can continue to drive. But once I got behind the wheel, I could sense that something was not right. I was out of breath, my mouth was dry and throat parched. Compounding the problem was the fact there was this eerie sensation that my heart was contracting.

I called my brother on the phone and told him about my situation. He advised me to immediately call 911. I then told him to wait and walked into the nearby store to ask for the address. The lady in the store was surprised when I asked her for the address. I told her that I wasn't feeling well and would need the address to inform the 911 dispatch. The lady was kind enough to offer me a chair, some water and called up 911 herself as she said it was just around the corner.

The Paramedics were there with their kits within 5 mins. I explained to the Paramedics what happened. They asked for my ID, checked my blood pressure and took a blood sample to test whether I am a diabetic. Their readings came out normal. They gave me an option to come with them to the hospital or to go home.

I decided that I would rather get this thing out of the way and so followed the paramedics. As the doors closed behind me and the ambulance sirens were switched on I couldn't believe that here I am sitting in an ambulance on the way to hospital. I relapsed into a flashback mode and remembered that some times while I was driving I would see the ambulances rushing with their wailing sirens and now I was in a similar situation.

Once I reached the hospital I was taken to the emergency room. I was asked to take out my shirt and they put all those wires on my chest and the feet to monitor my oxygen levels, blood pressure and my heart beat.

The doctors and nurses asked me questions about my medical history, whether I had any food allergies, do I smoke/drink or take drugs. My answer was negative. The took an ECG, Chest X-ray and drew a blood sample again. Thankfully there was nothing abnormal in the reports. The doctors were surprised that how did I feel light headed/giddy when all the vital parameters looked normal. These questions were perplexing to me as well. I took my breakfast, lunch and dinner on time and exercised regularly. Past couple of years except for eggs, I haven't consumed meat. As part of my daily routine, I made sure that I consumed the requisite amount of nuts, fruits and vegetables. What went wrong?

Finally I got the answer from the doctor himself. He suggested that the probable reason that I felt uneasiness was due to an irregular heart beat or palpitations in medical terminology. He told me that this is something which is not uncommon.

The few hours spent in the hospital bed was worse than hell. Whenever my finger touched the steel rails of the bed or my heart beat began to fluctuate, the monitor would start beeping loudly. The only saving grace was that there was a television in the room and watching Tom & Jerry, Garfield was a great stress reliever :)

I was allowed to go home after the doctor gave me a discharge letter and advised me to fix an appointment with another doctor so that they could follow up and monitor on my heartbeat.

On my way back, I returned to the place where I parked my car and thanked the lady at the store who helped me. She was happy to see me back on my feet and said that I look in a better shape now than I was when I met her in the morning.

I am finally back at my hotel room and now feel a lot better :)

(Image courtesy: http://dc-cdn.virtacore.com/2011/01/ambulance1.jpg)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I did watch the television episodes of the Planet of the Apes during my childhood days. I wasn't expecting much from the big screen version but it was a pleasant and refreshing experience.

The things shown in the movie about how humans treat primates and their condescending attitude strikes a chord with the audience. Caesar (played admirably by Andy Serkis) is a chimpanzee who inherits his mother's extraordinary intelligence genes attributed mainly to the research scientist Will Rodman's (James Franco) initiative to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease.

There are quite a few unforgettable scenes in the movie. When Will sits in the restroom holding the baby chimpanzee which is wrapped in a small blanket and it clutches the finger of Will, it's one of those tender moments and you don't think it's a chimpanzee it looks just like a human baby.

The anguish on Caesar's face when he is brought to the primate detention center and his longing to get back home, the communication Caesar has with other primates at the detention center mostly the one involving the orangutan are funny and also shows their helplessness against the human captors.

James Franco as the scientist Will Rodman gives a compelling performance. Other standout characters are Charles (John Lithgow) who plays Will's father and Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) Will's boss and Will's colleague Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine) . Caroline Aranh (Frieda Pinto) leaves a mark.

The action scenes involving the golden gate bridge in San Francisco has been nicely choreographed.

However the audience appreciation was reserved for the central character of the movie and the cynosure of all eyes Caesar. My favorite scene in the movie was when Will's dad Charles struggles to hold a fork and Caesar takes his hand and teaches him how to hold a fork leaving Charles and Will stunned.

Ironically homo sapiens (the present day man) evolved from the Apes and now victimizes and threatens not only the apes but all the living beings on the planet.

We have to pause and think before we keep moving on the same path which will lead to disastrous consequences for not only mankind but for every living being on this beautiful planet called Earth

(Image courtesy: http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Rise-of-the-Planet-of-the-Apes-Review.jpg)