Throat Infection
Please avoid self medication, it can be fatal
This time it is Throat Infection for Geet, no she has three sets of medicines for her :-
- Crocin – For fever
- SInarest – For Caugh & Cold
- Ibrufen – I dunno may be pain killer – I hate this drug
- Another one for the Throat infection
Will tell you some other post why I hate just hate Ibrufen – Man I think they should ban this drug 
Surprisingly we have all the medicines except point no.4, we also have medicines for Indigestion, vomiting, Colic Acids, Aciclovir, Vomiting, Pain Killer etc., infact we have a mini medical store at home
Geet not Feeling Well
Geet is not feeling well, since we are back, this is the third time she is suffering something or the other.
First it was herpes, so the Aciclovir was prescribed for a week.
Next she had very high fever and the Doc diagnosed that it was a Viral Fever and we realised this was spread from my maid, she was complaining of cold & cough and did not come for 3 days as she had fever.
Third she had fever is when she had her Vaccination.
& Now the Fourth time fever & caugh with running nose, been to the doc yesterday and found that it was Throat Infection. 
It is sp painfull to see her so silent and tired, coz she is always bubbly and smiling all the time.
New Kids in the block
Ive been interacting with some parents who recently delivered babies with clefts, it is nice to see them take it positively.
Manish, Parikshit, AAB & few more of them, it is really nice that you are taking all the effort to make sure your child gets the best. We did have some healthy conversation and exchanged lot of useful info.
Everytime I speak to them, I see their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn and explore more n more about this subject, Just like I was when I first heard this word Cleft in the Scan Room.
All the Best guys, like one of the Doc said “Cleft & Palate is one of the most safest and least disrupting Birth Defect a baby can have, there are a whole lot of them, that you can do nothing about”
No Posting
I Know its been couple of months now and I have not upload anything at all, Blogging is a habitual thing!! ( Thing?? ) If you give a break once, it takes time to start again
I hope this time There are breaks in between….
Journey of Geet in Pictures
At Birth
After Few Days
Back at Home
With Steri Strips across her Lips
With Nam
A Night before Surgery
Moments Before Surgery
Just After Surgery
Recovery
Before Removing The Stitches
After Removing the Stitches
After Removing the Final SteriStrip
A day After she was Born to the Day after the removal of stitches
Geet has regain some of her chubby cheeks, you can check those in the recent pics when I post in future
All Rights protected and please do not use these or any the pictures from the blog without my written consent. ( Let me warn you guys, Iam an Attorney specializing on IPR )
Pictures of Geet
I know everybody is waiting for the pictures of Geet, Actually I have all ready and uploaded them, but then just thought of showing Vanitha first before publishing them. She hardly gets time for herself after all the household chores and Geet’s routine, so forget about reading this blog, may be one day when Geet is lil older, Vanitha can take some time and read the past I mean the Posts:)
Another Issue is with the Copyrights, I dont want the pictures to be used everywhere as before n after picture for Clefts, I mean Iam happy to share them with others, but want people to take my permission so that I know where exactly these pictures are used and where are they used.
So may be in a day or two will upload the pictures
Silly Moment
This happened the day we landed in UK, the apartment we stayed did not have any keys, there were lobby Security Code and the Door Security Code.
When we came in we decided to heat the water to prepare the milk for Geet, but we could not find the Matchbox to light the Hob. I knew this was one of those which lights on its own, but we could not get it to light.
So I decided to buy a matchbox and come back, went about asking for directions to a place where I can buy one, crossed the street, the river ( yes there is a river Chelmer flowing in the heart of Chelmsford ) finally reached a store called Wilkinson.
I asked the staff there for a match box, for which she replied “We do have one but not just the match box, it will also contain the match sticks” hmm, I said that’s what I wanted to purchase, I purchased that for 5o penns and was on my way back to the apartment, entered the loby code and…. the door did not open
I was standing outside the Apartment Lobby, in that freezing cold and no way to reach Vanitha ( she had the phone ) I tried various combinations, but nothing helped. Right below our apartment was a Tatoo Saloon, big huge showroom, I decided to ask him for his help.
I went in and asked the big guy If I could make one call as I was stuck outside and forgotten the code, he called his boss, who was a frail man with long hair and Tatoo allover, I again requested him and explained him the situation, he then allowed me to make a call, Spoke to Vanitha and told her to tell me the code or come and open the lobby door, she then came down and opened the door
I was explaining the entire journey and she was still staring at that match box, when I asked her what was the matter, she asked me making a weird face “ what is in this match box that you paid Rs. 40/-” he he this is what happens when you convert everything in Rupees
Monika , Ritesh & Friends
I always believed in helping others ( also trying to that with this blog ) but lately loads of guidance and help from fellow bloggers, friends, Doctors across the world was a real eye opener.
Just when I thought this is one amazing helpful globe we have, we came across Monika ,Ritesh & Manju. Manju was not feeling well but still she was very helpful in whatever information I got from her.
This all started from Orkut, I have been sending mails to various organisations, samajas, trust etc etc just for some guidance in UK. This was our first visit and we wanted some phone no or name with us whom we could call if we needed anything.
I even traced down a Jain Samaj in Chelmsford / Essex, but was very disappointed that I did not hear anything from them. Probably they though I was looking for some aid, but I did not want anything from them.
During all this searching I came across one Community in Orkut, and again shooted mails to them, I got response from two of them, Manju & Monika. They were very helpful in giving the local info, the taxi cost, the hotels & stores nearby, the phones, etc etc, co-incidentally they also worked in the same Broomfield Hospital. No matter how much you google, nothing can replace a local person’s practical street knowledge.
23rd when we landed & I had my silly moment ( will write about that later ) seeing that Geet was asleep both me & geet were deep in sleep in two corners of the pretty large sofas, we were so tired and the Jetlag n all. In deep sleep I received a call on my Local UK Sim Card. It was Ritesh, I had never heard this name before so was confused, he later told that he was Monika’s Husband. They greeted and we spoke and later he asked if it was Ok to visit us. Ok? we are always glad when someone visit us, and someone visiting us in Chelmsford, nothing better
But again we both went to sleep, another call made us realise that have actually come to visit, a quick fix cleaning of the flat and we invited them, They had Drinking Water, Juice, Milk and something else. It was very nice to meet them, they both work in recovery section in the Hospital. They met Geet and we were more than relieved that we had someone to call for help if we needed any.
Geet was taken care by Monika after the Surgery, the first one to see her open her eyes.
Next few days they got us home cooked foods to the Hospital, Parathas, Roti, etc, another 4 cans of water, juices, Toys & Gifts for Geet, their Phone calling card, their spare Sim card and even dropped & picked us up to the Hospital. We were just overwhelmed and sometimes even embarrassed with the hospitality shown by them. It was a pity that we could not meet Rithika, but we shall see them next time around.
They would always say that if there is anything there we just have to call them and they would come, that I think was the best thing they could give us, a sense of support in an alien land.
There were few more like Mr. Kannan who came all the way from London to meet us and again as I said earlier Manju who could not meet us as they were suffering some infection but promised to meet us next time they come.
Thank You guys, thank you for all the support
A Note of Thanks
This Post is just to thank the Team of Medical Professionals who worked for the betterment of Geet – (In the order of Me meeting them)
Dr. Mangala Ramchandra ,Gynecologist
Very helpful and patient, available 5 days in a week and ready to clear your doubts even if you call middle of the night, I have already written about her in my earlier post…
Dr. Hanumanth Rao & Dr. Prakash, Pediatrician
Very Polite & helpful, again available 5 days in a week, explains everything in detail, does not hesitate you take our calls at odd hours and answers every time with a smile.
Ms. Stuti Jain, Good Friend
She has been a great support and guiding & advising on critical matters. We also got lot of Baby Care Gyan from her experience, a great friend you can always rely on
Dr. Anantheshwar, Plastic Surgeon, Manipal
One of the Reason, we did not abort Geet, He assured that Surgeries can be done with satisfactory results and we should not think about abortion just because the Kid has Bilateral Cleft & Palate. Even offered to do the Surgeries free of cost if we could not afford one.
Dr. Akshai Shetty, Orthodontist
Part of Smile Train Bangalore & One of the most experienced Orthodontist practicing NAM, he was the best we could find and he made sure that the NAM went on fine and gave the desired results. He kept pushing us to have the NAM for longer hours, but we could not get Geet have NAM for more than 8 Hrs, amazing guy surprisingly very young but with high credentials.
Dr. Grayson, Orthodontist, NYMC
The Pioneer who created NAM, cannot believe that he took the time out and communicated in detail about the NAM and also offered to have a periodical look on the development of the NAM. Truly amazing doctor.
Dr. Court Cutting, Plastic Surgeon, NYMC
The Best Cleft Surgeon in the world still exchanged mails and offered to do the Surgery. His generosity with time and valuable information was very highly appreciated. A True Gentleman
Dr. Shelly, Speech Therapist, NYMC
No Matter how much I talk about her it will never express my gratitude towards her. She was with us from day one explaining about the Cleft Care, Pathway, communicating with various departments, giving videos on how to feed, sharing the bottle for Clefts information and a whole lot more. She is truly amazing person and I personally thank her for making us go through the initial period with ease.
Dr. Brian Sommerlad, Plastic Surgeon, St. Andrews
The person who is responsible for correcting Geet’s Cleft Lip & Nostrils. He is amazing, have spoken about his experience and qualification earlier but I learnt one more thing about him, how surprisingly down to earth his man is. We also spoke to some other patients who had come there and everyone had only one thing to say about him, that he is the best. Always replied mails, always cleared all the doubts we had, even the most silly ones. He had given us so much confidence that we decided to go to all the way to England for the Surgery even without meeting him or even talking to him over phone, and we knew we had done the right thing.
Dr. Jill , Cleft Nurse, St. Ansdrews Centre
Again, amazing care & hospitality we never felt we were foreigners in their hospital, she took time to explain everything in detail, showing pictures of earlier Cleft babies, and made sure that we do not leave the hospital untill geet feeds normally from the bottle ( was irritating to stay 3 days in hospital ) but she was right on her part and was good for Geet only.
Dr. Frost, Anethesits, St. Ansdrews Centre
Did not interact with him much, but came to know he is among the best there at the Broomfield Hospital and was again courteous enough to explain indetail and make us feel at ease. I liked the way they explained the points in the consent form in gross detail and assuring us at the same time.
All the Nurses at the Moonbeam Ward
Nurse Jenin, Kathy and all others, they took wonderful care of Geet, and the best thing was they treated Geet like a person and not as baby, they would talk to Geet, greet her and also explain her ( “ this will pain a little dear, please don;t mind… ) and say sorry to her every time she cried. The ward for children friendly, the Nurses wore apron which had cartoon characters, the band aids had cartoons, the TV, the room, the waiting room, everything there would have cartoon and games.
