Chapter 140 - Dr. Mittal's Diagnosis

|Eshan|

"Eshan, do you know what triggered her panic attack?"

When Dr. Mittal asked me about what could be the possible reason behind Innaya's panic attack, I did not have an appropriate answer. I shook my head negatively.

I caressed Innaya's cheek. I knew she could not feel it, but I got reminded of her scared figure when she had to take that tetanus injection. At that time, I was unaware of the awful memory she had of hospitals and injections. I did not know that her father had almost killed her. Remembering what kind of cruel man she had as a father, I could not help but feel angry.

Even after grandpa removed him from Innaya's life, his cruelty was still haunting her. What kind of sick bastard was he to harm her? I still did not get why he did that to my wife. I felt there was something more to her past. When she had told me about her past, at that time also I had felt something wasn't adding up.

I silently moved my hand under the covers. Blindly searching for a bit, I found Innaya's hand. Opening her fist, I weaved my fingers in hers and held onto it. I squeezed her palm.

"Do you have something to support this saline bottle? I need to hook her up to the IV. It would be good for her with immediate effects."

I noticed that alongside injection, he had taken our other things from his bag as well. He seemed to have come prepared. His thoughtfulness touched me. I needed to treat him more kindly for the help he was offering.

"Let me see," I answered as I reluctantly left Innaya's hand. I did not wish to be apart from her for a minute, but one must do what he had to do.

"Would coat hanger stand work?" I asked feeling unsure. It was the only thing that came to my mind as I searched for a possible alternative for the saline stand.

He adjusted his spectacles as he raised his head in my direction. He accessed the stand I was holding. "It should do. Bring it over," he instructed.

I followed his instructions. Keeping the stand on his side, I moved out of his way. I again took my place beside Innaya and waited for him to finish his work. I kept silent throughout because I did not wish to disturb him. I would be asking my doubt, the moment he was done with his work.

"Did you visit the gynecologist yesterday?" Dr. Mittal asked while he probed at the inside of her elbow searching a vein for inserting the needle.

"No. We planned to go today," I replied as I looked at his actions. For some odd reasons, I could not bear to watch her getting prick. Subconsciously, even small actions such as the little piercing of needle across her skin appeared harmful to me. I was taking things badly. I needed to grip my emotions.

He swiftly inserted the IV and adjusted the equipment. I averted my gaze.

"Here, clean those marks on her neck with this disinfectant. After that, apply this cream on her throat." He held out cotton and a tube for me to take.

I had forgotten about how she had hurt herself in that moment of a daze. I took both the things from his hand.

I moved the bathrobe little away from her front. I winced internally when I saw how she had scratched her throat with her nails. Some places seemed to have bled a little. I could not understand what elicited such a strong reaction from her. My eyes turned red. I blinked back tears forming in my eyes.

In my whole life, no one evoked such kind of emotions from me. Innaya had so stronghold on my whole life that I was afraid to imagine my life without her. Since the time I fell for her, I had imagined no one but only her as my life partner. I gently cleaned the affected places on her throat. Innaya seemed to have fallen asleep or was she unconcious? She had stopped shivering too.

"Why did her condition worsen so suddenly? She was fine and suddenly… she went into a daze. She never ended up with so much lethargy after her attacks. She would always be fine after some time. What's wrong with her? She complained about the cold. She can't handle cold, but I don't think that standing under cold water for ten-fifteen minutes would result in a fever. And, she seemed to be barely holding on. Why is that?" I asked him.

These questions were bothering me since I saw Innaya having a panic attack and then how her condition deteriorated rapidly. I could not understand it, and I knew she didn't understand it either.

"Hmm…" Dr. Mittal cleaned his hands with sanitizer as he packed his bag. "Her present condition is because of her panic attack. Sometimes it's not necessary to have a trigger. Even the slightest of a reminder of the past could be the reason for panic attacks. The human brain is strange. What tricks it would play and what effect it will have… no one can predict it. As you haven't told me, what's the reason for her PTSD or exactly what transpired before she had an attack, I can't comment on it."

"Her fever, extreme reaction, those scratches, lethargy is because of her attack. Her low hemoglobin is only adding to that. If she has been anemic from very long, then such kind of reactions are expected," he said vaguely.

"What do you mean?"

"Eshan, look. Low hemoglobin means low iron in her bloodstream. Low iron would result in a lack of oxygen to her organs. She's not only anemic but lacks vitamins and nutrition. We think that what we eat is enough to support our bodies, but it's a misconception.

It's not enough because we don't focus on caring for ourselves. There are many micronutrients, minerals, vitamins required for our body. We need them in a very small amount. But, that demand is sometimes not fulfilled. Her lethargy was caused by a lack of oxygen supply to her brain. Her blood pressure is also low.

Dehydration can also be the reason behind it. That's why she needs a full body checkup to rule out everything. We neglect our body which should be our top priority. If these things kept going for a long time then that can result in serious, life-threatening illnesses. You'll have to consult the gynecologist along with a hematologist," Dr. Mittal concluded.

With every word coming from Dr. Mittal's mouth, my heart was sinking lower and lower. I did not think that Innaya's health problem could be so serious. Delaying her check-up was not the option. After Innaya recovered, we needed to visit the hospital. I just hoped that it was nothing serious.