Mind of my Stroked Brain

When I had my stroke early in 2019 I was in the hospital's ICU for a little over a month. I don't remember if they gave me a bath in the ICU. It didn't matter to me anyway as I was unconscious there mostly and hallucinating all the time.  Later they shifted me to their HDU ward (high dependency unit). It was at the end of a long corridor of atleast another 20-24 wards/ rooms.  That made it miserable!  Why you say? They have very skeletal staff for the night shift (nurses, attenders, doctors, everything). It is the duty/ responsibility of the night shift staff to give a bath to the patients and handover to the day staff.  Usually 1 nurse + 1 attender (ward boy) had the responsibility of giving bath to all the patients of one side of the long corridor.  They did a quick namesake job (ಕಾಟಾಚಾರ ಕೆಲಸ). Even then, it would take 15-20 minutes per patient - disrobe, bath, enrobe, teeth cleaning, etc).  They had to finish this for all the patients before 7:30AM (whic...

When we consume something, if it is cold we can and do gulp it down. If it is nice and warm, we chew it a few times and then swallow. If it is very hot - we sip it slowly or we spit it out if it is too hot to handle. I think it is nature's way of moderating the temperature amongst other things.  Chewing or sipping will bring down the temperature quite a bit in the mouth. When the swallowed food or drink goes down the oesophagus, it further cools down. When it enters the stomach - it is "Goldilocks" right temperature. With a peg tube direct to the stomach - that moderating function is lost. It's about a foot length, but rubber/ synthetic material and a heat insulation material. The nurses are very careful - the feed is tepid ( almost body temperature) and it is not discernable. Once in a while, it is a notch cooler or hotter. It is very distinguishable because the stomach reacts. It handles a drop in temperature alright - but can very much feel the cool fluid settling ...