My broken foot has taught me.......

1. My brother Raja is absolutely amazing..
He took me to the Grammys, inspite of my foot.. Hung out with me, carried my crutches, held my hand, stood in line at the after party for food and drinks and didn't make me feel like I was spoiling his fun.. Thanks!

2. Its really really realy good to have doctors in the family..
The day I broke my foot, I was in Bombay and were thankfully in Deepakmama's and Ameetbhai's neighborhood. So, we rushed to their places so, they could take a look at my foot. Since they are doctors, they had cell phone numbers of other doctors and also personally knew them. So, we were able to get in touch with a really good orthopedic surgeon who interrupted his wife's birthday party to put a cast on my foot. Before we met this doctor, we had to get my x-rays done and Sejubhabhi and Ameetbhai came with us so that I would get the correct care. Sejubhabi insisted that I get the x-ray from a particular angle. I am glad that she did that because, that is what was needed to see the fracture.....

3. Jet Airways has amazing service..
When they saw that my foot was in a cast, they moved me to a really good seat in the front of the plane, arranged pillows in front of me, so, that my foot could be elevated, and all this with a smile on their faces.. I'm quite impressed. Hope this continues.

4. Need for routine change..
I am allowed to take my brace off when I shower, but have put it back on immediately after. So, I have to remember to take my clothes including my socks to the bathroom. So, I had to diverge from routine of showering first and then ironing clothes when my hair was drying, as this would involve removing and wearing the brace twice. Instead, I had to wake up, iron my clothes and then go shower.. Not that its a huge deal, just took a few times to get the system down.

5. Think ahead to what I would need..
Similar to point 3, I now think 2 steps ahead. A simple matter of bringing things downstairs from the bedroom requires thought, cos, I don't want to make multiple trips up and down the stairs.. Making coffee requires thought, cos, I need to grab everything from the cabinet at once, then everything from the fridge as well.. Making multiple trips is very tiring..

6. Having good friends is also quite a blessing..
My friend Niky has been driving me back and forth from work, bringing me coffee and food and cookis.. and I don't quite know how to thank her.. She has gone above and beyond the call of friendly duty.. Guess, I'll have to make it up to her somehow.. My roommates Rina and Jacquelyn have also taken amazing care of me.. Rina accompanied me back to Boston from India and it was such a relief to have her with me. I didn't have to worry about anything. It was great and then at home she was always around to help me with food and whatever else I needed.. Jacquelyn actually went out in the cold to bring me my sandwich that I had been craving.. Prithwish drove me to the supermarket, carried my groceries around and then drove me to a movie, carried my bag when we went out for dinner a few times. Sapan picked me up at the airport. Shivani helped me unpack and put all my things away

7. Family members go out of their way to make you feel special..
When I was in India, everyone at home made sure that I didn't have to do ANYTHING!! Much to my annoyance at the time, but I now know how useful that was.. And, then everyone has been keeping in touch with me constantly to ask me how I am doing.. The other day Rhythm called me to ask how my foot was now.. And, its good that she called, cos, I needed to wakeup anyway :-)..
Saloni and Jeetu came to cambridge to pick me up so that I could attend Amitkaka's and Medhakaki's 25th wedding anniversay party. And then Jayukaka woke up at 3:30am to drop me off at logan express.

Hmm.. this is about all that I can think of right right now.. Will update more soon!!