The human body and technology are fascinating, in more ways than one. What is more fascinating, however, are the unique and often inconceivable ways in which they interact. I write this post while lying on my childhood bed in India. The last time I was in this room — and this ingenious enigma called India — was close to 4 years ago.
And why am I lying on my childhood bed, you may ask? It's because the first feat I managed to accomplish after coming to India after so long, is to lose my balance off a flight of stairs. Like the coyote that is unfailingly caught off-guard in the famous cartoon series The Roadrunner, I took off in to the air and landed right on my tailbone (don’t try to correlate my age with this outdated, yet classic pop culture reference).
For me, this fall was one of my worst nightmares possibly coming true — injuring my back such that I lose my mobility. The pain was unbearable; the people around me were scared (read: my parents), to the point where I had to suck it up, get up, and calm them down. The immediate course of action was a trip to the Emergency Room to get X-rays done.
This seemed reasonable, except that I managed to accomplish this feat the night before the festival of Raksha-bandhan. Without going into the details of the plethora of festivals that India celebrates, I would like to highlight the bottom line — most doctors in this city were out participating in the festivities. It was the equivalent of long weekends in the United States.
The radiology department of the ER closest to mine was functional, however there was only a certified technician there — no doctors. Strange, but true. The technician, who came across as nothing short of an authoritative researcher in the field of radiology, effortlessly imaged my tailbone from more than one angle.
Looking at the images, he nonchalantly, yet emphatically, proclaimed that there was no bone fracture. While this was the (good) news that I wanted to hear, I demanded that a “REAL” radiologist inspect the images. He looked irritated, perhaps even insulted. He indicated that the radiologist was not going to be in that day. The resulting dismay on my already emaciated face somehow managed to open floodgates of sympathy in his heart. And that’s when something magical happened.
This seemed reasonable, except that I managed to accomplish this feat the night before the festival of Raksha-bandhan. Without going into the details of the plethora of festivals that India celebrates, I would like to highlight the bottom line — most doctors in this city were out participating in the festivities. It was the equivalent of long weekends in the United States.
The radiology department of the ER closest to mine was functional, however there was only a certified technician there — no doctors. Strange, but true. The technician, who came across as nothing short of an authoritative researcher in the field of radiology, effortlessly imaged my tailbone from more than one angle.
Looking at the images, he nonchalantly, yet emphatically, proclaimed that there was no bone fracture. While this was the (good) news that I wanted to hear, I demanded that a “REAL” radiologist inspect the images. He looked irritated, perhaps even insulted. He indicated that the radiologist was not going to be in that day. The resulting dismay on my already emaciated face somehow managed to open floodgates of sympathy in his heart. And that’s when something magical happened.
This technician quickly whipped out his Android smartphone, fired up WhatsApp, took a picture of the computer screen with my X-rays perfectly centered, and sent it off to the radiologist. Apparently, the radiologist was always available on WhatsApp. Within a few minutes, he messaged back that there was no bone fracture — he could only see soft tissue trauma and suggested a medication for reducing the sharp pain. Lock, stock, and barrel — all this using WhatsApp!
I wonder whether the creators of WhatsApp intended for their app to be used for emergency medical care. But this is a classic example where one just never knows how technology will come to the rescue. While I got lucky in this case, one cannot help but think of the countless scenarios where such clever use of technology can be lifesaving.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I must confess that I often take my body for granted for I conveniently choose to ignore its frailty. As far as technology is concerned, nothing sums up my tendency to take it for granted better than stand-up comedian Louis C.K.’s famous quote about cellphones, “This is what people are like now, they've got their phone, and they're like, 'uhhhh, it won't —' GIVE IT A SECOND! It's going to space. Can you give it a second to get back from space? Is the speed of light too slow for you?"
This was one of those incidents when I was reminded of their true value. I am still in pain, probably for the next few weeks, but at the end of the day, I am just glad that someone out there decided to think on their toes, and of course, use WhatsApp.
As far as the technician was concerned, I gave him the biggest thanks of my life for I was grateful for his ingenuity. And to you, WhatsApp, thank you — you really got my back!
This was one of those incidents when I was reminded of their true value. I am still in pain, probably for the next few weeks, but at the end of the day, I am just glad that someone out there decided to think on their toes, and of course, use WhatsApp.
As far as the technician was concerned, I gave him the biggest thanks of my life for I was grateful for his ingenuity. And to you, WhatsApp, thank you — you really got my back!
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