Hurray 2020 is definitely my year!

Welcome back to my blog,

Oh no, don't worry, this is not to rant about how unparliamentary and non-constitutional Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens is. And this is also not about how students have once again displayed their power and might coming together against these saffron clad monsters.

Education: 1 Ignorance: 0 

This is also not about how you should remember the next time you queue up to cast your vote, casually putting down to the link to upcoming elections in India; http://www.elections.in/upcoming-elections-in-india.html

This post is also not about the soaring prices for daily commodities or how inefficient the government has become and how they are very keen on filling the vote banks. This post is definitely not about how you should totally report the government and its allied accounts on all social media platforms for spreading violence and hate. This post is not to thank this government for bringing the people closer without intending to. 

Now that we are clear about everything, let me talk about what this post is about. It is about Hospice, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care. Those of you who have seen my survey would have a slight idea of what this is about.

I swear on Modi's life, that if one more person asks me if a hospice is a hospital; I AM GONNA KILL THAT PERSON!

(This is how you kill two birds with one stone)

I'm in the final lap of my architecture course and I have decided to take up an Integrated Hospice Design as my thesis project (despite several warnings). Most of the people I had talked to about the topic were as clueless as the present Government. 

I was asked several questions among which; Is hospice a hospital? being the most asked question.

Not being aware of something is not a mistake but choosing to stay unaware of is a deadly mistake. And that is why I decided to break down the terms for you;

Palliative Care or End-of-Life Care is the care provided to:

1. Patients who are terminally ill or are beyond any treatment 

OR

2. Patients who are in extreme pain and woe ( use of pain killer drugs are allowed in Palliative Care facilities).

OR

3. Patients who cannot afford treatment or care and have been exhausted of financial resources.

Hospice is an extension to Palliative care which begins when the patient is beyond any cure and;

1. Hospice extends to the patient as well as the family

AND

2. Care and comfort-oriented

AND

3. It looks forward to giving the patient and his or her family a smooth and peaceful passing over and the grieving period. 

Also, A Hospice can be 

1. In-patient ( Patient & Family stay at the facility)

OR

2. Out-Patient ( Visits the facility and spends quality time and receives care and comfort)

OR

3. Day Care ( Patient can be dropped off and picked up when there is an unavoidable occasion or job to be taken care off)

BOTH HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE ARE PROVIDED TO PEOPLE FREE OF COST BY CHARITIES, TRUSTS, AND THE GOVERNMENT.

I really hope now you are clear with your terms and now can go ahead to take my survey which will only take 2 minutes of your scrolling time.

Take the survey here

While dealing with the subject of Hospice, I had to deal with a lot of people who got irritated, uncomfortable and agitated around the topic of death and dying and thus cementing my decision to take it up as my thesis project. 

Since childhood, I and Renjiny have made it a point to share our thoughts and always believed that whatever we post or write even if it is just a handful of readers can manage to render a positive change. If taking up an architectural design project and executing it well can dispell the stigmas and taboos around death and dying; I'm more than happy to be doing so. I am willing to face all the jurors, negative and positive remarks, constructive criticisms, and sarcastic comments and whatever else is thrown my way.

In one of the panel reviews, a student asked me how it was right to put one dying person next to another dying person? And how can you put a person who is dying in such a depressing environment?

I have quite the answer for you my friend.

This year I was diagnosed with PCOD/PCOS which is a life long condition with no treatment. Hearing this for the first time and not being exactly aware of what it is put me to tears. I started wailing and crying about how I wanted to have a dozen kids. Every baby I met at the hospital made me cry. My friend who was accompanying me wanted to dump me but she didn't. She tried reminding me how I had previously told that I hated kids and didn't want any. But nothing could stop me. I started to smile less, talk less, feel weak and meaningless. That is when my friend's sister who also suffers from the same contacted me. Let me tell you this, I'm not kidding, but that call instantly improved my mental state. Later I ventured on to the internet where I found it was much more common than I had thought and I was not alone. 1 in 10 women in the world suffers from PCOD/PCOS. The strength that the support groups and chat rooms provided is far beyond imagination.

PCOS/PCOD might be a very small condition when compared to terminal illnesses, but the human nature of finding comfort while being able to relate to someone in a similar situation is immense. That is exactly why we have memes and relatable posts saga.

This is the human nature that we have to encourage and find it amongst our little groups. I may be right or wrong about this, but trust me, I believe in this little human nature.

I sincerely hope to render a design project that can both normalize death and dying and set a statement through architecture. While I talked about the warnings I had received while choosing the topic, let me not hide the fact that many had extended their support and warm regards. A small number of people that matters to me a lot.

I'm a very emotional and ethical person, going to a class late seems like a crime to me and cheating on even a class test is a big and huge NO; I found myself in tears when Anna had to fight alone and Elsa had frozen and Olaf had withered away in Frozen II. But hey that is who I am. I am strongly opinionated and would not mind challenging you to a debate or a discussion; that is who I am. I truly appreciate all who have stuck together with me and been with me for who I am. I thank all the people; especially my parents, my sister and my friends who have been my support and guiding force. Sending you the warmest regards and season's greetings.

Christmas is my all-time favorite season and my mom just saw a recent post about how I love the Christmas season and is now scolding me for putting the Christmas decorations on hold. So let me get the Christmassy vibes all over the house and I will write again soon.

The spirit of Christmas is in Giving;

Giving all good vibes, love, and warmth to you and your loved ones, this is Reshmy signing off...