Longings of a heart

‘Life is a congenitally transmitted sexual disease with 100% mortality’. - Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s world. ‘So God created mankind in His own image’. - Genesis 1:27. The surgical intensive care unit was buzzing with activity on Monday morning. A platoon of doctors was on rounds making their assessment of the critically ill. After they had ceremoniously washed their hands to control hospital borne infections, they moved on to the next bed. The patients on the other side were the only living beings in the midst of the high technology medical equipment. There were tubes sticking out of all the orifices of human body. Machines delivered breaths to the sedated patients through an endotracheal tube, with monitoring of vital parameters displayed on digital screens. The nursing students with their teachers, the respiratory technicians and the critical care fellows- all made the place busy enough. Suddenly high priority alarms went off. I, being the peripheral registrar posted