MBBS-1

3 subjects. 6 papers. 9 days.

They told us it wouldn't be easy. They didn't tell us it would be this hard.

I walked out of college on the 22nd of July with a crisp hall-ticket tucked inside my bag, a motivational speech playing inside of my head. Yes, I was to appear for my 1st year Medical Examinations in less than 24 hours. Exams are challenging. I like them more because they are insightful, show you where you stand. This however was my pre-Med School ideology and I knew so little.

Rule #1 for clearing Med Exams: Kick sleep of out of the window and stack up on caffeine. Time is of the essence and you need to make sacrifices to buy it. Need to perfect the art of optimizing every passing hour and making it productive. The body wont like it. It'll begin to shut down your cognizance and each fibre will demand rest. Brew coffee, splash water, shut the drama and restart.

I've worked for 20 hours each day, for 10 days straight now. A simple voice saying 'fight, you're stronger than this.'

I had successfully coped with sleep issues for the first two papers- Biochemistry 1 and 2.

But if it was meant to be easy, it would not be called life.

It began as a little swelling in my otic canal. Before I knew, I was taken down by migraine followed by a ear ache that seemed to be ripping holes through my ear drum. Anatomy paper 1 one was sure to spell doom. The pain never subsided, and after handing out my answersheet for the day, I thought I was to collapse. Funnily, I couldn't even make time to visit the the doctor. I simply popped an antibiotic and smothered my ear with Soframycin. It was time for paper 2.

Antibiotics induce sleep. Don't we all know that? So yes, my second paper was to go down the drain too!

The anibiotic did what it was supposed to do, it relieved me of the pain. I just wont be able to guage the collateral damage I've suffered until I have my results in my hand.

Now with the pain subsided and my normal nocturnal cycle re-established, I had every reason to look forward to my favourite subject- Physiology.

Paper 1 was smooth as silk. A decent question paper, one that I did justice to. I think I smiled in response to a question paper for the first time. "Omg there was SO much to write! It just went on and on and on!"

There. I jinxed it. Life went "Aww, let's get your hand some rest sweety."

At 12:30am that night, I fractured my right wrist.

Hit it into a door bolt while making it out of my mom's room in utter darkness. Couldn't even yelp.

I decided it wouldn't be so bad and dismissed it...until I picked up a pencil to mark out an important line.

I could barely hold it.

The next two hours saw me sitting with ice-packs in one hand and a book in another. Desperately trying to train my hand into dexterity. Blue, swollen hands aren't the best of omens.

By 5 in the morning though, the ice seemed to have brought down the swelling. The pain only aggravated with forceful movements. I could just barely hold on to a pen.

Then Life belted out another joke.

Q. No 1: "Define Pain. Describe the pathway for pain sensation with a neat diagram."

Was I to laugh or cry or what?

I finished the entire exam. Still amazes me how, because even now my hand appears bruised. Because even now, this post is a left hand type out.

The last 10 days have left me fuzzled. I have bean bags beneath my eyes that could easily lodge a sleeping baby. My sleep cycles have been thrown haywire and the night seems to have lost it's sleep inducing effects.

But I feel relieved. I know that when I finally fall asleep, I will not have amino acids, livers and brains floating in my dreams.

Exams are challenging. They show you where you stand. And Iam glad with where I do. Irrespective of the outcome of these examinations, Iam proud of all that I achieved- even before I entered the exam hall each day.

3 subjects. 6 papers. 9 days. DONE.

*yawn*