Betrayal by Mycobacterium

Dear Mycobacterium -

The first time I saw you

I was in third semester at med school

there was this hustle and bustle around that day

when our resident taught us to fix you under microscope in our laboratory of microbiology,

Ziehl Neelsen stain they had demonstrated with precision,

And I had developed an instant liking,

You looked so pretty,

Red coloured rod shaped in blue background,

‘beautiful’ I had exclaimed,

I got it all wrong when first time I handled you on my own,

I had spilled too much dye and my Professor had given me ‘good for nothing’ look,

but I had liked you anyway,

Oblivious to your plan for me I had read you with devotion,

I was told ‘Don’t be partial and look out for pharmacology too’

You didn’t disappoint me when I took my university exam that year,

I had patted myself for not giving up on you despite my timid ways of handling you at first,

It had all felt like worth it when my external examiner had complimented me after our one-to-one session pertaining to you,

But today all I can think of how you betrayed me by lodging right inside me,

I gave you all my attention and you weakened my body’s defence mechanism - my immunity,

You tied me to bed for months and played havoc on my systems,

You didn’t let me eat or sleep,

All you did was made me cough uncontrollably,

My pulmonologist had asked me - how did you contract it ?

I couldn’t answer so had kept mum,

You had made me miss on my many number of class,

You left me with no choice but to eat and put on so much weight,

I had to fight you anyway so I turned a blind eye to my growing waist,

When now I fail to find a perfect piece of clothing all to my liking,

i hate you so much,

i had loved munching on chocolate ice cream,

But I can’t go near to them

for fear that the cold sensation will make me cough again,

so I keep my distance and despise you instead,

Although I’m free of your clutches but each time I sit in my Medicine lecture (TB and chest),

i shiver with fear because you link every lung pathology with yourself,

Now I’m done and dusted with just one sentence - HOW RUDE !

Author Notes: Tuberculosis, as explained by one of the top pulmonologist of my nation (India), is like a flying ebola.
Don’t take your cough lightly. Visit your physician on time. And keep your immunity strong.
I learned the hard way - It’s better to take precaution than cure.

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