Pain, Thy Name Is DeLite!

Is this Chikungunya or Dengue or Viral Arthralgia or a variant of any of these? Or of a new strain? According to one doctor I met,  it is neither Chikungunya nor Dengue but a common virus  mimicking  them (mimicking them!?) and according to another  it could be  Dengue/Chikungunya  virus mutated to a form which tests negative to either of lab diagnostic tests and whose symptoms are similar to Dengue/Chikungunya's, although milder. My doctor somehow assumes my illness to be a milder version of Dengue (I didn't have the drop in platelet count or bleeding gums or skin rashes). AS of now, there seems to be no specific name for it. So, let me call this facetiously as DeLite (Dengue, a lighter version) for reference. Since the symptoms of all the above mentioned ailments overlap, my illness could also be a diluted version of Chikungunya . To avoid confusion let me retain “DeLite”as the name for my distress.

 Naming it as DeLite (soda or a beer!) would be a cruel joke on me or anybody who has experienced it. This disease is anything but its homonym Delight.Truly, oxymoronic! Here is my experience with this nasty illness. If you are one of the many who went through this agony and come out stronger (I guess), you can relate to me or if you are still soldiering on to come out of this debilitation as I am and thousands of others in Bangalore are, you have my solidarity and if you are neither these two, pray extra hours that you will not contract it.

 One morning when I woke up, I had deep-seated pain in my thigh which was not uncommon and which I usually attribute to previous day’s workout-overkill. The pain otherwise, by and large, is welcome in the mornings as it would be a good reason to avoid the workout. But, this pain had a gradual increase in intensity and had me worried. Despite this, I went to my work. There, I completed treating a case and while getting up from my seat my both legs started to hurt like hell. I could barely stand.  I cancelled all my further appointments for the day and decided to head back home.  I sensed the fever was developing too. I somehow managed to get back home on the bike (I was later upbraided for riding back while I had fever). Reached home, climbed stairs to my room, changed and lied down on the bed. It was only three days later I could come down-stairs. Extreme body ache and fever were the reasons for this. Fever was around 102 degrees for two and half day. Body pain was dreadful, never had I felt anything like it before. Agonising pain to stand and excruciating to walk.

The pain came down noticeably as the fever reduced- in about 3 days.  Just when I thought I was on the recovery, pain returned. Though the intensity was not as earlier, it was bad nevertheless. The pain was always there in my wrists, knuckles and legs. It may not be in the same area. Here and there, deep seated and painful on slight pressure. Mornings, it’s less severe. Little exertion would aggravate it exponentially.  Pain is most in the night. Pain killers barely worked.This intense painful condition lasted more than a month.

 Some other features (although less mentioned) of Dengue as I understand, are, insomnia, psychataxia (inability to concentrate) and depression. In my case, I experienced the first two for about a month. So, while I was unable to sleep, I could neither read nor play a game, solve a puzzle nor play an instrument or do anything to pass time. You add pain to these two demons  and it is a highway to hell!  Insomnia is a real “nightmare” here!

 Also, this DeLite gave me a postural problem while lying down. I could lie in bed on my back only. Turn to my right side, I would feel intense pain exploding in a kind of “slow-mo “ from my hip joint and would remain for at least 3 minutes. Same if I turn to my left side. But, this time, the pain is from left knee. So, I had to get used to supine position almost entire night! It used to ease a bit in the early hours. This mummy style sleeping lasted for about month.

And depression !! I read somewhere and am reassured that only people with mood disorders or with some kind of pre-existing neurosis are prone for this ( Shubha isn't that reassured  though). I have been down no-doubt, but have been hopeful from the beginning.There has been  plenty of room for optimism: this DeLite is non-lethal and is self-limiting. I perceive improvement every other day if not every day even though it is a minuscule. Very importantly, here is one good reason.  When I  take my dog for my painstaking morning-walk, many people would enquire about my limp and I would explain them the reason. I would soon be amused and enlightened by many. Almost everyone seems to have had a personal experience with this disease or knew someone who had experienced it. Sometimes, if it was group of people you would come across, it would be a virtual”group therapy session” on the road. Free of cost. Every one pitches in his experience or has something to say on DeLite. Even at work (I could work half my potential only!) many patients share their encounters with this. All these experiences are therapeutic for me, lift my spirit and drive home the fact that I am not the only ill-fated soul in the world. This probably stopped me (in the early days of this ailment, at least)  from a possible act  of  looking up at the sky  screaming, “Why meee??”

In the beginning I was looking forward to the day I would get back to my  "running-routine". But now, I have scaled it down to just-be-able-to-walk -straight! This is the worst ailment I have ever had.  I remember, to some degree, few of the painful conditions I have suffered : Herpes-zoster, back-pain, ligament tears, muscle tears, and yes! tooth pain, root-canal treatment, wisdom tooth removal. But, believe me, even when you put all these together it would simply pale in front of DeLite. If you ask me, it is mother of all the non-lethal pain ailments. DeLite, as it appears, not only keeps the agony  going for eternity but the recovery from there is agonisingly slow.

It's been two month today and is too long a period to be without affected by common ailments in a congested city like our Bangalore. So, I had bouts of viral gastroenteritis and viral bronchitis, each for couple of days.  During that time DeLite was at its” darkest “ form.

It is even worse to be an afflicted dentist or for that matter, any professional where finger dexterity is the essence of the metier. Funnily all the pain seem to drift from other parts of the body to the extremities-fingers, wrists, and feet. Fingers cannot take pressure. If they can, your wrist fails. Most of work at the clinic are done by my daughter and assistants. 

 Of all the treatments I render, pulling out a tooth is most painful as the wrist is strained most! This is probably only time when dentist experiences pain while working on a patient!  Role reversal time probably!

All my passionate pursuits are indefinitely on the back-burner, except for my bar visits. End of the day lifting a pint of beer is as painful to hand as drinking it is delightful to my soul.

According to my doctor DeLite is currently very rampant in the city . In about 60 odd percentage of  affected people symptoms vanish in a week. Rest will have face the ordeal in varying degrees of severity .This, I believe, is a result of body’s defence mechanism tricked by virus to be destructive to the body itself (autoimmune response). Till the “truce” is reached there is nothing much the affected can do but endure the suffering. There is no definitive treatment, only symptomatic. Currently, various alternative medical treatment s are in vogue. One popular alternative “medicine” is the Papaya leaf extract. In fact, I was surprised to notice the neighbourhood papaya trees going bald from missing leaves at reachable heights. So prevalent is the disease around. 

I contracted this disease probably through that daytime mosquito of genus Aedes, also known as “Tiger mosquito”. It is vector for this DeLite. I, in general, am mildly paranoid about mosquitoes. At home, I battle them more than anybody. I use my arsenal of repellents, zapper-racquet to kill or to be away from them. Yet, I become the first casualty. I know now that you cannot out-beat them and few bites (some say, just one!) can get you infected. No matter what you do, they laugh last. These Tiger mosquitoes are very hardy. You cannot scare them away nor run away from them! They  CHASE you!

Tiger mosquito.   (Google image)

I always felt Mosquitos target me more than others. While I am scratching others seem relaxed. I have a friend who swears that she barely gets bitten by the mosquitoes. Now, are some really that lucky?! Here is an article which says no (http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/why-mosquitoes-seem-bite-some-people-more). But, this one says otherwise: http://scienceline.org/2007/09/ask-knight-mosquitoes/

Is it possible to end this mosquito menace?  I am sure there is a noble prize, from a long time, probably ear-marked too, for such an invention/discovery( Melinda and Bill Gates is believed to be generously funding the malaria  research). I guess just that mosquitoes do catch –up with man’s ingenuity every time he outpaced them. There is a hope that rapidly advancing technology would achieve the desired in this regard.  
  

Can we, Bangaloreans, in current state of affairs, ever be free of mosquito bites and its ensuing consequences? According to my doctor, personal immunity is the only protecting factor for Bangaloreans.  Divine providence may be the other!

On 45thday  I wrote this paragraph.  
Now, what’s all this got to with my Tiger XRX?!
While this Tiger mosquito floored me the bike Tiger XRX is brooding in my garage and itching to be ridden. My pain filled legs and knuckles are in no state to handle it. I feel little edgy when I sit on it.

Luckily, I have been able to ride my Duke200, though not for a long stretch. Pain in Knuckles and writs would soon flare up. DUKE, being a lighter bike is more manageable.
Driving  too is precarious. Steering reflexes are hampered by pain.

60 days! Recovery seems to be under-way. No painkillers at all for almost 48 hours. There are still some remnants of  pain in my legs, post-walking.  Those deep seated agonising spontaneous pains have gone. Left are pains triggered only on pressure or exertion. So, while resting you are almost devoid of any remarkable pain. It’s pretty painless under the effect of pain-killers which wasn’t so earlier.

I am seeing pain-affected - blurred life fading  away and normalcy coming to focus, although sluggishly.

I had a short ride of about 80 kms on my Tiger few days back. Legs could take it pretty well but not my fingers. Knowing the course of this Delite it would be a wait before Tiger and I have a chance to go “on a roll” and I am set to wait it out! ..As if I have a choice!

A stumble into Honeyvalley.

It’s been a while since I had a long ride on Tiger (my bike). I wouldn’t have been able to ride again for another fifteen days as my daughter/assistant would be going on leave and it's not comfortable to leave my work or have peaceful holiday in her absence. That weekend was right. I decided to ride to Coorg. I called up Honey valley (http://honeyvalleyindia.in/) to make sure I had place to stay as it was weekend. Suresh, the owner, assured me an accommodation.

It’s homestay on top of the hill and to reach it from the base ( Kabbinakad Junction) you need to climb three and half kilometres uphill. Many guests walk the distance and some go by Jeep. But, I saw an opportunity for fun-off-roading.

Honeyvalley surely is not a place for a fancy weekend getaway. It's not the usual Coorg plantation homestay. It doesn't even have a standard coffee estate. It is very natural here. This place probably gives you a part picture of how Coorg was before plantations. It generally caters to nature buffs, trekkers and back-packers. Nature here is pretty pristine and there are many day-long trekking routes around this area for the guests.   You need not be a trekker or hard-core nature buff or even back-packer to enjoy the raw nature here. This was my fourth visit to this place.

"Avoid Bangalore- Mysore highway on weekends" is the mantra among motorists. I still took this road hoping that starting early in the day would offset the situation everyone seemed to picture. I was wrong. Traffic was too heavy for my Tiger’s comfort.

 Roads all the way to base of the hill (Kabbinakadu) via Gonikoppa are  good and pot-hole free now.

  The uphill road from Kabbinakad base is concreted and good all the way to Tamara.   Tamara is a high end resort further up the road in a different direction.This road is probably funded by Tamara resort . At the end of 1.5 kilometers of this concreted road, to the left of the fork, there is a 4-wheel-drive stony pathway towards Honey valley (HV).

My ride was incident free all the way from Bangalore uptill here. When I looked up the 4WD road and it's gradient from the  fork  my idea of fun-off-roading began to fade. I called up Suresh and asked if I could make it further to Honeyvalley on the bike (that’s about 2kms of 4WD road). He was non-committal and asked me to look up the road ahead and decide it for myself. This was how it appeared.

In a rush of blood I decided to ride further ahead.. It was a mistake!

It was of almost 45 degree gradient and wet (It looks dry here as I took the snap a day later).  I had a very little room to ride as the “green divider” between the paths looked over grown to ride over it. I struggled to ride on the path for about 100 meters, stopping many times to catch breath. Ride was really tension packed. Balancing the behemoth in the narrow stony path at tottering pace was energy -sapping. Whenever I stepped on the grass I was unsure of my footing. My left foot was landing into the thick of green whose bottom I was not sure of. I was all the while hoping I would soon get straighter and flatter path. But, it never happened. It was obviously a climb all the way to the homestay.  Some spots  were slushy due to rain. These areas are most tricky that make you feel highly vulnerable-bike skids. At one such spot I fell with the bike. There, I managed to lift the bike myself. That effort drained me further.   I seriously thought of riding back to the base and come up by a Jeep. But, it was difficult to turn the bike around because of limited space.  The bike was bit too heavy to manage alone.  I thought it would be less demanding to proceed ahead than turning back! I rode further, again tottering.  At about 500 meters, I skidded and fell with the bike for the second time. This time I couldn’t lift the bike because of lack of firm footing and I was tired too. I smelt petrol – bike was leaking it. How I hoped I could get some help soon! Obviously it was rare thing to happen in the hill.  I called Suresh on my cell and described him the situation and the location. Luckily for me few paces from there beyond the curve there was resort called Chingara - from where he said I could get some help. I ran up to that resort and managed to get help. I rushed back with the help and lifted the bike. It was only few meters from there to Chingara.  After that I abandoned any idea of riding any further for the day.  I was exhausted and dehydrated. I rested there ar Chingara for few minutes, rehydrated and went up to Honeyvalley in a Jeep.

The kind of ride and the two falls had really shaken me. Never in recent times had I fallen from the motorbike. Last fall recently was while I was on a cycling expedition. A drunken motorbiker skidded and rammed into the rear wheel of my bike from the side. Though I cart-wheeled, was up on my feet in no time. I never really felt that fall. Bringing cycle back on to its wheels was piece of cake in comparison.

 Here, although the falls were soft, it was balancing act while riding, lifting the bike twice had me drained-out and the thought of "motorcycle fall"(it has sinister feel to it! Isn’t it?) had rattled me.
This picture is after the second fall.

My wife took a while to close her mouth after she saw this picture!  

It’s by mistake that I placed the helmet there while taking the picture.

                          It adds to the horror.

My idea of total relaxation and “connecting with nature”at Honeyalley didn’t go as intended through the rest of the day and night. My nerves were in constant state of tension. Cold beers didn’t help either. Noise from the week-crowd added to my annoyance.  What really bugged me through-out that night was-“How am I going ride back to the base of the hill?!” I was imagining all kinds of down-hill-riding scenario:  bike momentum overriding my control, falling every few minutes, heavy rains, slushy patches especially at the curves, and wet uneven water clogged stone-way path, etc.  Suresh’s assurance that if situation demanded, he would arrange to get the bike down to the base on a pick up jeep- didn’t cool my nerves either.

Next morning, I just wanted get over with this business of taking the bike to base ASAP. Week-end crowd was leaving. I had decided to stay here one more night and wanted enjoy rest of day peacefully. I took a boy with me down to Chingara-where my bike was parked. This was to help me to lift the bike in case of  any fall. I was of course, wearing my riding gear and got on to the bike. I asked the boy to watch and follow me while I ride till the concrete road-that’s about 500mts. I started the bike and moved.

I realized I could control the bike better downhill than uphill. That fear of bike's momentum offsetting the balance didn’t happen. In fact, weight of the bike or centre of gravity-whatever you call it, held it firmly against the ground. It was relatively easier (shocks work great!) downhill (riding early in the day probably helped). At a slush pool near a bend, bike skidded and I fell. My boy-help and a nearby worker helped me to lift the bike. After that I managed to reach the concreted road without any incidents. From there to the base parking area on the concreted road  was a  walk-in-the-park.

I returned to the homestay in a Jeep. Spent most of the day under the patio reading or just watching the hills -of course, with some beers. No more thoughts on riding or anything specific. I was into a kind of zero gravity zone.  Truly bliss-full. This was the view.

.

                                                                                                                                                                      In retrospect (and hindsight):

• It was foolish of me to ride that path on Tiger, that too with no off-roading skills whatsoever.  
• Dedicated off-roading tires might have made the difference.
• Why I even tried this trail still baffles me. 
• If I had tried same path downhill on my MTB, the rear wheel would have lifted many times.  
• All the 3 falls were soft ones. Nothing happened to the bike except for the broken tip of the break lever.
• Only physical injury to me was a gash on my left shin and was a kind of self-inflicted- due to knee-protector of my ill-fitting riding pant. This underscores having knee-protectors in place or correct fitting riding pants.

·        

•  Avoid Honeyvalley on week ends.
•  Sometimes I wonder if I should heed advice like " act your age doc!"!!

I left the homestay early in the morning to reach the base by Jeep. Riding on my Tiger from there to Bangalore was a breeze!

Malnad trail

Day 1. Bangalore –Hassan-Mudigere-Kottigehara- Jaavali- Kalasa- Horanadu –Kalasa- Kudremukh- Kalasa – Balehole- Balehonnur- Magundi ( Avanthi Estate). 415 kms.
Day 2. Magundi –Basarikatte( Jhain khan Estate) – Sringeri – Agumbe – Kundadari Hills – Sringeri – Balehonnur- Magundi. 185 kms
Day 3. Magundi – Kottigehara – Mudigere – Hassan – Bangalore. 285kms.
Total - 885kms.
Roads are superb all through and unbelievably pot-hole free!! It’s humid but not hot-up the hills. There was 6 kms of  'off-roading" on the way to Jhain Khan Estate and back (it was my first time of using this Off-road mode of my bike's technology).
Riding on those unending -winding roads in the woody areas -some are in the evergreen forest corridor- was so “unwinding “- a Zen thing on two wheels really! smile emoticon.

Random snapshots here:   https://picasaweb.google.com/111630430480748316311/MalnadTrailsMay252015

Tiger entered my dreams.

Popular track-Bellur cross and return-200 km of riding, on 24^th of April.

That was my first long ride on this bike. It was, in spite of strict adherence to "break-in”speed restriction and of course, if you will excuse the exaggeration, simply blissful. Holding back on revving was test of character. Cruise control is a revelation (so soothing was it on my aging wrists). Delightful engine performance, fluidic  suspension, bicycle like manoeuvrability, secure bike ergonomics and that feel of confidence while riding left me wondering (as of now, I am too non-mechanical to appreciate  anything else of the bike! ) if there was anything better that runs on two wheels?!

 When Triumph announced its entry, it was 800 XC that held my attention. A lot of this bike’s features appeared to answer many shortcomings of my Ninja650, especially in relation to our country’s road conditions. Later I realized that its seat height was bit too high for the 5’7”of me. This, at least for a while, killed my dreams of owning and riding one. When next variant XRX was launched, and when I looked at its specs, it was God smiling upon me again! Triumph had lowered the seat height by 20mm for this bike!!  It reignited my desire. While drooling over prospect of owning this bike and while fixated on lowered seat height, I completely ignored all the other dimensions. I imagined that XRX’s dimensions were comparable to my Ninja650’s: after all XRX is only 6 kgs heavier!  At the first sight (in real life) XRX looked so formidable that it again raised doubts about my choice. Someone even mentioned that the bike (while on centre stand) was as tall as I am! Till then, I had never seen a bike of that height and was hard to reconcile to the idea of riding one! Ninja looked stunted in comparison! Test ride eased that doubt a bit. Yet,  romantic and fanciful  idea of touring “real” India, raving reviews from fellow KNOGS, teen-like infatuation and many more factors blinded me and like a child fantasizing  a forthcoming toy I ran to write the cheque. I was still not sure if I was for this bike till after the morning of this ride. Finally, as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating: this morning’s ride put a lot of misgivings to rest. Hope the bike continues to thrill and surprise me, if not to that extent as that morning’s, always. Fingers crossed!!