Page 166 - Till the Last Breath . . .

could neither move nor feel any sensation in. She felt helpless, defeated, as

she saw the shock and horror in her mother’s eyes. The disease was
progressing faster than it should have.
Later that day, she tried walking to the bathroom and found it hard to do

so, even with the crutches. Her strength was draining out. Since her every
need was catered to in the hospital, she had not realized how tough daily

chores had become for her. Walking was a problem, getting in and out of
clothes was a real pain, and she was a lot slower at eating her meals. To

prevent exhaustion from chewing, her meals now consisted of mashed food
that had to be reheated at least twice in the course of every meal. Her jaws

hurt like crap after every meal.
Pihu knew that she would soon start to choke on her food and require
help to bathe and to relieve herself and to even pick up a book. Given the

special condition, she knew it could come sooner than expected. She kept
the book on cancer aside and picked up Tuesdays with Morrie, the book on

the real-life account of someone who had died of ALS. It wasn’t the first
time she was reading the book and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. The

book gave her the strength to carry on and to keep the spirit to fight alive in
her.

Later that night, Arman came to visit Pihu. Her mother was sleeping and
her father had gone home for the day. Arman woke her up and she smiled
groggily at him. His presence in the room always shook something deep

inside her, a feeling that she had never encountered before, a warm, fuzzy
feeling that smelled of chocolate … and home. It was as if every cell in her

body responded to his being in the vicinity. He sat on the edge of her bed
and took her hand in his. As he clutched it, Pihu felt the loss of power in her

hands. She couldn’t clutch it as hard as she would have liked to.
‘How are you feeling today?’ Arman asked.

‘Pretty shitty,’ she answered shyly. ‘I am slowly losing all my strength.’
‘Tell me more,’ he replied.
‘My bench press is down to 200 pounds and I don’t think I can compete

in the Delhi marathon this year,’ she said in all seriousness. Arman
chuckled. She laughed.