Happy Augury

Arun Patil's last public appearance

News comes in of Arun Patil being able to find his feet again. It’s been almost three months since he had to amputate his right foot because of an incurable gangrenous infection prompted by diabetes. As followers of this blog would know, the surgery went off well and he has since been recovering fast – just that it has taken him time to procure a proper prosthetic replacement that would enable him to be up and moving as earlier.
That happened yesterday. After much trial and error, he was finally fitted with the artificial foot and it is now a matter of time before he gets used to it. “There is an alignment issue which has more to do with the brain accepting a foreign body part,” he explained. “Right now I get the feeling of the prosthetic going wonky and requiring to be dragged by the other leg while walking.”
Arun has gone for an imported device

Done for the day... Time to disperse

(instead of the cheaper and easily available ‘Jaipur foot’) which should, in time, enable him to walk comfortably without the tell-tale limp. It has certain springs and clip-on buttons, which again would require getting used to. But the good news is that his doctors are “quite impressed” at the way he has effortlessly taken to the new attachment and is able to stand upright without support.
“I have been learning to walk at home with the walker all of yesterday,” he informed. “Very soon I shall discard the walker and take a walking stick instead. Then I will give you all a surprise by turning up at the Garden unannounced. It could be very soon, maybe this week itself!”
We look forward to being surprised.
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd) from Mohali:
It is heartening to note that Arun Patil is in a fit condition to walk on his feet. It is also good news that he will be able to join in all the activities of the Club as he used to three months back. This only proves that if one has will, determination and a positive approach, all difficulties can be overcome.