Dr. S. M. Monowar Hossain

Dr. S. M. Monowar Hossain is an associate professor in neurology. MBBS and MD. Neurology is mostly about wires crossing in the brain. People come in dragging one leg. Stroke patients mostly. Or older women with headaches that have lasted for ten years. He sits at his desk. Probably has a heavy rubber reflex hammer sitting next to his pen stand. He tells them to squeeze his fingers. Just checking their grip strength. Left side versus right side. He asks them to follow his finger with their eyes. They usually move their whole head instead. He just tells them to keep their head still. Writes down some nerve medicine. Small pills that probably make you sleepy.

He does the ward rounds with the medical students. The neurology ward is usually pretty quiet. Lots of people just lying there staring at the wall. Brain injuries take a long time to heal. Months maybe. He looks at MRI films. The big black sheets with gray slices of the brain. He points at a white patch. Tells the students it is an infarct. Dead tissue. They write it down on their clipboards. He scratches the bottom of a patient's foot with the end of his hammer. Looking for the toes to curl. Babinski reflex I think. He adjusts the blood thinner dose on the chart. Tells the relatives the recovery will be slow. They just nod. He puts the hammer back in his pocket. Walks out.