Will I be able to have vigorous sex after surgery?” a robust Parsi gentleman in his late 60s enquired. I had been explaining the procedure for a lumbar spine surgery that would relieve the compression of his pinched nerves. He was in immense pain; his body contoured and tilting to the right in an awkward looking posture gave him some relief. Patients often ask me questions such as how long before they can get back to work, are there any postures they should avoid, will their implants beep while passing through metal detectors at airports, what are the chances of this happening again, was there a possibility that this could lead to paralysis or problems with passing urine or stool, and so on and so forth. I guess, in our community, the priorities are slightly different, or rather, simply elementary. I wanted to understand in some depth his definition of “vigorous”, but refrained.

I met him the first day after surgery, when he was completely free of his agonising pain and walking around like a king in the hospital corridor. On greeting me, he bobbled his head and raised his index finger as if to remind me of the question he had asked me in my office a few days ago. I, in return, gave him the thumbs up. In that single unspoken gesture, I communicated a confirmation that everyone else watching us was baffled by. Two weeks later, he sent me the message, “Doc, my back is as good as my front!” followed by an emoji, which suggested he was “back in action”.