my cousin visited us today. he is a doctor in mumbai and a reputed one. has been the president of the IMA too.
he is in his 50's now.
he has always had this habit of sharing interesting incidents with us
whenever we meet. he can hold court for hours and i for one , never get
bored or tired. even when he had just joined medical college way
back.. he would relatete experiences. he was the first doctor in my
family and his stories always fascinated.
Today he told us
about a doctor he met in a small village in nandurbar. this was about 5
- 6 yrs ago. the doctor was about 82 yrs of age then. His name - Dr
Ravindranath Tongaonkar.
After he finished his studies in the
field of medicine, he decided to practise in a remote village.
inhabited mostly by the adivasis, said my cousin.
He was doing
so much good work there that the missionaries next door gave him land so
that a health centre could come up. the small hospital conducts
surgeries, deliveries and extends medical support to the people there.
The hospital bed charges were about Rs 2.50 - for a shared room (about
4 beds in a room) and about Rs 5 for a twin share...
food for
the patients is often the food cooked by is wife for her family. his
son and daughter-in-law now work alongside him.. equally committed to
service.
now for the best part. my cousin told us, "hernia
operaitons require a mest to be place in yr body. a small square bit of
mesh would cost about Rs 2,500/-
Dr Tongaonkar, improvised and
used a piece of our regular plastic mesh.. the netlon kind. the one we
used on our windows to ward of mosquitoes. He sterilised the plastic
mesh and has been using it with great success. "
isn't that amazing !
surgeries and operations require uninterrupted power when they are
being conducted. there could be no assurance of such luxury in that
remote village. The doctor started using a tractor and its engine for a
generator.
But supply of diesel isnt regular either. so the
dr started using coconut shells, paper and other stff which could be
burnt and the steam would be used to generate power for his Operation
Theatres.
what commitment!!
lack of resources, lack
of regular infrastructure , lack of equipment... are common excuses we
hear. but he didnt let anything come in the way.. he keeps marhcing on.
he found a way to surmount each difficulty. he accepted the
realities and worked around them, finding the best solutions possible.
he could have given up, beaten... but he was committed to the cause.
i had never heard of this great personality and the terrific work he has been doing.
and i can't keep myself from sharing this.
he has written a book in marathi. google dev helped - and i found the
name of the book , now translated in english - Making of a rural
surgeon .
i for one will be on the look out for this book .
this one, or the original marathi version... whichever i can lay my
hands on firs
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