It all started on a whimโthose small, unexpected moments that often turn into the most memorable. One winter morning in 1986, while making my rounds at the hospital in Sevagram, an unusual thought crossed my mind: I should learn German. The idea seemed absurd, even to me. But then I learned that Mrs. Sunita Kawale, …
Sevagram
The Unsung Heroes: Caregivers in Palliative Care
Shankar sat on the old wooden bench outside his workshop, absently rubbing his rough, unshaven chin. The bright sparks of welding had once lit up his face, but now it was worn, lined with worry. He had battled difficult customers, unpaid bills, and broken machines, but this was different. This was a fight he knew …
A Walk Down Memory Lane: The Forgotten Colonies of MGIMS
The namesโKabir, Ramdas, Vivekanand, Guru Nanak, Ramkrishna, Dharmanand, Martin Luther King, Patel, and Birlaโare more than just colonies in Sevagram. They hold memories of beginnings, struggles, friendships, and quiet acts of courage. Each name has a story to tell. Yesterday, a thought crossed my mind, almost by accident Dr. Sanjay Diwan had asked whether the …
The Heart of MGIMS: Gone but Not Forgotten
The old principal’s office, once the heart of MGIMS in 1969, is now nothing more than a pile of rubble. Today it lies in ruins. In 1969, when MGIMS began, the principal’s office was a plain two-room building. It stood quietly next to the old hospital, where the Community Medicine department is now, almost touching …
Of Kachha Chiwda and Aloo Bonda
Donโt forget to eat that ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐,โ he said again, his voice steady now. โI will,โ I replied with a smile, stepping away. Only a week earlier, his son had wheeled him into the hospital OPD, visibly anxious. A driver in our hospital, his face betrayed his helplessness as he pushed the wheelchair into my …
The Silent Surrender
In our quiet ward, a son softly asked, “Can I take my mother home?” Usually, such requests mean relief. Patients leave with hope, their struggles behind them. Grateful families thank the doctors, smiling. It feels like a victory. But this time, there was no joy. No happiness. His question wasn’t about hopeโit was about saying …
Delay. Delay. Delay.
This Diwali, Ravi (name changed) turned 19. He lived in a small town, 100 km southeast of Sevagram. Fresh out of his teens, he had completed his tenth grade at a local school and enrolled in a technical college. A promising future awaited himโsteady income, a stable life. His parents, both laborers in the fields, …
The Middle Path
For decades after completing my MD residency and becoming a physician, I held firm to a belief: diagnose accurately, treat effectively, monitor diligently, and ensure that patients followed my advice. This was the creed I practiced in OPDs, wards, ICUs, and even during cross-department consultations in the hospital. And it worked. Most of the time. …
There is no answer, only silence
She stood there, eyes fixed on the motionless figure before her. Her brother, just 23, lay on the hospital bed. His eyes were shut. His body still, but his chest rose and fell with each shallow breath. The monitor beeped steadily, a reminder of the fragile line between life and death. She was three years …
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ
Recently, we cared for a frail man in his late fifties. He came in gasping for air. His heart raced, and each breath was a challenge. His lungs crackled with every inhale. Both his face and feet were swollen. The ECG was very abnormal, and the chest X-ray showed fluid in his lungs. When he …