“The missing humility”
The place was crowded still there was silence all around.
Few spoke and the ones, who dared to, spoke with the softest voice. None of them seemed happy but instead their faces were filled with melancholy and no one showed any sort of resilience. Many were lying in the ground as though living out their final moments, counting each minute. Its when you confront death at your doorstep that you realize the importance of this little life given by the Almighty. Me, then a 10 year old boy along with my amma was sitting in one of the chairs of the chemotherapy unit of the regional cancer centre, Trivandrum.
At the far end of the corridor near a window I could see a man quite emaciated and exhausted lying on the ground. Beside him was a woman gasping. Her face projected out a strange gaze, which I was not able to decipher properly from my surveillance. Their outfits revealed that they were from a low socio-economic status, who were struggling to make their ends meet. There was a large ulcer on his right knee from which fluids were oozing out, producing an uncouth keratinous odour. The scene really disturbed me and I sat there making a firmer grip on my amma’s hand but the pitiful scene still engrossed my mind.
Suddenly a dozen of medical students appeared from the other end of the corridor. They walk through, poised, with their heads held high and their gaits clearly revealed out their solemnity. To my surprise none of them even managed to take a look at the miserable couple. I felt so dejected and it really tarnished the image of a medical practitioner in me. Alas! I was mistaken. One of them from the group came back, sat beside them and started to talk to them. I saw a smile arise from the woman’s face after a while even-though it could not mask the fear in her eyes. Understanding that it was the hospital bills that were hurting him more than the noxious stimulation of his sensory nerve endings, he took out some money from his wallet, handed it to the women and then slowly retaliated to join the rest.
Many of my friends reading this might have picturised him as a humble hero in an old black and white cinemascope. You cannot be blame as such a scene is rarely scene in the present medical scenario. The prime character to be possessed by a doctor - humility, that caring attribute seems to be missing in the present generation students. Few rather none of my colleagues would question me if I say that at least a small feeling of superiority, pride, arrogance take over our minds, the moment we wear those well ironed white attire and enter the clinics (me taking no exception). But the generosity demanded by the medical profession should always be kept in our minds all through out (remember we still denote this profession as “noble”) once we have preferred this profession, whether it is by our will or not. This can be achieved with very simple things and sometimes “the simple things turn out to be the most extraordinary”. So friends let work out a change. The future is beckoning…..
