The bulk of my trip was spent in Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarachand. It's a bustling, developed area with a little over a million residents. From that first late night we arrived in town after days of traveling, it felt like home.
My first clinical experience in the city was with Dr. B C Ramola in opthalmology at Doon Hospital. Doon is a government care center, and looks every bit the part. The smell of sewage surrounds its walls like a fence; patients crowd in every open space, some sleeping on the concrete hallway floors. Yet dynamic medicine is taking place there, and the providers are passionate about the masses that crowd inside their doors.
Dr. Ramola's "office" was little more than a partially enclosed box with one desk, a few stools huddled together, and what appeared to be a slit lamp collecting dust under its plastic shroud. Patients assembled outside the door on a long bench & crowded the adjacent space as well. It was evident, in classic Indian fashion, that whatever transpired the rest of the morning would be public knowlege.
A couple days a weeks Dr. Ramola does cataract repair surgeries. I felt a little funny walking around the OR in flip flops! So much for the compulsive sterile technique I've learned. Lots of patients get shuttled through on these days, receive a life-changing operation & are incredibly grateful. It's humbling to think that for under $100 USD you can restore someone's vision, livelihood, independence, etc.
Dr. Ramola's "office" was little more than a partially enclosed box with one desk, a few stools huddled together, and what appeared to be a slit lamp collecting dust under its plastic shroud. Patients assembled outside the door on a long bench & crowded the adjacent space as well. It was evident, in classic Indian fashion, that whatever transpired the rest of the morning would be public knowlege.
A couple days a weeks Dr. Ramola does cataract repair surgeries. I felt a little funny walking around the OR in flip flops! So much for the compulsive sterile technique I've learned. Lots of patients get shuttled through on these days, receive a life-changing operation & are incredibly grateful. It's humbling to think that for under $100 USD you can restore someone's vision, livelihood, independence, etc.
One morning this sweet elderly woman who came in for follow up after her surgery kept looking a me & muttering phrases in Hindi under her breath. On her way out the door, she waved her hands in some precise gesture & patted me on the head. It was so pure & sincere. After having a similar ritual performed on him, our Medical Director, Dr. Gandi remarked, "this is the only profession where you get paid AND blessed." How fortunate we are.
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