Witnessing bottled-up sufferings…story of Nathu and many others…

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(Pictured) Dr Jitesh, the palliative care physician at the M.P Shah Government Medical College Hospital, Jamnagar, Gujarat during home care program. This autorikshaw is his only option to carry medicines and other essentials needed for home visits.

Dr M.R. Rajagopal, Chairman of Pallium India, and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Training and Policy on Access to Pain Relief, Thiruvanathapuram, India writes for ehospice about his experience accompanying a palliative care physician in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

“Putting on a pair of gloves, Jitesh gently pulls the rags on Nathu’s neck to a side. As he does, Nathu coughs, and from the now-exposed tracheostomy, a projectile of sputum hits me on my cheek. Nathu’s elderly mother gasps. A tear wells up in Nathu’s eye. What would the composition of that tear be? A blend of guilt and total, sheer helplessness? Does he hate himself at that point of time? I want to reach out to him…”

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From ehopice’s India edition

Published on: 23 April, 2013 | Last modified: 23 April, 2013