Orthos help blind septuagenarian

Ram Lakhan was abandoned by his family and had no money to treat his hip fracture. But thanks to a bunch of surgeons at PMCH, he is now hoping to start walking soon.

Barely a few days ago, life was gloomy for Ram Lakhan Prasad. This blind septuagenarian—abandoned by his family — was left with no money to treat his hip fracture. But thanks to a bunch of orthopaedic surgeons at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), he is now hoping to start walking soon.

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These doctors—(Capt) Dilip Kumar Sinha, Bharat Singh, Krishna Kumar and some PG students, including Ravi Khandelwal, Sanjeev and Amit—pooled in money to treat his fractured hip. They also paid for the implant and arranged several necessary medicines, as they were not available at PMCH, through representatives of medical firms.

Prasad—who was carried to the hospital on July 26 on a stretcher, writhing in pain—can now sit straight. He often sports a smile too. “With my children oblivious to my medical needs, I was totally at the mercy of PMCH doctors, who played the good Samaritans,” says Prasad, who had lost his eyesight some three decades ago.

His sons—one of them is in the police while the youngest one is aspiring to join the force—had virtually dumped the old man at the PMCH after he fractured his hipbone in a fall at his village Madanpur of Nalanda district. Prasad’s case, however, is not an isolated one.

The doctors at the hospital have time and again shown their heart. These actions, apart from being spurred by philanthropic motives and bleeding hearts, also give young doctors chances to deal with critical cases and surgeries.