Get well, Doctor

The hapless victim who is undergoing a marathon surgery in the neurosurgery operation theatre, with top surgeons struggling to put his shattered pieces together, is none other than professor Subrat Acharya. Head of gastroenterology at AIIMS, president of Indian Society of Gastroenterology, editor of two reputed journals, recipient of a host of international/national awards, author of more than 200 research papers, Acharya8217;s curriculum vitae could fill an entire newspaper page. The reason why a man who has given life to thousands with liver diseases is struggling for his life is one cowardly act of hit-and-run on the morning of May 6 when he was going for his almost ritualistic morning walk.

The eyes of those present in the casualty turned misty when his octogenarian mother asked about his condition wiping away her tears. Everyone was shocked and a gloomy silence fell on the campus. The director, an embodiment of courage, tried to face the reality calmly but his face reflected mixed feelings of compassion and anger. Anger is what everyone tried to suppress because that is what is usually the first reaction to such a heinous crime. Human error by a surgeon performing complex procedures while trying to save a life is considered grave but the same error committed while driving is not taken as seriously even if it kills. The crime is compounded several fold and must amount to non-culpable homicide if the offender flees.

But the system is rotten. Even if the guilty is caught, he will go scot-free, after bribing someone or the other. When illness cripples someone, we doctors take pride in putting things right, but when man-made disaster strikes, it instills a sense of fear and hatred. In hit and run cases, the 8216;hit8217; is something which may be in some cases out of the driver8217;s control, but the 8216;run8217; cannot be pardoned. Why do people flee? Who is at fault? Fear 8212; of public outburst, of endless rounds of police questioning, of a possible jail term 8212; is a rather simplistic explanation. The real reason is apathy for fellow human beings and moral bankruptcy on the part of individuals, government, and society.

When I visited Gautam on the morning round, who is recuperating from an operation for an abdominal emergency, he enquired about Dr Acharya it was Dr Acharya who had finally diagnosed his ailment. Forgetting his own pain, he said he could feel the gloom in the air at the institute. We need to nurture that kind of empathy.

The operation is in progress, I have no heart to peep inside. I believe it is adversity that brings you closer to God or nature, or each other. I am sure Dr Acharya will come out on top and teach us a lesson on how to fight adversity, like the true teacher he is.

The writer is an associate professor at AIIMS, New Delhi