Birth of a Miracle - III : Shock of Life

Period: 16 November, 1968
Location: Tiruchendur, Tamilnadu, India

The body of the child was lying in wrapped clothes in the next room for the next hours. In about two hours after the birth, the doctor's wife (a non-medical person), came down to see Mrs. Rose and the child. I had told you that the family of Mr. Rathna knew the doctor's family well. Since the hospital was functioning in the ground floor of the house of the doctor, it was easy for the lady to come and see Mrs. Rose. Also because it was a courtesy visit, as the child was "still born", as the doctor had informed her.

She was accompanied by a nurse. They spent few minutes with Mrs. Rose who was recovering, and was deeply tired. The nurse and the doctor's wife moved to see the child --more as a point of giving consolation to the family. While there, the doctor's wife asked the nurse if they had given any shock to the child. The nurse said, "No". The lady said, "I have read that electric shock can sometime bring life back, if there is some life left. Why don't you get a wire? Let us check!". Since this small sized hospital did not have any of the modern equipment, even of that time, they found a wire with naked end on either side as their tool. 

Now it was getting bizarre. They checked once more to confirm that there was no heartbeat or breathing signs of the child. This was in conformity with what Dr. Moses had told them. The doctor's wife told the nurse. "You keep one end of the wire on the child'd body. I shall keep another end into the plug, and I shall switch it on for a second, and switch off. Let's keep an eye on the child. If there is some life, we will know!"

So, this bizarre experiment of these two ladies started. The nurse kept one end of the wire on the child. The doctor's wife put the other side into the plug, and had her hands on the switch. Both were holding their breath! The child was lying on a bed under their observation for this shock....or electrocution? There was fear...suspense...worry...concern.... Both their eyes were on the child. The doctor's wife started counting, "One... Two.... Three.... ON... OFF... "Kadavuley!" (Oh, my God!) both shouted, as they had seen the little finger of the left hand of the child shaking for a second at the time when the electricity was switched on! They both shouted, "The child is alive, the child is alive!" The nurse ran up to call the doctor. The old man came down, and as he was hearing of this experiment, he checked the baby. There was very feeble heartbeat, and the child was struggling to breathe. He asked the child to be put on Oxygen, and it was given three injections within minutes. Further, it was wrapped in wool, and was kept so under medical observation for three days. 

By the third day, the child was better, and the mother too. After three more days, they left the hospital in good health. Mr. Rathna and Mrs. Rose thought of this as nothing short of a miracle. This is something not heard of! They got the child baptized immediately at the local Church following their Christian faith with the name, "Puthumai", which in Tamil means - "miracle", or "newness". 

Smoking Doctors

At last the home truth is out. What do you do with the fire alarms in a hospital if the doctors smoke? Switch it off! This is what had happened in AMRI hospital in Kolkata. As mentioned in my story Hell of Fire a fire that broke out in that hospital had consumed more than 90 persons since the early morning of 9th Dec 2011. The initial inquiry shows that because there were several doctors who did not adhere to the national law against smoking in public places (hospitals are considered public places), the hospital management had to keep the fire alarms switched off so that people will not be disturbed too many times, and the doctors can smoke and do their duty freely. 

I believe, the doctors have a moral responsibility in this incident, and must be held culpable. Unless the smoking doctors are not punished, it is not going to send any serious signal to any doctor who smokes in work places. This is time for teaching people. Along with the management action must also be taken against such doctors because of whom the alarms were switched off.

Knowing that the doctors are a big lobby group, they may stop working! The government must invoke Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), if doctors resort to such. One thing is clear. This scar of the fire cannot be healed unless it teaches everyone a true lesson, including those in government.