Our 'Burn' Voyage

The visit to Civil Hospital had to be shifted to L.G. Hospital, yet another government hospital which specializes in treatment of the burn-victims. As Dr. Vora put forth, there's no one to visit those patients. There're already volunteers who visit the Cancer Ward and Paraplegia Ward apart from the days that we used to. So he asked if we could shift to burns ward and pay a little attention to patients over there. I immediately got stirred up and felt that this is what we should be doing. No doubt we're used to our regular visits to Civil but better pay a li'l attention to those who are getting none.

Due to personal reasons, I had to miss my first visit. But yesterday I got a chance to go there. The burns ward has been newly built in the hospital by an N.G.O called Samvedna and they've made it as good as any private hospital. It's plush, has got all modern amenities, aesthetics have been properly taken care of to provide soothing conditions to the patients out there. Cleanliness is fully maintained. We had to remove our original footwear and were given slippers from the hospital staff to be worn around in the premises. The floor manager was really happy to see us there. He made sure he stuck around with us throughout. He was trying to provide the smallest of details regarding any doubts that we would or could possibly get.

The very first ward was the female ward. There were 4-5 patients out there. Most of them suffered burns between 25% to 45%. But what really caught my attention was that each and every female had almost the same story to tell us. Either she got burnt while cooking food, while igniting the primus, while roasting chapatis or papad or because of some or the other reason near the stove. After the fourth bed, I was sure that it was all made up. I told Priti that something's fishy out here. Then came two kids. one was 2 & a half months old. His name was Rahul. Right side of his face was severely burnt. Her mother had problem conversing in all possible dialects we tried initially. Finally she spoke some kind of Gujarati, still I don't exactly know how did he get hurt. But it really was a miserable sight to imagine how such a small kid would have taken it all. His eyes were alright. Only the cheek area was burnt. No vital organs had been hurt and the burns were rated 6%. The other kid was 2-3 years old. He fell down on the stove from his mother's lap while she was cooking. He suffered major burns all over his body. The sight of strangers intimidated him and he was like, shoo them away. So without making him cry more, we left his bed. Skin drafting had been performed on him and doctor had said that he'd recover soon if things go well.

There was only one male patient. His condition was still favourable for recovery. When asked by Yesha what all happened, and how things were at home, he started crying. Here's his story: His wife was trying to ignite the primus. The stove was on, and without realizing that, she tried to fill in the kerosene. And there was a sudden blast and she caught fire. He jumped onto her to douse the flames. When relatives rushed in, they didn't notice his condition and immediately took his wife to the hospital. Later on, his condition was brought to light and even he was admitted in hospital. His wife expired a week back and he had been brought to the hospital for the second time. Skin drafting had been completed and he was to be kept in the ward till his wounds would dry up. He was really desperate to go home as his kids were alone. Whoa!! That was.... I don't know. How the hell do you comfort such a person?? What can you tell him at such a point of time?? Nothing actually!!! No words of encouragement can work at such times. I still don't know what to say. Even when I think of him now, I get unnerved.

Then came the turn to go to the I.C.U. That's the place where the most extreme or fresh cases are brought to. There were two patients, both females. The first one yet again had the same old story. Burnt while cooking tea. Who the hell cooks tea at 1 'o clock in the night?? Yup! That's the time when she was brought to the hospital by her husband. Not brought, actually dumped. He wasn't seen since then. Her parents came the other day and since then, they are with her. She was the patient in the entire premises with the maximum amount of burns. 69%. The entire body was covered up in dressing. She said she felt like drinking cold juice. She felt really uncomfortable from within. But then after skin drafting, a patient is not allowed to eat or drink anything for the next 48 hours. So there was nothing we could tell her except to wait patiently and keep up the fighting spirit. All we could tell her that soon she'd be fine if she really cooperates. Then we moved on to the last patient. She was asleep and her guardian wasn't present in the room at that point of time. So couldn't get to know anything about her.

So, we were done with all the patients. Mr. Hiten Pandya, the floor manager, took us to the conference room. He called in the doctors on duty and we had a chat session. He said we could clear any doubts that we had in our minds at that point of time. My only doubt was with regards to the stories all those women were putting forth. I straightaway asked the doctor, "How many of these female patients were actually telling the truth?" She said, "None!!!" All the female patients are suicide victims or victims of dowry extraction and in-laws-torture. They all cooked up almost the same story to avoid any harm to their husband's family and also because they were to get alright and would have to go back and live with their in-laws again. They all mostly belonged to lower class of society and so separation or a divorce was considered a very big stigma or blot on the reputation of the family and the character of the female herself. The girl's parents themselves, in many cases, were not ready to take back their daughters due to the fear of society. The poor females had to either bear the brunt of the in-laws' dissatisfaction and end up getting abused physically and in the worst cases, as were in the hospital, getting burnt up. If not, the female herself would get so exhausted of the circumstances that she herself tried to commit suicide.

I for one, personally feel that committing suicide is the worst thing one can do. It's a path chosen by cowards. Maybe you have really big problems, but still they are not impossible to deal with. I've seen women from that stratum of society fighting for their rights, even though they are not even aware of the legal ways to go about it. Doesn't the person who tries to commit suicide even care for the loved ones he/she'll leave behind?? People to whom he/she truly means the world?? If that person does, then what is it that still forces him/her to take such a step??? I dunno, but I feel if not for yourself, but the thought of your family should stop you from taking such a step. It's a controversial topic. Maybe all of you might not agree with me, but that's my view put forth.

Anyways, even if a person sees no alternative but to commit suicide, then also, committing a suicide by burning oneself, not being successful in the attempt and then end up getting admitted to the hospital is even worse than death. If the burns are severe and deep, there's very little the doctors can do. The internal organs if burnt up, turn septic and they smell awful. The stench is so bad that many a times, the relatives don't want to come and sit besides their own kin. I wonder how the hell can you take all that as a burn victim. And yes, if the internal organs are damaged, the chances of survival are as good as the chances of finding a pin in the haystack. I guess you could even succeed in the latter. To bear all that pain, the smell, the regular dressings, to see your own wounds regularly, to realise the fact that you still have to live and the burn marks are here to stay forever, that there shall be no growth of hair on the damaged skin, that you shall look like an albino all your life, and again you'll have to go and face the world outside from which you were wanting to do away with when you went ahead with the ghastly act; all of this would take away all the fighting spirit you need to tackle the phase and survive.

If you really wish to end your life (which I'm still against), then there're other ways, which are sure-shot. Try those. But don't try getting yourself burned and put yourself and your relatives in the most awkward and testing situations. The plight of the victims gave me a weak stomach for the first time. It happened when I entered the I.C.U. and met the first patient, the one who had 69% burns. That was the time I really felt I might not be able to take it. After seeing all this, you just wish you never have to be a victim of any kind of burn-injuries.

The hospital also had psychic cases wherein the patient was mentally ill and tried to burn himself/herself on a couple of occasions. The last patient, the one in the I.C.U whose relative was not present in the room, turned out to be one such case. We asked the doctor if there's any provision of psychiatrists for such patients. Also, how much did the hospital spend on every patient, how much were the patients charged. It turns out that if a patient stays within the corporation limits of the city, then atleast 50% of the expense is borne by the government. Sometimes even more, depending on the economic condition of the family. And if during the treatment, the patient dies, then the government doesn't charge a single penny. The family's then allowed to claim the body by finishing off with further formalities as soon as possible, unlike private hospitals, wherein, until they don't receive a fax from the insurance company, they wouldn't let the relatives claim the dead body. Then the hospital doesn't care how long it takes. Also, the regular dressing costs 150 to 200 bucks per patient, and the daily phsyio sessions, extra. The government is doing a fairly good job in looking after these people I must say.

We tend to generalise the notion that government in India is good for nothing, and doesn't do anything to help the weaker sections of the society. But after visiting such places, your view changes. There're some places, if not all, where the government is really spending a lot of money in taking care of its people and providing them with utmost care and attention. And the hospitals are one of those places. There are other examples where the government has shown that it is striving to work for its people. One being freeing the farmers of the loans, on a nationwide scale. Second being the construction of an array of shops on a vacant land nearby my place, where the government puts up exhibitions every now and then, by inviting all the skilled craftsmen and handicraft workers to showcase and sell their products, without charging any rent for those shops for the entire duration. This is done just to encourage their business, to keep it alive, and to make sure that they can earn decent money to provide their families with more than just square meals a day. There're many more if you set out to find them. That fills you with some kind of optimism, that things are improving at some level, even though some things haven't changed till date in the functioning.

But, by looking at the state of the art hospital, the ultra modern facilities, and the passion shown by the doctors who work there, I can surely say that the government is trying to improve its image in the minds of the commoners like us. We shall be back again next saturday, for our regular visit, as we listen to more of the mysterious tales, or as put by Kavita, "Ms.-terious Tales."