Dear friends, practicing medicine in India has it...

Dear friends, practicing medicine in India has its own highs and sometimes lows! yesterday I could impress my son and daughter who are not very keen on following in my footsteps. We embarked on a typical rainy season trip on outskirts of Nashik to a place called Davaleshwar temple on banks of Damanganga river in Harsul division, a tribal dominated community around 65 Kms from Nashik. The road markings were not good and our internet range was not all good, so we stopped several times to ask for directions. we stopped in a small pada and asked a small kirana shop owner about the road ahead. suddenly a middle aged man enjoying his "Bidi" looked at me with a curious grin and asked hesitantly " Tumhi Doctor junagade ahe na? Lotus rugnalaya.. I was pleasantly surprised! "yes " I answered. His son comes to our Lotus Hospital every 6 months to see me for a peculiar inherited hematological disease seen in tribal population called " Sickle cell disease". this is a unique disease as it occurs when both the father and mother harbor a genetic defect in them which makes their red blood cells a bit defective but not enough to cause a disease but they are " genetic carriers" for the disease. It is called a " Trait" and harboring this trait is advantageous as it gives them protection from the deadly malaria infection? but when they have a child this "two" traits cause a disease called sickle cell disease and infect makes them susceptible to malaria? the patients father told that they had not come for last 1 year as they have started alternative medicines! It is common in many tribal populations. I had to explain them the importance of regular allopathic medicines for sickle cell disease and alos promised him to help him financially through our trust Junagade health foundation. My son and daughter were impressed! in a remote pada someone actually recognised me! Next half hour we were all discussing the perks of being a doctor in India and I could partially convince them the reason I left London in 2008 after training there and being a consultant hematologist for 7 years! Such incidences definitely give you a " high" without spending a lot on the " Pint" I still think we are a part of a noble profession We can only imagine the tribal life style