• Mysuru District Hospital saves his critical mother
• Son extends his leave to save lives of other patients 
• Dr. Harsha of Mandya is pursuing his MD at Chandigarh

Mysore/Mysuru: The favour of invaluable service to humanity can only be returned through invaluable service. Especially at these critical COVID times where lives are saved and money is not everything. Lives are precious, so is the selfless service rendered by doctors to fight the contagion. 

A young doctor from Chandigarh is putting in long hours of work for free at the Mysuru District Hospital that houses hundreds of COVID patients. 

Reason: This Hospital has saved the life of his mother at a time when other doctors had washed their hands of as the patient was in a critical state. 

This human-interest story is of Dr. Harsha, a resident of Maddur in Mandya, who is pursuing his Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Radiodiagnosis at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. He was working at Chandigarh even as Punjab has been ravaged by the virus. 

Dr. Harsha’s move to serve the District Hospital for free — thanks to his professional commitment — has come in for praises at a time when Mysuru is grappling with crisis and hunting for competent doctors to treat critically ill patients. A fortnight back, Dr. Harsha’s mother, 48-year-old Rajalakshmi, tested positive and Dr. Harsha applied leave for 10 days and rushed to Maddur. 

As his mother had breathing difficulties, Dr. Harsha opted for CT scan and MRCP scan and as the lungs were severely infected, he realised that his mother needed an ICU bed with ventilator. Next began his hunt for the ICU bed where he desperately tried at Mandya and in Bengaluru. Even after using all his contacts and himself being a doctor, Dr. Harsha failed to get a bed for Rajalakshmi. 

A desperate situation

Seeing her condition, several doctors washed their hands of the case saying that she was too critical and could not be saved. Heartbroken, a desperate Dr. Harsha tried to get an ICU bed in some private hospitals in Mysuru but without any success. Then he called District Surgeon Dr. H.R. Rajeshwari under whose supervision the District Hospital works. 

Moved by his mother’s condition, Dr. Rajeshwari realised that the situation is so pathetic that even doctors, who struggle day and night to fight the pandemic, are not able to get beds for their loved ones. She agreed to admit Rajalakshmi and straight away shifted her to the ICU. After 10 days of intensive treatment, Dr. Harsha’s mother was saved. 

Critical state to fine state 

“Dr. Rajeshwari and her team of dedicated doctors filled me with hopes and were able to save my mother and brought her back from a critical state to a fine state,” Dr. Harsha told Star of Mysore. He did not leave his mother alone in the bed. Instead, he wore a PPE kit and was himself monitoring the mother’s condition. Initially Rajalakshmi was battling for life and her condition slowly improved. 

Day by day, her oxygen levels improved and her condition stabilised. After 10 days in the ICU, Dr. Harsha’s mother was shifted to post-ICU ward where she is recovering well. Inspired by the service at the hospital and the efforts of the staff in saving his mother, Dr. Harsha began his free service to other patients, as returning favour.

Dearth of doctors

Dr. Harsha has even extended his leave for another 10 days and will serve the patients till he flies to Chandigarh where his services are needed too. His service is most needed at the District Hospital where there is good infrastructure and facilities. But the Hospital is facing a severe shortage of doctors though the authorities and Ministers have been saying that there is no dearth of doctors. In this situation, Dr. Harsha’s service is invaluable. 

Dr. Rajeshwari told SOM that the District Hospital is in dire need of more doctors and specialists and every extra hand can make much difference. “We had called for walk-in interviews to appoint six doctors and nurses and had advertised thrice. Sadly no one came for the interviews and no one is ready to work in a COVID Hospital. At this juncture, Dr. Harsha’s contribution is like a gift in critical times,” she said. 

“Many are reluctant even after we offered a handsome salary and perks. We all must realise that every patient we treat is someone’s loved one. Hence, we must shed our reservations and help people in this critical phase and Dr. Harsha is a role model,” she added.