Sir,

With profound sorrow, I read the obituary of Dr. Frank I. Tovey, former Director of CSI Holdsworth Memorial Mission Hospital, Mysuru (SOM dated May 4, 2019). More than a surgeon, Dr. Tovey was the very personification of sympathy and compassion.

My grandfather, who was in his fifties somewhere around 1955-1956, developed intolerable stomach pain around 8 pm. We took him to K.R. Hospital which had its famous surgeon Dr. Gopalarajan but the Hospital authorities told us to come the next morning.

So we took him to Dr. Tovey of Mission Hospital. Incidentally, that very day Dr. Tovey had performed three major operations and was relaxing with his wife and children after a late dinner. We had no other option but to disturb him as my grandfather was unable to bear the pain.

On our request, Dr. Tovey promised that he would be at the Operation Theatre (OT) within half-an-hour and asked us to bring the patient directly there. Even as we were all waiting anxiously for Dr. Tovey in front of the OT,  Mrs. Tovey also accompanied her surgeon husband and helped him in sterilising all the knives involved in the operation. She did not forget to comfort my grandfather saying “God is with you.”

It was a nearly 3-hour major operation as it involved opening of the intestine with a very bad ulcer and major portion of the affected part was removed. It was almost midnight 1 am when the operation was completed. The doctor told us “any delay would have cost his life, now he is okay.”

When we went to surgeon Tovey’s house after a week to express our gratitude with fruits and money purse, he did not touch the money but asked us to contribute the same to Holdsworth Mission and not to disappoint us, he accepted the fruits.

– P. Theerthanarayan, Mysuru, 6.5.2019

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