Sunday Story: The Story Of My Experiences With Doctors
He once had a very large clinic with a spacious waiting room and a biggish consultation cabin. When his son became a dentist he gave up most of his space to his son and took for himself barely enough space for the patient bed, his compounder lady and himself, all three extremely crammed up. The situation is further not helped by the fact the compounder lady is eight months pregnant! It speaks of his sacrificing nature, though one can understand at one point he would eventually hand over the clinic to his son.
Having known him for quite some time now, have developed some closeness with him…he is for us more than a doctor. When his son opened his dental clinic, we were one of the very few people to be called for the opening. He freely talks about his family, travels, but is quite critical of his son, particularly of his spending habits. He told that his son once bought fish of Rs.16000! His son may be new to buying fish and the clever fisherwomen must have fleeced him. He even strongly disapproved of his son buying an expensive car, which he thought was not required.
I must add that he is extremely money conscious to point of being stingy. He argues with people on money matters and wants to get full value for money even from people rendering services like AC maintenance. For some time we shared the same cleaning lady, mango vendor and even fish vendor. He refused to give the cleaning lady anything extra for Diwali and would cut money and haggle for a few hundred rupees. An offshoot of this was he started charging Rs.100 for a routine blood pressure check, which most doctors do free as part of a standard check-up. Also when my brother-in-law had come from US and went to him for some cough, cold, he charged him Rs.1000. He was shocked and felt the doctor was taking advantage of his NRI status. My wife proclaimed, 'He is only after money now!'.
When going abroad, he would be so excited he would inform us a couple of months in advance and keep talking about it. He would also often mention of his car, reminding us he has a driver, then talk about his properties at Kemps Corner, Goregoan, Goa and with all this you get the feeling that he must have been from a humble background, but now wants to show off his success. However he still holds on strongly to the idea of ‘value for money’. Nothing wrong, but he overdoes it to the point of being obvious and in the face. Not surprising his son is the opposite, splurging money as if in rebellion.
It so happens that his son and we share the same anniversary date. That’s not all, my wife and his wife share the same birthday too! I told him once that he and I are sailing in the same boat and he gave loud laugh. Something must have tickled him about the statement.The son has the same conservative approach but being younger, is fully aware of the changing trends in dentistry, with newer materials and techniques. He is open to discuss and provide options. Not sure though he does this for all or we get preferential treatment. He confided he normally charges Rs.2500 for teeth cleaning, but from us it is Rs.1500. He has started a new practice of offering juice to waiting patients which makes my wife wonder if all this adds up in his charges.
Once my wife had to undergo extended sittings for her dental treatment and during all these sittings I would accompany her. Much later I came to know that within their family they had a secret name for us. It was ‘love birds’! This I came to know when his mother had come to the clinic once, and spilled the beans. In another funny incidence, after my wife’s treatment, the dentist son winked at me and told my wife, that she cannot talk for two days. My wife picked up the joke and we all had a merry laugh.
Once while I was trying to reach the senior doctor, but could not get through. I called his son and he hesitantly told me that a bull had hit his father from behind! Could not catch whether it was at Goa or at Goregaon, but he was hospitalized at Breach Candy hospital. Imagining the scene I could not contain a laugh. Later to avoid any discomfort or embarassmemt we never talked about it.
In another unusual and touching incident, I had been to his clinic and saw him quite low and depressed. Before I could ask him, he told me that during a medical camp at the company where he was the in-house doctor, he was diagnosed with fatty liver. I had no idea what to say...it was the first time a doctor was complaining to a patient about his health! He saw my confusion and relieved me from commenting anything. This was also the first time I realised we too were much more to him than patients.
Sadly the idea of a family physician is declining. Apart from the comfort factor and being someone with whom you can freely discuss medical problems, they provide the biggest value in terms of issuing a Death Certificate in the unfortunate event of death, particularly when it happens at home. Consultants notoriously don’t give it. It is the age of medical agents or call them sharks, who supposedly act in your interest but lead you to expensive surgical treatments, whether required or not, for a cut from the doctors. My sister went through this, which opened our eyes. In such situations, having a good friendly doctor by your side is a blessing. Only thing, he should be well connected that when there is an emergency he can get you under the right doctors in quick time.
In this case, I need to mention about my family physician before our current doctor. He was a perfect, model doctor. A very wealthy and influential man he was one of the founding members of Syndicate Bank. He lived in the posh Malabar Hill area and his son also a good doctor, had a house at Samudra Mahal at Worli, one of the costliest properties in Mumbai. Inspite of all their wealth they were very simple and had a certain class. The senior in fact never changed his car from the Premier Padmini. They treated patients from all classes equally and had a very comforting, doctorly manner. The senior has almost a record for the longest practice, coming to the clinic even in his ninetees. Unfortunately both died in quick succession, the son prematurely of cancer. Our family remembers them dearly.
I think the son had a premonition of his death as he donated a large number of valuable art objects and curios at a NGO where my wife was doing honorary work. It is the same NGO where Sunil Anand's father, Dr.Anand, was the in-house doctor. I had once met him there at one of the NGO's functions.
The doctor had neatly packed the art objects and curios in 8 - 10 large boxes which he sent over. The NGO has a periodic jumble sale where a price is fixed for each item and proceeds used for the NGO's initiatives. Among these were signature porcelain items including a Lladro, all extremely valuable but priced by the management at atrociously low prices of a few hundred or thousand rupees. Obviously the managent did not know the real value of those items. My wife got a few items including a Japanese signature porcelain bowl, the Lladro and other items. Not seeming to take advantage of the situation, for us it was a fitting reminder of the senior doctor and son who served our family for several years and in an indirect way, a reward for her honorary services. In an age where medicine feels increasingly commercial, I am grateful for the doctors we have had who know us as more than just a patients.
You may also want to read my piece on: Tryst With My Fisherwomen
Visit the Rodevra website
Comments
Post a Comment