Dr. Pankaj Gurung – Visit Char Bhanjyang – Medical Expedition team
“I slept and I dreamt that life is all joy.
I woke and I saw that life is all service.
I served and I saw that service is joy. “ – Khalil Gibran
Dr Pankaj Gurung
Dr. Pankaj Gurung
This was my first ever involvement working as a doctor in Nepal and in particular the first visit to my ancestral village. I met Prof Celin months prior to departing for Nepal whose previous visit to the villages helped me plan and mentally prepare myself for the visit. His charity was successful in procuring a blood count analyser which has now been installed in Khalte clinic. The rest of the team Dr Priya, Prof Philipo, Kathryn Timms, Deanna Faldrini, Patrizio and Capt Deo Bbhatheba were integral in helping me have an experience of a lifetime.
Due to commitments in the UK I joined the team in Khalte. We managed to consult about 250 patients in Khalte. The basis of the consultation was to advise patients that “health is not just an absence of the disease.” It was harrowing to hear villagers making their way to cities for medical check-up and extorted tens of thousands of rupees for investigations, which should never have been recommended in the first place. We moved on to Laamey and Bhangara where we consulted 163 patients, bringing the total up to 413.
Most patients presented with musculoskeletal and reflux diseases contributed by their diet and arduous lifestyle, but some cases really had me thinking. I can remember a young gentleman and his sister both presented with symptoms likely of a neurodegenerative disorder, and a gentleman in Bhangara who had dry gangrene of his upper limb extremities. They both required urgent medical and surgical intervention. A day prior to my visit, Prof Celin and Dr Priya had assessed an infant with respiratory distress. The infant, with her mother, was immediately transferred to Kathmandu for further care. I believe the funds were arranged by Capt. Deo Bahadur Bhatheba and the CBTS trust.
Whilst in Bhangara I was able to visit the house where my father was born, and also visited Bajramara Devi temple which my great grandfathers built. It did feel like a homecoming and be accepted as a family.
Also a special mention to Capt Deo Bahadur Bhatheba who was the unsung hero. He was the chieftain of our little clan and we would not function at all without him. His ardour and integrity towards helping the village and villagers surely has to be an exemplar for the younger generation.
To sum it up, the week in these villages has given me a different perspective towards my practice and a lifestyle as a whole. I do plan to return in future and contribute more to the community where my fathers and grandfathers were born and grew up to be what they are today.
