A Doctor's Heart Sutra

A three year old was sitting beside the doctor’s table, outside the labor room. He was surprisingly calm and quiet. He seemed to enjoy the tea we had given him while his mother delivered her fourth child. He had no father or any known relative to take care of them. His mother was a psychiatric patient on regular follow up and treatment. He didn’t trouble us at all and never asked where his mom was. This little one was wearing the same old clothes that he wore when he came here few months back (We had seen him with the mother on her previous two admissions) and this mom, didn’t have any clothes for her new born either. The little fellow had a brown paper bag, which had stones, bottle caps and other junk, probably he picked up while coming to the hospital. These were his toys. These people collected the single use, plastic water bottles from us because it was the nearest thing to a toy they knew. They filled them with stones and pebbles to create rattles for babies. The nurse returned ...

Indu (pseudonym) was one of the permanent patients of our unit. She had nowhere else to go other than the orphanage which sheltered her. We took over her care, whenever she troubled her care takers. Keeping her in one place was hard as she had a habit of running away from every home that sheltered her. She became one of our unit’s heaviest burdens. When she was hospitalized, we had to keep an eye on her, as she was fond of wondering in corridors, outside hospital premises and suddenly went missing during visiting hours. She was in her twenties when she was diagnosed with her mental illness. She was good in her studies but couldn’t continue as her mental status worsened. On top of this she had no family support. Her mother who was treated for the same illness showed no interest in building a healthy relationship with her daughter. The efforts we took to create a good family support, failed as it was impossible to make the mother and daughter understand each other’s situation. They had...

Health Complications Which May Result in Female Workers Who Stand for a Longer Period of Time Dr. B.R.M. Samaratunga (M.D.) Women Workers who stands for longer hours at work place are prone to develop health conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders, varicose veins, heart and circulatory problems and pregnancy difficulties. The most frequently and commonly complained symptoms are discomfort, fatigue and swelling in the lower limbs. Standing hazards · Pain: o Physical pain – musculoskeletal disorders o Swollen and painful limbs mainly lower limbs. o Joint pains (increased risk of knee and him arthritis) o Neck and shoulder stiffness · Poor posture (and its effects) · Plantar fasciitis · Stretched Achilles tendon. Flat feet and heal spurs · Varicose veins · Poor circulation · Increased risk of carotid atherosclerosis and stroke · Pregnancy difficulties · Mental distress and depression which may result due to long term pain.  Varicose veins are a common complication of stan...