At a time when close relatives and even family members are keeping a “safe distance” from their near and dear ones who have died of COVID-19, a young doctor set an example for others by practicing the last rites of a poor man took place when his wife and daughters watched helplessly.
“I haven’t done anything great, and I’m embarrassed to answer questions from media representatives. I had considered it my responsibility and did it as an ordinary man. The residents of the colony would definitely have helped the poor woman if they weren’t afraid of approaching a COVID victim, “said Dr. Boddu Ramachaitanya from Narava PHC The Hindu.
“A few days ago I received a call from an official in the Sachivalayam Municipality in Mangalapalem that K. Satyanarayana, 40, from the JNNURM Colony had died of COVID-19 in his home. His wife and two daughters didn’t even have the money for the last rites, ”he says.
“I rushed to her house without thinking about it. There was no one to pick up the body and put it in the ‘Mahaprasthanam’ vehicle. When I learned I was going to the COVID victim’s house, two volunteers on the ward – Manohar and Hemanth – came up to the front to help me lift the body. I gave them PPE kits and the three of us lifted the body and put it in the vehicle. We performed the last rites on the cremation site, ”estimates Dr. Ramachaitanya the young volunteers.
He was caring for a sick old man who was abandoned in the past near a temple in Kothapalem, Gopalapatnam. He had blood, liver and kidney function tests done, but the old man died before treatment could be started. Fortunately, the old man had tested negative for COVID-19 and there was no problem moving the body.
“Myself and my colleague were asked to monitor the condition of a 50-year-old man who had consumed poison while we were employed in a general medicine department during our internship about four years ago. The words of thanks from the man’s son and daughter, ‘You gave us back our father’, still ring in my ears, ”adds Dr. Ramachaitanya added.