-a short story
That was the first posting after my post graduation in medicine. The place was Karanjia, a very remote place in the eastern part of India. Similipal, a dense forest then, famous for royal Bengal tigers and elephants is a few kilometres away from it. I had left behind my family at my home town in Baripada, the District Head Quarters. Most of my patients were local tribal people who came to Karanjia hospital only when the magic medicines and quackery the village Hakims practised, failed.
It was the month of May when the first monsoon rain had hit that part of the country. A continuous knock on my door around 4 AM in the morning aroused me from deep slumber following heavy rains that evening. With a lot of difficulty in the darkness, I managed to come out of the mosquito net to find out the intruder at that odd hours.. When I saw the hospital ward boy I could know that I have to go to hospital. The ward boy Dhanu informed me that a young boy has come from a remote village with pain abdomen and the junior doctor wanted my help.
The patient was around 20 years old, a healthy Adivasi boy who was rolling in pain. When I asked about the history, the brother of the patient told that there was some function in their village and the boy had taken some local alcohol and mutton at night and slept on the floor but suddenly got up around 12 midnight and complained of pain abdomen followed by vomiting. Thinking that the problem was due to alcohol all of them again went to sleep but the boy made their life miserable for pain and vomiting for which they sought the help of the local black magician who told that it is due to a bad spirit which had entered his body, and only killing a goat or a roster can satisfy the bad spirit.A goat was sacrificed but when many other things also failed they brought the young boy to the hospital.
Detail examination of abdomen did not reveal any abnormal finding except vague tenderness all over abdomen. In spite of pain the child was having a shallow respiration which made me suspicious. The villagers who had accompanied the patient said “Due to the black magic few persons die every year during this time.”
It was the examination of the eye in lantern light that revealed the diagnosis -it was a case of krait bite with bilateral ptosis. The anti snake venom which was lying in the store room had expired a few months back But there was no other way I could save this young boy. Polyvalent ASV 20ml was given directly and another 30 ml in drip plus a dose of hydrocortisone (200mg) was given intravenously.
I told the brother of the patient about the possibility of snake bite to which he commented "Doctor, you are mad, this is nothing but black magic". I asked our ward boy Dhanu to prepare 3 cups of strong tea. A cup of tea was given to the patient through a Ryle's tube. I requested attendants other than patient's elder brother to search for the snake where the patient was sleeping.
I told my junior to check his blood pressure, respiration and to give neostigmin injection hourly if the respiration becomes shallow. I looked at the watch it was 5:30 am and it was time for me to freshen up.
When I returned to hospital around 8:30am a big crowd was waiting for me. My first apprehension was that the young boy must have expired. But the father of the patient fell flat on my feet and said "Doctor you are our God, what you told is right" and opened a gunny bag and lo behold there was that speckled band. I got the scare of my life but the young boy survived and I became famous overnight as a result of this incident. Even my transfer to another place was delayed by four years.
And the day I left Karanjia that young boy whose name I still remember even after 24 years “Ignesh Majhi”was waiting for me with his 2 children and wife to say good bye.
Written by Dr. Sanjoy kumar satpathy.
House no:4.Plot:401/2362,Atpost:Patia,Bhubaneswar751031,India
26 March 2008
My cricketing days- as a visitor to Sambalpur
I was asked by an honourable member of the press to write an article for a souvenir about cricketing in Sambalpur.I wrote one by reminiscing about my cricket playing days as a visiting team member to Sambalpur but don't know if it was ever published as I am yet to receive a copy of the Souvenir.This led me to publish it in my bolg where I expect at least my blog's administrator Sadasiv Swain to read it.
Down the memory lane...........
The year was 1971-72 and it was our first match in Kalahandi Cup tournament.Those days all other teams were afraid of teams from Rourkela and Sambalpur .The later was always considered a dark horse as the team used to bring in a lot of surprises by vilifying the predictions of the then pundits in Orissa cricket.My experience of playing against Sambalpur dated back to 1963 when the team had very talented players. Most of them were Patels and they were all very tall and well built.(Later when I joined SAIL's hospital in Rourkela- Ispat General Hospital, I came to know that these Patels mostly belonged to Sundargarh district, though some of them are also settled in Sambalpur-Jharsuguda belt)Even a couple of these players used to bat without gloves. Kishor patel, who later joined politics and became a minister and even Speaker of Orissa Assmbly, was one of them.With this background knowledge when we were to play Sambalpur at their den in our initial Kalhandi Cup match, I was very apprehensive even though most of our team members were approaching the match very casually.
Mr.Ghosh was the main organiser of Kalahandi Cup matches at Samabalpur and he was a very sportive personality who very much used to encourage his players and others too.He was main driving force in later years for bringing about the current satdium and other sports arena in Samabalpur.
We were put up in Brooks’s hill. When we were told that we will stay in Brooks’s hill we thought it must be some sort of a British type hotel but it turned aout to be in an old dilapidated house. However, those were the days of traveling in unreserved compartments and sleeping on the floor and no one ever complained about it. Our Rourkela team had many engineers, doctors, and high officials from the State Govt and the Steel Plant as playing members and no one said a word about the stay.
The next day we won the toss and elected to bat. Within one hour, half of our side was back to the pavilion. My younger brother Sumanyu , left arm spinner Kanak patel and Arun patel were playing for Sambalpur team. Kanak and Arun patel were very talented cricketers and later played for the State and Zone teams.I don't remember whether Somnath Sahu played that match. My younger brother who played for Samabalpur team made an early breakthrough and by the time I joined Panderkar we were six down for 80 odd runs. And when I was going to join our opening batsman Panderkar some one commented “Rourkela team pack up and book your return ticket.”. I was nervous no doubt, but that made me resolve to survive somehow and give a stand to the opener and build a respectable score. Those days Kalahandi cup matches were of two days duration and finals was played for three days. Rourkela team ultimately scored three hundred plus with Panderkar scoring an unbeaten 150 and me contributing sixty odd runs. Ultimately we won by an innings. At that time the stadium was just coming up. I can never forget Sambalpur ground because I completed my hundredth Kalahandi cup wickets at that very ground.
Subsequently in later years I played two Ranji Trophy matches but accommodation was always a problem. The out field was bumpy and pitch was devoid of any grass quite like most of our Indian pitches. Due to some sort of narrow vision on the part of Orissa Cricket association that Orissa is confined to Bhubanswar and Cuttak and lack of interest of the local people, after Mr Ghose ,cricket is almost a dead game at Sambalpur.
The stadium and the outfield need constant care with watering , pesticide and fertilizers but finance is the key factor in real maintaince of Cricket grounds. Finance comes from holding first class matches and good sponsors. In the current scenarion in Indian Cricket, money is no problem provided you show good results in First Class Cricket. What we need to do is to search real talents from Sambalpur and adjoining areas, provide them with reasonably good infrastructure and build a team that can attarct good matches. However, we, Oriyas are basically lazy people and never take anything seriously. Otherwise, how come farmers and cultivators from Bangladeash and Andhra Pradesh are doing wonders with our cultivable land?
Its high time, our parents must encourage their children to participate actively in all types of games and sports including Cricket. We can’t produce athletes and players from drawing rooms.
I have not visited Sambalpur stadium for long time but I am sure it must be incomplete and the out-field as bumpy as it was in my playing days.
I am sure with the current craze for cricket with the new generation, things are going to take a new shape and we can and will be able to host first class matches shortly at Sambalpur stadium.
Dr.Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy
Joint director SAIL.
Exranji and east Zone player.
Down the memory lane...........
The year was 1971-72 and it was our first match in Kalahandi Cup tournament.Those days all other teams were afraid of teams from Rourkela and Sambalpur .The later was always considered a dark horse as the team used to bring in a lot of surprises by vilifying the predictions of the then pundits in Orissa cricket.My experience of playing against Sambalpur dated back to 1963 when the team had very talented players. Most of them were Patels and they were all very tall and well built.(Later when I joined SAIL's hospital in Rourkela- Ispat General Hospital, I came to know that these Patels mostly belonged to Sundargarh district, though some of them are also settled in Sambalpur-Jharsuguda belt)Even a couple of these players used to bat without gloves. Kishor patel, who later joined politics and became a minister and even Speaker of Orissa Assmbly, was one of them.With this background knowledge when we were to play Sambalpur at their den in our initial Kalhandi Cup match, I was very apprehensive even though most of our team members were approaching the match very casually.
Mr.Ghosh was the main organiser of Kalahandi Cup matches at Samabalpur and he was a very sportive personality who very much used to encourage his players and others too.He was main driving force in later years for bringing about the current satdium and other sports arena in Samabalpur.
We were put up in Brooks’s hill. When we were told that we will stay in Brooks’s hill we thought it must be some sort of a British type hotel but it turned aout to be in an old dilapidated house. However, those were the days of traveling in unreserved compartments and sleeping on the floor and no one ever complained about it. Our Rourkela team had many engineers, doctors, and high officials from the State Govt and the Steel Plant as playing members and no one said a word about the stay.
The next day we won the toss and elected to bat. Within one hour, half of our side was back to the pavilion. My younger brother Sumanyu , left arm spinner Kanak patel and Arun patel were playing for Sambalpur team. Kanak and Arun patel were very talented cricketers and later played for the State and Zone teams.I don't remember whether Somnath Sahu played that match. My younger brother who played for Samabalpur team made an early breakthrough and by the time I joined Panderkar we were six down for 80 odd runs. And when I was going to join our opening batsman Panderkar some one commented “Rourkela team pack up and book your return ticket.”. I was nervous no doubt, but that made me resolve to survive somehow and give a stand to the opener and build a respectable score. Those days Kalahandi cup matches were of two days duration and finals was played for three days. Rourkela team ultimately scored three hundred plus with Panderkar scoring an unbeaten 150 and me contributing sixty odd runs. Ultimately we won by an innings. At that time the stadium was just coming up. I can never forget Sambalpur ground because I completed my hundredth Kalahandi cup wickets at that very ground.
Subsequently in later years I played two Ranji Trophy matches but accommodation was always a problem. The out field was bumpy and pitch was devoid of any grass quite like most of our Indian pitches. Due to some sort of narrow vision on the part of Orissa Cricket association that Orissa is confined to Bhubanswar and Cuttak and lack of interest of the local people, after Mr Ghose ,cricket is almost a dead game at Sambalpur.
The stadium and the outfield need constant care with watering , pesticide and fertilizers but finance is the key factor in real maintaince of Cricket grounds. Finance comes from holding first class matches and good sponsors. In the current scenarion in Indian Cricket, money is no problem provided you show good results in First Class Cricket. What we need to do is to search real talents from Sambalpur and adjoining areas, provide them with reasonably good infrastructure and build a team that can attarct good matches. However, we, Oriyas are basically lazy people and never take anything seriously. Otherwise, how come farmers and cultivators from Bangladeash and Andhra Pradesh are doing wonders with our cultivable land?
Its high time, our parents must encourage their children to participate actively in all types of games and sports including Cricket. We can’t produce athletes and players from drawing rooms.
I have not visited Sambalpur stadium for long time but I am sure it must be incomplete and the out-field as bumpy as it was in my playing days.
I am sure with the current craze for cricket with the new generation, things are going to take a new shape and we can and will be able to host first class matches shortly at Sambalpur stadium.
Dr.Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy
Joint director SAIL.
Exranji and east Zone player.
Poor compliance of drugs by the patients.
Causes for poor compliance include:[1]
• Forgetfulness
• Prescription not collected or not dispensed
• Purpose of treatment not clear
• Perceived lack of effect
• Real or perceived side-effects
• Instructions for administering not clear
• Physical difficulty in complying (e.g. with opening medicine containers, handling small tablets or swallowing difficulties, travel to place of treatment)
• Unattractive formulation (e.g. unpleasant taste)
• Complicated regimen
• Cost of drugs
• Forgetfulness
• Prescription not collected or not dispensed
• Purpose of treatment not clear
• Perceived lack of effect
• Real or perceived side-effects
• Instructions for administering not clear
• Physical difficulty in complying (e.g. with opening medicine containers, handling small tablets or swallowing difficulties, travel to place of treatment)
• Unattractive formulation (e.g. unpleasant taste)
• Complicated regimen
• Cost of drugs
Steel doctors conference 1996
From left: Dr.Baxla,Dr.NCNanda,Dr.SCDash,Dr.B.Dash(dead),Dr.JKMohapatra(dead),Dr.SNMohapatra,Dr.S.K.Satpathy,Dr.PKMohapatra and Dr.RBPattnaik.
This was in the year 1996 at Ranchi.
fare wel to Dr.S.R.Padhi
Dr.S.R.Padhi took VR in the year 2005 from SAIL.Now he is senior consultant of Hemalata cancer institute at Bhubaneswar.A man of few words loves to travel. He is seen here with director of health services of steel authority of India. Dr.padhi is seated in the front row 4th from left with a blue shirt. This was a department of medicine farewel was organised by none other than dr.padhi him self.
Farewel to Doctor sanjoy
Dr.Sanjoy satpathy was given a befitting farewel by the Pshychitric department of IGH.One can spot the HOD Dr.Verma,smiling Dr.Bhat and recently joined DNB student.
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