THE RED BADGE OF BRAVERY (5)

anonymous

30th August 2018

DR V.S. AJGAONKAR

Ramesh Kumar has a unique, place in the annals of Thalassemia history, In this ailment the red blood cells in one's body become very fragile and survive only for a few days, their normal life span being about three months. No drug is effective against this disease and the resultant anaemia can be tackled only by a weekly or fortnightly blood transfusion, In order to increase the lifespan of the RBC, the organ which destroys them, namely the spleen, has to be removed surgically from the body. However, this procedure, splenectomy, itself reduces the body's resistance to infectious diseases and the thalassaemics often succumb to an otherwise curable infection. A thalassaemia patient who has survived for ten to nineteen years accumulates a large amount of iron in the body which is released due to the destruction of transfused RBCs. This extra iron accumulates beyond normal proportion in various organs, namely the heart, pancreas, and the sexual glands resulting in their dysfunction. Affliction of pancreas due to excess deposition of iron causes diabetes in such patients, An episode of unconsciousness led to the accidental discovery of diabetes in Ramesh. He had to wage a dual war, one against thalassaemia and the other against diabetes. But the spirited man has taken on the challenge and in making a determined effort to fight his battles. In addition to the daily insulin injection, he has to take injections to prevent the deposition of Iron in his body. And, of course, the weekly blood transfusions are always in the background. In the midst of all this treatment, he manages to maintain contact with various international thalassaemia societies and attends international conferences on the subject. At these meets, he tries to allay patients' fears regarding this dreaded disease. The amount of ignorance prevalent amongst even doctors about the nature of this disease is often shocking, Ramesh makes a sincere effort to enlighten them.

This only goes to show that where there is a will, where the mind is ready to put up a tough light, the body does respond!