An Appeal

Fahmida Khan dropped by looking unusually pale, but overweight. She complained of sleepless nights nursing a severe drop in blood sugar levels. “I feel faint,” she said. “I cannot keep my balance while standing. I fell down at home and hurt myself badly.”
Fahmida has been suffering for long but refuses to see a doctor now. She is on self-medication. “I am fed up of doctors, paying their exorbitant fees and getting nothing in return. I have tried everywhere. Forget cure, no doctor has been able to prescribe

Fahmida Khan (ext left) drops by to narrate her tale of woe

anything that would give me basic relief,” she said bitterly.
Distressing as her condition may be, Fahmida is not alone. With advancing age and ailments multiplying by the day, most of us are at the mercy of doctors who cannot tell an arm from the elbow. And yet, we are made to pay through our nose and toes, till death do us apart. After all, not everybody is as lucky as Shekhawat to have his/ her medical bills paid by the Government of India. As an ex-serviceman, he also has access to the military hospital in Colaba where he is treated by top-grade specialists, absolutely free of charge.
It was in this context that a proposal was mooted this morning to draw up a list of doctors in our neighborhood who are ethical, competent and do not charge a bomb. This is of critical importance to senior citizens like us. Since doctors cannot advertise on their own, we would publish their details on the side panel of this blog which shall serve as a viable option (if not a ready reckoner) to all. A beginning has been made today.
We appeal to all members to share whatever information they might have in this regard so that everybody stands to benefit and nobody suffers the way Fahmida is having to.

Bihari Milwani:
Be regular in the club and keep laughing. That is the best medicine. There will be no need of any doctor!

Karun Sharma:
It is a brilliant idea to make a panel of doctors, considering the issues senior citizens may have. But at any given point, we shall have to trust one doctor or the other.