Q. “I have done something; oh, God! I’ve done something real at last.” Why does Andrew say this? What does it mean?
Ans. The young doctor Andrew Manson had done a commendable work. His exclamation is justifed. He had not only helped the middle-aged lady in the safe delivery of a male child but also restored them to perfect health. Susan Morgan’s strength was ebbing after the delivery. She was almost pulseless. Andrew gave her an injection and worked severely to strengthen her heart.
The major achievement of Andrew was to resuscitate the stillborn child. First, he laid the child on a blanket and began the special method of respiration. Then he tried the hot and cold water treatment- dipping the baby alternately. He laboured in vain for half an hour. He then made another last effort. He rubbed the child with a rough towel. He went on pressing and releasing the baby’s little chest with both his hands. At last the baby responded. His chest heaved. Andrew redoubled his efforts. The child was gasping now. A bubble of mucus came from his tiny nostril. The pale skin turned pink. His limbs became hard. Then came the child’s cry.
Andrew called upon God as witness of his act which was no less than a miracle. It was not mere theoretical talk but a practical achievement – something real and solid.
Q. ‘There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practising physician.’ Discuss.
Ans. Normally, the medicines prescibed in the textbooks are used by the practising physicians. However, in extreme cases of emergency, the physician’s experience, resourcefulness and practical approach become far more important than the theoretical knowledge. For example, a victim of burn-injury, snakebite or suffocation through drowning needs immediate help. The nearest available doctor may not have all the facilities needed for the case. In such a situation first-aid is a must to save the patient’s life before rushing him to the hospital for proper care. With limited resources at his command, the practising physician exercises all his practical experience to control the damage to the minimum and check the victim’s state from further deterioration. A stitch in time does save nine in such cases. The practical help comes as a boon.
Q. Do you know of any incident when someone has been brought back to life from the brink of death through medical help? Discuss medical procedures such as organ transplant and organ regeneration that are used to save human life.
Ans. Yes, I have seen and heard of incidents where people have been brought back to life from the brink of death through medical help. Surgical operations, life saving drugs and organ transplant play a leading role in modern medical science. Leading hospitals in advanced countries have facilities for medical procedures such as organ transplant and organ regeneration. Blook bank and eye bank are quite common. Nowadays people willingly donate various organs of their body to the hospitals after their death. The techniques of organ regeneration help to preserve them for certain period and use them for transplanting the defective organ of another patient. Nowadays eye, heart, kidney and liver are being transplanted. The time is not far off when artificial human organs will be made in laboratories from non-human sources.