Latur, Maharashtra, India 2008

Helping Jabbar

Helping Jabbar
Originally uploaded by interplast

Latur, Maharashtra, India—Manasi Tirodkar, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

18-year-old Jabbar received one of the biggest operations we performed on the trip. Jabbar suffered an accidental burn from a coal iron. His brother told us about the medical care he received at the government hospital. Although the hospital might have saved Jabbar's life at the time of his burn, they did not do anything to save the function in his arm and neck with appropriate post-burn care. The surgery provided by Interplast will restore function in his arm and neck as long as he continues physical therapy on his own.

The Need for Burn Treatment

The Need for Burn Treatment
Originally uploaded by interplast

Latur, Maharashtra, India—Manasi Tirodkar, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

All the men, women and children had a story about how they got their burns and by the end of each day we were emotionally and physically exhausted. The sadness in the eyes of our patients often conveyed more than they were willing to say. Sometimes we pieced together the stories with the help of their relatives who accompanied them to the hospital. Those who had been burned by their husbands or in-laws were not always forthcoming about the cause of their burns, but their loved ones wasted no time in telling us the real stories when asked. From mothers of teenage girls who had been accidentally burned, we saw glimmers of hope that their daughter might someday still have a chance of getting married. For other patients, despite the pain after surgery, there was hope of having better quality lives from being less dependent on others for basic needs like dressing and eating.

First Clinic Day

First Clinic Day
Originally uploaded by interplast

Latur, Maharashtra, India—Manasi Tirodkar, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

We were not aware that the need for burn treatment was so severe in this part of India. On clinic day, we saw over 70 patients with old burn scars and contractures each worse than the last. Surgeries started on Tuesday and continued until the day we left, Thursday, December 4th. We operated on seven to nine patients per day. Very few patients did not show up on their appointed days of surgery, and those who did not lost their spots to new patients. No spots were wasted, no time left unfilled.

Journey to India

Journey to India
Originally uploaded by interplast

Latur, Maharashtra, India—Manasi Tirodkar, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

After traveling for three nights, we finally reached Latur, India, on Monday at 7 a.m. With barely five hours of sleep throughout the entire journey and a quick shower at the hotel, we reached Dr. Lahane's hospital before 9 a.m. There we were greeted by a deluge of cameramen and a sea of patients in the waiting room. The air was thick with incense and anticipation. After a short inauguration ritual we were ready to commence our first day of clinic.