How A Doctor Gave Up On A Girl With Scars On Her Face Over Misinterpretation Of Words Said

Ruksaar is a Muslim girl, who was born in a minority family. Her father has been handicapped and not been able to take a job for 10 years. Sometimes in frustration, he drinks to let go of not being able to be the provider of his family. Ruksaar, has a little brother who earns not so much doing odd jobs. Her mother earns around 1000 Rupees a month. The government had funded enrollment in a Retails course for Ruksaar, which is yet to bear any employment for her. They get their ration from the cheapest place possible, leveraging howsoever many government schemes as possible.

Ruksaar, was 5 years (she’s 20 now) old child when her face got burnt from a burning coal from an Angithi, which is a commonplace method in many countries, for people who can’t afford cooking gas or induction cookers, to cook food on.

Angithi (and google won’t show properly) is basically coal put over any vessel self hooked or taken from a rejected materials places, that is wide enough to cook over.

Half her face had lifetime worth of scars to bear unless operated upon. My mother volunteered to get the scars fixed. They started treatment, with a Doctor who was suggested by someone. Ruksaar, lives at a place which is 2 hours away from the city of Chandigarh, India ( where the doctor resides ). My mom is constantly moving up and down from Chandigarh, because

1. She teaches at a Government High School at the place where Ruksaar lives.
2. My little brother is studying in Chandigarh, so she has been driving a lot lately, to manage reaching on her job on time, and taking care of my little brother.

The constraint is, that she was only able to bring Ruksaar with her, when her hectic school and driving schedule aligned, which not so very often happening, once resulted in cancellation of a couple of appointments with the Doctor, due to unforeseen change of plans. Unforeseen plans included not taking another vacation leave the next day (because she had to already take so many to take care of my little brother, and for the reasons that are a little personal to talk with public), or health problems.

On the third visit, Doctor went a little offensive, saying that my mother and Ruksaar weren’t turning up on time, which was affecting his schedule with other patients. No matter if it was his right to earn more with the time he has allocated himself to work in, he could have been a little considerate towards Ruksaar.

My mother told him that they were sorry that they had missed a couple of appointments, but there was nothing they could have done to make it on time. She asked the doctor politely, whether it would be difficult for him to treat Ruksaar, a little specially given the distance, time, and her family conditions. Rather than properly listening, his ego (and mind you a person is not his ego, a person is just grabbed by it from time to time and then the person reacts rather than acting on things) heard this as

You said you have other options, alright then, why don’t you go there and get her treated.

My mother came out furious, but calmed herself down. My brother and I took turns calling him three times (I talked two times, he talked once) over the course of two months. After the first time that I talked to him, he blocked my number. When I was finally able to reach him, he said he was out of station and that he’d already talked to my mother (which was his way of saying: Ask your mother, you fool! She doesn’t want to get her treated with me anymore, and I’ve taken offence on this).

He cut the call prematurely both times, before I even had a chance to openly and properly ask him if he had any intention to treat her, now that we were sorry. At this point of time we were really confused as to why he was escaping like this.

It was when my little brother called him from his mobile that he managed to the reason out of him. My brother bluntly asked him what his problem was when we were politely just trying to make the next appointment for the last operation. It was then that he exposed his having taken offence.

It doesn’t suit to a doctor to act emotionally and taking offence on the part of his ego or even money, when it comes to helping a child really in need of treatment. And most of all, of all the professions misinterpretation of words is absolutely not acceptable here.

My resolve was to write this article for the world to see, give them his number and ask you, the humble reader, to call him to tell him to act a little compassionately for Ruksaar, and possibly put him in her shoes for once, to see what she goes through everyday at home. Not to even say, outside, where her face has become a magnet of disgusted looks, she had accepted, but kindly accepted my mother’s volunteer-ship to get it treated.

But I thought how it would be different from what he has done, I’d have reacted in anger than acted in the power of voice. And also, not being a media student or professional journalist, I wouldn’t know how it would have entailed, him getting so many empathetic calls questioning him to question his beliefs and purposes as a doctor. To be honest, I was a little scared as well.

This is my voice. Could you share this and let it be heard across?

Thank you!