And if a major disaster has not struck anywhere, the 52-year-old orthopedic surgeon can be found at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital where he has worked every day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for 16 years now. He won´t be found practicing anywhere else. He has never practiced in private clinics or at a nursing home. [break]
“Reaching out to areas hit by major disasters is my way of making the best use of my skills,” says the doctor, who was born in Makadum VDC of Ramechhap district.
Apart from his trip to Pakistan in 2005, all his other trips and related expenses were financed by the doctor himself. This atheist likes to self-fund his trips as a volunteer, for he does not want to dilute the satisfaction he derives out of social work.
“As soon as money gets involved, it no longer remains social work,” says Dr KC who is single and therefore does not need to provide for a family.
Stranger in Haiti
Dr KC made a dash to Haiti after seeing live pictures on CNN of the devastation caused by the January 12 quake. But the airport in Haiti was no longer operating commercial flights in the immediate aftermath of the quake.
Without establishing any contact with agencies concerned in Haiti or making arrangements for serving as a volunteer there, Dr KC flew to New York and then to the Dominican Republic from where he took a bus to Port-au-Prince.
“I had heard that hundreds of hardened criminals had made it out of the prison in Port-au-Prince and therefore I wanted to reach there before nightfall, lest I run into one of them,” said the doctor who was carrying US $ 2,500 in travelers checks and cash.
In Port-au-Prince, he looked for the cheapest lodging, which cost him US $ 30 a night, and on the morning of January 31, he got on a truck to l´Hopital Universitaire d´Etat d´Haiti, the biggest hospital in the country.
To his dismay, he found that most of the hospital complex had turned into debris. An HIV clinic had been converted into an operation theater, where injured Haitians were receiving surgeries from volunteers from all over the globe.
“After I introduced myself to the coordinator of the International Medical Corps who was overseeing the medical camp and informed her that I wanted to work as a volunteer for two week, she was overjoyed. Most volunteers barely stayed for a day or two,” he said.
In the next two weeks, Dr KC provided treatment to 395 injured Haitians. He conducted 232 surgeries.
When he returned to Nepal this month, just US $ 32 remained of the US $ 2,500 that he took with him. The airfare cost him an additional US $ 2,300.
Almost in Chile
While in the US en route from Haiti to Nepal, the doctor heard of the quake in Chile measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale.
Sensing that he might be needed there too, he contacted the Chilean embassy in the US, but was informed that despite the high magnitude of the quake, there was little loss of life and Chile was well-prepared for the aftermath.
By now, Dr KC has developed an acute sense of where he might be needed next. “Disasters are occurring regularly all around the world. But I don´t go to places where I believe the local medical capability is adequate,” he said.
But if there is a major disaster anywhere, he won´t rest without at least trying to reach there.
After Cyclone Nargis hit Burma in 2008, he saw on television that foreigners were being denied entry to that country.
“But I decided to approach the Burmese embassy in Kathmandu, so that I wouldn´t have to fret later for not having tried,” he said, reminiscing the experience bemusedly. “To my utter surprise, I was granted a visa without delay, and that too gratis,” he exclaimed.
Crazy
For his commitment to social work, his refusal to engage in private practice, his single status and his refusal carry a cell phone (he is content to carry a pager), people often call Dr KC crazy.
“But they say that out of appreciation,” says the doctor who does not limit himself to serving disaster-hit locales.
He takes a two-week break twice every year and reaches the far-flung villages of Nepal with loads of medicine financed by himself. There, he imparts primary health care training to medical practitioners and distributes the medicine. Dr KC was in Jajarkot during the diarrhea and cholera epidemic last year, something he has preferred to keep low-key.
During an interview with myrepublica.com on Friday, the doctor was more interested in talking about Kathmandu´s lack of preparedness for dealing with the aftermath of a major disaster, than about his own selfless acts.
“There are few empty spaces in Kathmandu to evacuate people in case of a major disaster. Modern equipment for search and rescue of trapped people [after an earthquake] is a far cry,” he said worriedly.
Dr KC intends to continue serving people. “But not forever! Only as long as I am capable physically,” he quipped.
bikash@myrepublica.com
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