General Archives - Dr.Sohail Akhtar

موت ایک حقیقت،مگر

Dr.Sohail Akhtar — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 10:00:41 +0000

"ہم اللہ (سبحانہ و تعالیٰ) کے ہیں اور ہم اسی کی طرف لوٹ رہے ہیں۔" (قرآن 2: 156)

اللہ تعالٰی دن کو اپنے قیام کے ساتھ ہی مرنے کا سبب بنإتإ ہے

اور رات کو اس کی اجازت دیتا ہے جو آرام کا وقت ہے

۔ اس طرح ، وہ ہمیں دکھا رہا ہے کہ آخر ہم سب کو اسی دن کی طرح مرنا پڑے گا۔

اور جب ہمارے آرام کے بعد سورج ایک مرتبہ پھر طلوع ہوا ، تو گویا خداتعالیٰ ہمیں بتا رہے ہیں کہ ہم بھی مرنے کے بعد زندہ ہو جائیں گے۔ یہ خدا کی قدرت کی تمام علامتیں ہیں تاکہ ہمیں اپنی زندگی کا خیال رکھنا چاہئیے

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موت ایک حقیقت،مگر appeared first on Dr.Sohail Akhtar.

معاشرے کے لیئے کچھ باتیں

Dr.Sohail Akhtar — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 07:26:54 +0000

ہمارے معاشرے کی بے حسی کی ایک چھوٹی سی مثال.

کلینک میں ایک مریض کی کہانی سنیے. 30 سالہ دمے کا مریض. جس نے ایک مہینے پہلے دکھایا تھا, دیے گئے وقت تین مہینے سے پہلے آگیا . بتایا کہ میں جلدی اس لیے آیا کہ طبیعت ٹھیک نہیں ہو رہی تھی. اسٹیرائیڈ steroids خود سے دوبارہ شروع کردیں. میں نے کچھ تفصیلات پوچھیں تو پتہ چلا کہ ایمبرائیڈری کا کام کرتا ہے , گلشن اقبال میں ایک گلی میں دکان ہے . برابر کی دکان میں مسالے آٹا اور اسی طرح کی اشیاء, بوریوں میں بھر کر لائی جاتی ہیں اور کھلی جگہ پر چھوٹی تھیلیوں میں پیک ہوتی ہیں . پوری گلی کی فضا میں ان اجزا کی گرد جمی رہتی ہے . ادھر ادھر کی دکان والے بھی زکام کھانسی اور گلے کی خرابی کی شکایت کرتے رہتے ہیں . میں نے اس سے پوچھا کہ تم ان سے بات کیوں نہیں کرتے کہ وہ یہ کام یہاں نہ کریں . اس نے کہا یہ میرے بس میں نہیں ہے . تین مہینے پہلے ہی کرائے کی دکان پر یہاں آیا ہوں, اُس کی پکی دوکان ہے . اور وہ نہیں مانتے. میں اسے سمجھاتا رہا کہ تم مجھ سے دوائیاں مزید نہ لکھواؤ بلکہ جو وجہ تمہارے سامنے ہے اس کو درست کرو . وہ میری بات سنی ان سنی کر کے دوائیوں پر اصرار کرتا رہا .

میں نے اسے آخری مرتبہ سمجھانے کی کوشش کی تو اس نے کہا کہ میں وہاں سے دکان تبدیل کرنے کی کوشش کرتا ہوں!!

ایک عجیب بے بسی کا چہرے پہ تاثر لیے یہ نوجوان کلینک سے اٹھا .

اس سے پہلے بھی اسی طرح کی کہانیاں سامنے آئی ہیں . ایک دمے کی مریضہ کلینک میں رونے لگی کہ میرا سانس کیسے ٹھیک ہو گا . میں آفس میں جاب کرتی ہوں اور باس سمیت بہت سے لوگ سگریٹ پیتے ہیں , اور مجھے ہر وقت کھانسی رہتی ہے . اس کی بھی مجبوری یہی تھی کہ وہ دوسروں کو کیسے منع کرے، جاب ہاتھ سے جانے کا اندیشہ تھا.

ہم کتنے بے حس ہیں اور ہمارا معاشرتی نظام کس قدر ٹوٹ پھوٹ کا شکار ہے . صرف اپنی فکر ہے , دوسرا جائے بھاڑ میں . کوئی شنوائی نہیں , کوئی سننے والا نہیں . یہاں تک کہ لوگوں میں اس چیز کا احساس تک ختم ہوگیا ہے کہ اپنی تکلیف اور پریشانی کی شکایت بھی کی جائے .

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معاشرے کے لیئے کچھ باتیں

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Meet my Teachers on Teachers Day

Dr.Sohail Akhtar — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 10:41:11 +0000

On this teacher's day, apart from my school and college teachers, three professional life mentors sparkle in my mind. Common traits between them being workaholic, dedicated to their missions, starting work very early in the day, both serious and with a great sense of humour, sharp memories, and of course with a large following. Late Prof F. U. Baqai, my first boss in career. An untiring person, who laid down an empire from scratch, against expectations of many sceptics. Very witty when it comes to a friendly gathering, hospitality prone, posessing great memory. Provided foundation and launching pad to thousands of young and old doctors. Prof Adibul Hassan Rizvi, an icon, a mega institution in himself, what and how to describe him, impossible! A giant personality, yet humble to the core when you visit him or meet in person. Joined him as a novice in difficult field of transplantation, but found a sea of learning opportunities. Adib saheb made it possible whatever the world sees in SIUT primarily by his own dedication, sacrifices and leading from front. Dr Abdul Majeed Memon, pulmonologist, unmatched when it comes to combining professional excellence and human-friendly medicine. I haven't seen many men more pious than him, always had life hereafter in his mind be it day to day life or profession. Spent equal or more time in solving personal problems than medical, counselor par excellence. Extremely soft spoken, always smiling, always having a story to narrate, talking you along him by 'yes, of course, true' even when you have an opposite view, until you find yourself on his side without realising or feeling let down!! May Allah bless them and spread the light they have lit, and fulfill their dreams and give me at least a fraction of their greatness, Ameen.

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What can be done vs. what should be done

Dr.Sohail Akhtar — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 05:27:06 +0000

Tanveeruddin, a 75 year old man is in Intensive care of a tertiary care hospital in Karachi since the last ten days. He was admitted because of worsening dyspnea for the last two months and was ventilated within an hour of arrival due to severe uncorrectable hypoxia. He was diagnosed as carcinoma of lung six months ago and was declared inoperable due to extensive disease with metastases in bone and brain. At home he was on pain killers and more recently on N/G feeding due to cachexia. He was completely bed bound since the last two weeks and confused. Tanveeruddin has been a smoker since his youth, and ran a grocery shop near his home. He lived in his own flat with his wife and two unmarried daughters. He had been supported during this illness financially by his brother, as most of his saving was already consumed in diagnosis of his original pathology, including CT scan chest and abdomen, bronchoscopy, MRI brain, isotope bone scan and laboratory tests. In the hospital he had multiple medical issues including severe bronchospasm, hyponatremia, uremia, respiratory failure and sepsis. He was treated with Intravenous antibiotics, nebulizers, inotropes, heparin, and other supportive treatment apart from ventilation. To manage him for all this, he had to undergo several tests including CBC, UCE, ABGs, CXR, cultures of body fluids and blood, clotting profile etc. Quite understandably, his relatives were not only worried about his life but also inundated with the medical expenses for which they were borrowing from all available resources, and even sold their jewellery, to save his life. They had asked the treating doctors many times about his condition, and the usual answer was ‘we are doing our best’. As can be expected, despite all this, the patient died after ten days on the ventilator. His wife and daughters are near to selling their house to pay back the loans, apart from worrying about their financial future. What is going on? Were the doctors inefficient? Did they not intelligently diagnose Tanveruddin’s illness and extent initially? Moreover did they not ‘fight’ to save his life in his hospitalization? There were medical conditions that were treatable; there was no neglect during his care; proper councelling was done too. The million dollar question is: whether Tanveeruddin should at all have been put on the medical heroics, including ventilator, knowing that he has a terminal illness and poor quality of life? Had he even recovered after treating the treatable issues, how long more would he have survived? Who should have taken this decision and when? Do our medical books, our medical college curriculum, our CMEs train and sensitize us in these? All what we are educated in, and educate our juniors is, what can be done in such and such case; how is sepsis treated; how is respiratory failure and hyponatremia dealt with, and so on. With advancements in modern medicine and availability of fancy gadgets, most of the previously mysteries are now diagnosable. By the time we are finished declaring that the mass in this 70 year old chronic smoker is a large cell carcinoma, inoperable and metastisized almost everywhere, many patients have spent their meagre savings. Many a time treatment in hospitals is done by junior doctors with consultants only ‘keeping an eye’. The result is wrong decisions on life saving issues, unnecessary tests and treatments, and so on. Needless to say, on many occasions, it’s the greed of the hospitals or doctors to earn more that governs such decisions. Even if it is done in complete honesty, the rationale on how much to do, for how long, is not taken into consideration. ‘Going by the book’ is not always needed; what should be done in the given patient is the best decision. Discomfort of tests, pain, difficulties in travelling, financial burden and several related issues are hardly ever considered important. What to say of the common man: they trust doctors either due to the concept of messiah or simply because of their own ignorance. When the casualty medical officer said to Tanveeruddin’s relatives: ‘he is critical and if we don’t put him on the ventilator soon, he may die’, imagine what choices they had in such a stressful situation? They were ignorant of the prognosis of his lung disease; despite seeing him in very bad shape recently, they were hopeful that he will improve. So they did best for their beloved one. My mother once said: “How have things changed; previously people used to die comfortably among their beloved ones, at home. Now they die painfully in hospitals” One of my teachers Dr Abdul Majeed Memon dealt with such situations with God-gifted qualities. I remember when panicked relatives of a terminally ill 90 year old patient of COPD asked him what to do next, whether to put him on life saving machines or do further tests, he gently yet firmly said: “sit by his side and recite sura-e-Yaseen”

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I recall this fateful day in 1971

Dr.Sohail Akhtar — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 08:30:59 +0000

On 16th Dec, I recall this fateful day in 1971. Our whole family used to gather in grandfather's house downstairs when sirens blew of impending air strikes (in Karachi). Father and uncles used to discuss war news as heard on BBC radio. When, one day, I remember some elder saying: our army has surrendered .... then there was silence, nobody spoke to each other. We were kids, not really understanding all, but felt the sorrow in the statement. I've never been to East Pakistan, never had a Bengali role model, no Bengali friend, just a kid watching East Pakistan on t.v., seeing the beautiful rivers and melodious songs with Rahman and other film actors singing on boats. A drama's wordings still is vivid in my memory, perhaps the only Bengali words I knew: "tumi amar bondu" (you're my friend). My emotional attachment was intense with East Pakistan and grew by the year. It was augmented by having bihari migrated friends in school and then medical college, and knowing about the east Pakistani wing 'Islami chhatro shibbar' of Islami Jamiat e talaba, that my late school and college days belonged to. It showed on the day I landed in Dhaka in 2002 to attend college of physician Bangladesh conference, when I, out of emotions, kissed the dust of the land...... that I considered mine. Still do

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