Delhi Trip January 2010

by Tsering Dolkar, Local Coordinator

Once again I took some special cases to Delhi, who really needed to know the correct diagnose and also with Sonam, who had done her operation last year. For us it was really necessary to know what exactly is going on with her for she is getting worse with functions of her lower limbs as well as poor urine and stool control.
So after I reach in Delhi it was late in the evening when our plane landed, because of the bad weather in Leh and Delhi. But I was quite happy to travel with my husband Tsering, who was along with me to get a check by a Doctor in Delhi, due to the accident he was involved with in August 2009 where he got badly injured from L4 vertebra left fracture.
I booked the other's ticket for 25th, so till that I was able to arrang the accommodation and food for them. So before I left from Leh Mr. David did contact to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's sister Pema - to give us free accommodation.
The place was Rohini East Tibetan youth hostel, where we met some students who helped us to find the way to the guest room.
The next morning we went to meet the director of youth hostel and informed of our upcoming patients from Leh on 25th of Jan.

Youth Hostel in Delhi

It was pleasant to meet the director and whole other staff members who was really so nicely and kindly behaved. They explained us about the students from different places, which are being sent for schooling in Delhi and have facility to stay also in that hostel from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. All those students do not have guardians to look after them. In a simple word: homeless and alone in this world.

The day had come when other patients arrived and we went to the airport to pick them up. There were three children and three parents along with them. The bad news was for me that our old patient Deachen Lamo from Nubra valley, who was actually supposed to come along with the same group, unfortunately passed away just one day before of her coming to Delhi. She is the one patient we took to Delhi for the treatment last year.
After we reached the same place where I was staying, they also moved into a nice and clean room. So after some rest, I showed them the canteen of the hostel where we can eat also by demand at a very low price. So we all had lunch together.

Dolkar and Sonam

The children whom we took to Delhi:
1. S.onam Yangchen, female/ 14years old, the same girl which we are supporting and giving therapy since long time and was bring also last year for operation. As usually it was not easy to meet the doctor's in AIIMS hospital, but I did try my best and was able to introduce all of our patients in a few days to the different department. Sonam had done her operation last year in St. Stephan's hospital, so when I went there her doctor was on holiday. But the other doctors were present and checked her once and ordered us to do another new M.R.I of the lumbar spine. So I took all the other patients to have some tests done also. After I got the report from clinic, I showed the doctor from AIIMS hospital, the Neurology surgeon, and when he look through the report he says that the nerves is totally damaged and he will not suggest to do any more operation for this time and wrote down some medicine for next six months.
But strange thing is that when I went to St. Stephan's hospital, they said that they can do one more operation as because the nerves are only impinged. So it was big confusion for me also and we decided to go back to Leh.

Two mothers, Dolkar and Sonam

2. Sonam Spalzes/ female / 13/years old from D. P. School is having a problem with her legs. Also she had done her M.R.I, CT scans, ULTRA SOUND. After she had finished all the tests, we went to the Neurologist and he referred us to orthopaedic doctor and in the end the doctor suggests to continue physiotherapy with her and that she needs a rising of her shoes for walking, If the problem will get worse then they can do some operation.

Lotus and Sonam Spalzes

3. The third child I did not know very well, we had never seen him as a patient in Leh. His name is Lotus, he is from P. village / male/ 5years old. The parents were saying that he was normal before and suddenly stops to walk during his third year of life. So since then he had never walked again and the parents were so careless that they just ignored it. As they believed in more Amchi medicine, they stuck with the same medication and he got worse by every year. Finally they heard about REWA and came to the RAC therapy centre. There we saw his report from Doctor's in Delhi, he was checked once from child specialist neurologist Doctor Padma. This was report was from 2008. The parents wanted to join with our Delhi trip and we told them to book the flight tickets.
After we met the doctor in Delhi, he said to do M.R.I. for his lumber spine and brain. We done the all test for him and the child specialist said that he has a tumour in his whole spine and symptom of cancer also. The parents was so scarred that they suddenly decided to go back without anymore treatment like Chemotherapy. The Doctor said that the child would die if he doesn't get the right treatment but they didn't listen to the Doctor and left for Chandighar on the same evening. I was not able to stop them also anymore. For me it was the most painful experience while I was in Delhi. Oh! I wish for his long and comfortable life.

Boy patient

Anyways slowly we booked our returned tickets for Leh. We flew back on the 5th of February. ….
Before we left, I met the director and gave thanks from REWA for the accommodation.
As he was happy to know about our work in Leh and promised to visit our centre once he came to Leh.

Thanks to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his Sister Pema la.