He was not a doctor!

Santrupthi, a beautiful and sensitive nineteen year old girl. She was my friend in the neighbourhood. As against her name which means ultimate satisfaction she was the most unsatisfied girl I have ever met. She was the only child of a working couple. She always had the complaint against her parents for her loneliness. 

  

It was our summer vacation and the sun was beating us. We both were on our way back home after looting the market in the name of shopping. Suddenly I heard Santrupthi scream at the top of her voice struggling to put her right foot forward. As we were just a few steps away from her home, I managed to take her home.

I asked her what was wrong as I was trying to sooth her offering a glass of water. She did not utter a word. Mean while her parents were back home. I told them the story and left home as it was pretty late in the night. Next day she showed me a wound at her ankle. It was not that big a wound. I was wondering on the reason for her scream!

A couple of days later when I met Santrupthi, she really had a bad walk. I saw the wound and it was just not the same. We both went to the Doctor and looking at the condition of the wound he prescribed some tablets and a ointment. Days passed and the wound was getting worse as if the medications were meant to aggravate the situation. We thought of taking a second opinion and visited another doctor. He examined the wound and looked at the prescription and said it was still good to continue the same medicines.

The wound went on getting deeper and deeper with time. Two weeks later she was referred to consult Dr.Gurumurthy a psychiatrist? According to him the prescription was just perfect. He asked me to go out of examination room for some time. After thirty five minutes when I was asked to walk in I saw Santrupthi crying. The doctor asked me to get her parents.

Listening to the whole story her still unaware parents told they were too busy to visit the doctor. However her mother told me she would try and see the doctor next week. Her wound was the same and the medications had seized their process.

The day finally came when her otherwise busy mother could manage to see the doctor. On my next visit to Santrupthi’s house I was overwhelmed to listen to her mother. The fact was so much unexpected. It was not just any wound but something made big by her-self! She was harming herself just to gain her parents love and attention. Loneliness from childhood to her adolescence had haunted her mind. She thought her pity condition would force her parents to take care of her and spare some time to her.

Yes, Dr. Gurumurthy was suspecting the beginning of a mental illness in Santrupthi. But, the good news was that she had not yet stepped into any kind of psychological disorder and can completely be treated. Frequent meet-ups with the Dr. Gurumurthy finally opened up her parents’ heart to accommodate their daughter into their schedule. 

Dr. Gurumurthy proved to be more than a doctor and had developed a bond with Santrupthi and her parents. He was not just another doctor studying her psychology and treating her. He was a true companion offering her the food for her mind. His compassion was her medicine. His love was a treasure to her. The doctor is now like her best friend and he has been given all the rights to intervene in her life and her parents’ decision.

No doubt the pharmacist succeeded in curing her external wound but only Dr. Gurumurthy was able to heal her. He has done the duty of her parents who were out of the scene busy with their work for nineteen long years. He was not a doctor but an angel!