Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 4 Num 189 Sat. December 06, 2003  
   
Letters to Editor


Doctor or butcher?


This is about my younger sister, Abida, who is now a grade-2 student. Some kind of rashes occurred on her feet, so we took her to a skin specialist. He asked his assistant to cut the rashes on the feet and then use a medicine, which was made by the doctor himself. It was easy for the doctor to say "cut" but it was so painful for my little sister that she was shouting like never before. I couldn't keep my eyes open to see her suffering. But it wasn't finished on that day. She had to visit the doctor after every 15 days. But still her situation was deteriorating. Standing on her feet was a far cryshe couldn't even sleep for the pain.

We couldn't imagine that it was the fault of the doctor. We thought it was a serious disease as the doctor said it was not a common one. The treatment(!) went on for 3-4 months. But as there was no sign of cure, we decided to change the doctor. We showed the previous prescription and asked this new doctor that if it was necessary to cut the rashes. He replied, "Don't even touch her feet. It may affect her brain." Then he prescribed some medicines. Surprisingly enough, she was able to walk within a week. Now the question is why the previous doctor couldn't identify the disease? How on earth did he get a certificate as a skin specialist? Whenever I remember my little sister's sufferings, I ask myself, "Was he a doctor or a butcher?"