In Indian Rubble, Death Is Defied, if Not Denied

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A report appearing on the NY Times

 

 

In Indian Rubble, Death Is Defied, if Not DeniedJanuary 29, 2001THE AGONYBy CELIA W. DUGGERBHUJ, India, Jan. 28 - The army surgeon had just finished stitching a5-year-old girl's scalp back on her head in a makeshift open-airmilitary hospital for earthquake victims today when two doctorsfrom New Delhi, who had volunteered to help, rushed up to him. "Weneed an amputation set," Rajesh Malhotra, an orthopedic surgeon,said urgently. "Please help us." A grandmother had been trapped for 52 hours under a heavy beamthat had fallen on her thighs when her home collapsed in Friday'searthquake. She was dying, the doctor said, and the only way toextricate her was to cut off her legs. Soon, soldiers brought Dr. Malhotra a small, shiny saw, stilledged with blood from the last amputation, and bunches of bandages,syringes and other supplies. He and five other physicians - allfrom the country's finest hospital, the All India Institute ofMedical Sciences in New Delhi - jammed into a jeep to hurry to thewoman's aid. The next two hours would give a vivid testament both to thebravery of the doctors and soldiers who were trying to rescue thequake victims, and to the frustrations of trying to do the jobwithout needed equipment and resources. Army doctors at the hospital today ticked off things they needmore of: retractors, forceps, surgical instruments, splints andoxygen cylinders. The volunteers from New Delhi would add moreitems to that list once the afternoon was over. The flood of patients slowed today, two days after the earthquakethat flattened parts of this city of 150,000, largely because mostof the people still buried in the rubble had died. But MaheshSolanki, a 29-year-old tailor, had managed to keep his mother,Nirmala, alive. She had been on the ground floor of their three-story home when itcaved in. A beam pinned her legs. She had been caught for more thantwo days, lying next to her dead husband. Mr. Solanki, limping himself and grieving for his father and twobrothers, who had died in the collapse, gave her water and put atin of biscuits within her reach. She hung on, begging him to gether out of that dark hole, illuminated only by a faint triangle oflight from above. He tried to figure out a way, but the house is in the middle of asea of rubble, where no crane or bulldozer could reach it to removethe heavy slabs of concrete that hovered above his mother. Nor wasthere any way to shift the beam off her legs without bringing thehouse down. Maj. Rajan Agarwal was searching for the living in the ruins whenhe found Mr. Solanki, saw that the only hope for the man's motherwas amputation and took him to Dr. Malhotra, the orthopedicsurgeon, for help. At 2 p.m. today, Dr. Malhotra and his team of doctors wereclambering over huge piles of rubble to get to the family's home.It was only when they arrived that they realized the long odds theyfaced. "There's a gentleman lying by her side," Dr. Malhotra said in asurprised tone. Major Agarwal replied: "That's her husband, sir. The man is dead,sir." Not only would the doctor have to reach across her husband's bodyto reach the trapped woman, but there was only about six inches ofspace above her leg, leaving scant room for sawing. And he wouldhave to operate on her while lying on his stomach. The doctor also looked nervously at the huge cracks in the walls,and thought of the strong tremors that had occurred periodicallysince the earthquake. "Are you sure this structure is safe?" heasked. "It hasn't moved since this morning," the major answered. Dr. Malhotra did not seem reassured. He began to wonder out loudabout whether to go forward. He worried about the woman's position,he worried about performing the surgery lying down, he worriedabout the house falling down on them. The major reminded him, "Without this, she will die, sir.Iwouldn't like her to die in my own hands, but I'm agreeing to itonly because. . . ." the doctor replied, his voice trailing off. So the job began. The doctors wanted a battery-operated electricsaw, but there wasn't one handy. They called for a torch, and werehanded a tiny flashlight. The saw, it turned out, was dull, so the doctors called to thesoldiers to bring a knife. The men brought a long machete, with acurved blade that looked not only dull but dirty. The doctorspoured a germicide on it, and passed it in to Dr. Malhotra. That, too, wasn't sharp enough. "Does anybody have a smallhunting knife?" the doctor cried out. Instead, the soldiers brought another machete with a shorterblade. Dr. Malhotra tried that too. Finally, more than an hour after the surgery began, her legs wereoff. The doctors lifted her up and out of the house, and laid heron a stretcher. In a mournful tone, a young resident informed Dr. Malhotra, "She'snot breathing, sir." Dr. Malhotra, sweaty and blood-splattered,seemed to sink in on himself. "I told her son she might die, but I was not prepared for it," hesaid in the jeep on the way back. As the ride neared its end, hesaid, "A wiser man would have said no, and let her die there." But her son felt differently. He shook the doctor's hand, and toldhim he was grateful to him for trying to save his mother. Back at the military hospital, he wept over her body. When he saidgoodbye to Major Agarwal, who had done his best to save his mother,Mr. Solanki touched his forehead to the soldier's hands in thanks.