Thank you all for being such sympathetic, dedicated, compassionate, concerned and kind people!

On 28th May my mother felt intense pain in the stomach, which was accompanied by vomiting and fever. We rushed to district hospital Baramulla (upgraded to GMC now) and there she was given medication which relieved her pain for an hour, but the symptoms reoccurred. In the meantime I was searching about these symptoms on the internet and found that its possible cause could be the calculus accumulated in gallbladder. Next day we consulted another doctor, preferring to see him at his private clinic, for more attention and care (a Kashmiri thing). She was asked to get a bunch of tests done, and the reports were shown to the doctor, after which he prescribed nothing but a Pantop-like medicine only.
To be sure about the problem we told the doctor that she has fever and vomiting also, to which he replied that “this is a common flu”. This was the point when I became more concerned about my mom, as I knew the symptoms indicated an infection. Without any further delay we took her to the radiologist to get a USG done. Not to my surprise, the report showed the presence of microliths in gallbladder and two calculi blocking the common hepatic and bile duct, a condition medically termed as cholidocholithiasis. We showed this report to the doctor in GMC Baramulla OPD and he referred the patient for an ERCP procedure to SMHS Srinagar, as this facility is not available in GMC Baramulla yet.
I contacted my friend and he, too, recommended SMHS hospital. Without further delay I shifted my mother to SMHS and she was admitted to the emergency ward. My mom was suggested to get another USG done from the hospital. So we headed towards the USG room and the radiologist present there was Dr Naseer Imtiyaz. He was very humble, caring and concerned.
Upon seeing the USG report, Dr Younus, who was in charge of the emergency ward, prescribed a few more tests, including MRCP that provides more detailed images of hepatobiliary and pancreatic systems. Meanwhile the team including Dr Younus, Dr Hashmat, Dr Satbir Singh, Dr Riyan and others treated their patients like their own. They made attendants understand the conditions of their patients. I would like to give a shout out for the nurses also. They are doing an incredible job. Hats off to them. I would like to mention here that the role of nurses can’t be neglected. Some attendants don’t appreciate their work and misbehave with them. This disheartened me every time I came across such behaviour of attendants. We must give respect to everyone who is working there for us, even the gatekeepers.
Meanwhile, the regular medication and the good care of nurses made my mother somehow stable. Getting the MRCP done took us three days in the hospital. On the next day doctors were on round and I attached the MRCP report with the file. Going through the MRCP report, Dr Younus (surgeon) along with another senior doctor suggested a surgery: hepaticojejunostomy. Honestly speaking, I didn’t want this to happen. Prayer was the only hope for me and for my family, too, because my mom had already undergone 3 surgeries before. Perhaps my prayers worked and we were advised to consult Prof Dr Iqbal Saleem (head of the unit) for the final decision. On Tuesday we went to the OPD along with Dr Naseer Imtiyaz (one-in-a-million kind of friend) and he discussed with Dr Iqbal Saleem about the procedures to be done. Prof Dr Iqbal Saleem directed us to go for ERCP first and said that if that doesn’t work, then we will go for surgery. This statement of his gave me a new hope and a sigh of relief.
Now we were shifted to Shireen Bagh as ERCP is done there only. There Dr Suhail (gastroenterologist) admitted my mother to the ward and gave the date of ERCP. On Wednesday, we were told to get the ERCP kit, which costs around 20,000 rupees, but thanks to a centrally sponsored scheme, PMJAY, which made this kit free of cost.
Waiting for her turn, my mother was all set to go into the lab but she was a bit anxious. Finally a call was made and they took her inside the ERCP lab. This ERCP was done by Dr Majid and his team. It took half an hour only and the door was opened to take her out to the ward bed.
Upon seeing my mom I couldn’t resist crying. She was under the effect of anaesthesia which made her a bit unconscious. But I was happy, too, as the doctor mentioned in the report that multiple stones and sludges were removed, occlusive cholangiogram was normal, and CBD was cleared. As we were discharged from the hospital the next day, we were told to do a USG again in order to be sure whether the gallbladder consists of any calculus or is free from it. To my surprise, the USG showed that no calculus is seen in GB/CBD. I forwarded this report to Dr Suhail who told me that there is no need for any follow-up or undergoing any cholecystectomy. I was literally filled with joy.
I would like to thank all the doctors who are serving humanity, especially the ones I came across in SMHS Srinagar, namely, again, Dr Naseer Imtiyaz, Dr Suhail, Dr Younus, Dr Naveed, Dr Satbir, Dr Hashmat, Dr Reyan and the nurses.
Thank you all for being such sympathetic, dedicated, compassionate, concerned and kind doctors! You people always go beyond your comfort zone and work tirelessly for a healthy outcome. Thanking you forever for your support and care.

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Rameez Bhat