The Healers’ Journal: A Pediatric Cardiologist’s Perspective

Embracing the Healing Touch for Children’s Dreams

My journey

What should I write for the profession which is already considered a noble profession? In my view, every profession is noble enough to help mankind and society. The ability to improve so many lives directly everyday sets medicine apart from all other professions. My passion for medicine started in my childhood after seeing our family physician.

With just a smile and some medicines, he made us healthy and happy. He was like an extension of our family—cool, content, composed, and precise. He always treated us with a smile, considering us equal regardless of age, caste, creed, religion, or socioeconomic status. We considered him someone we could rely on completely.

Our doctors are the Superheroes who have given life a chance to so many children.

The respect he received from our near and dear ones made us aspire to become physicians and nothing else. I have never regretted choosing medicine. Despite all the ups and downs in our routine life, the satisfaction of saving lives and treating patients well drives me to help more and more people.

Although the journey was tough and it took many years to clear the hurdles, the results were incredibly satisfying. During the course period, I also got to learn about various methods to treat little children born with a congenital heart defect. This included hole in heart treatment and heart hole treatment without surgery. At present, I am enjoying my tryst with medicine, particularly in the field of pediatric cardiology.

The Long-Term Investment

Our doctors are the Superheroes who have given life a chance to so many children.

Once, during my post-graduation when I was preparing for super specialty, someone asked me why doctors spend most of their time reading and preparing, taking longer years to complete their medical education. They pointed out that other professionals start earning early and are almost well-settled by the time we finish our degrees. My answer to that was that it’s like a long-term investment.

Being physicians, apart from practicing medicine, we have to consider every aspect of our patients’ lives. We deal with social issues, personal issues, economic factors, religious factors, and even their psychological well-being. In the end, I believe it’s God’s will to have selected me to serve mankind by providing a healing touch to their suffering. In these challenging times where trust in physicians is dwindling and people have high expectations without understanding the nature of the disease, it is our responsibility to keep the faith in medicine alive. Some incidents always give you a better perspective from the patient’s side.

The Story of a Young Boy’s Hope

One such incident involved a 15-year-old boy from a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, now settled in Hyderabad. His father belonged to a low socioeconomic stratum and was unable to arrange funds for the procedure required to treat his only son, who was suffering from severe aortic valve blockade.

With the help of foundations like Genesis, we were able to perform the procedure without affecting the family financially. As pediatric cardiac issues are more common in poor strata of society, it becomes imperative for the government, NGOs, and the corporate sector to come together and help needy children receive the right interventions which can include hole in heart treatment and heart hole treatment without surgery, enabling them to be part of the mainstream.

Continuing the Journey

My journey will continue as I strive hard to treat pediatric cardiac patients with empathy and passion, allowing them to live comfortable and normal lives. Over the past 15 years in the field of pediatric cardiology, we have witnessed children with complex diseases and difficult surgeries or interventions grow up to become doctors, engineers, and dancers, as they continue to pursue and fulfil their dreams.

As a pediatric cardiologist, it is my wish to continue sincerely in my role, helping children with heart disease cherish their goals and dreams.

Dr Sudeep Verma is a cardiologist at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad.