Arif’s Promising Future
May is one of the hottest months of the year but inside the ward, environment was calm and peaceful. Mohammad Arif was lying in the bed. He was looking pale but his face was relaxed. Behind the closed eyes Arif was wide awake, thinking of a promising future, when he could play with his daughters and will do all chores without any assistance.
We all walk, run and jog without thinking that for some people it is an impossible activity. 32 years old Mohammad Arif, father of two, was living a normal life in Hyderabad. He is a bangle craftsman and earns 300 rupees daily. With all the ups and down, his life was still bearable but things changed dramatically when three years ago he fell from a ladder. The accident cost him both his knees and he became almost immobile. Meager resources made it impossible for him to get quality treatment.
His despair was increasing and his survival was on stake when a friend suggested him to go to the Indus Hospital (TIH), Karachi. According to the friend, Indus is a blessing for the downtrodden people, which Arif didn’t believe until he witnessed it himself.
A year and a half ago he came to Karachi for the initial checkup and was told that he needs total knee replacement. In April 2017, he got the good news that hospital is receiving artificial joints and he’ll be operated soon and that too without any cost.
May 3, 2017 was the day when both of his knees were replaced. Best possible treatment and post-operative care helped him recovering fast and just one day after the surgery he took the first step. Joint replacement surgeries have a positive impact both on patient and on the society as patients resume their normal life and don’t become a liability on their families or on society.
Arif was one of those patients who were operated during a week-long surgery session. TIH accomplished this mission with the help of Zimmer Biomet, USA, one of the largest medical device manufacturers, which donated 25 surgical implants to TIH. Zimmer’s Master Trainer, Dr Umer Burney led those surgeries along with TIH’s orthopedic team.
While shedding light on joints related issues in Pakistan, Professor Mansoor Ali Khan, Senior Orthopedic Consultant, TIH said, “Joints’ wear and tear is a natural process which occurs in the aging population and annually 4000 joints have been replaced in Pakistan”.
Indus Hospital is doing knee and hip replacement surgeries since 2008. Joint replacement is a costly procedure but TIH does it absolutely free of cost. Hospital caters 80-100 patients annually, however, the number of patients is increasing exponentially and TIH needs more donations to fulfill the need.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]