Sir Edmund Hillary Opens First Spinal Injury Centre in Nepal
By Barbara Kolucki (bakoluck@aol.com)
Sir Edmund Hillary, together with Tenzing Norgay, were the first known persons to climb to the top of Mount Everest in 1953. On April 7, 2002, another historic event took place in Kathmandu, Nepal. On that day, Sir Edmund Hillary officially opened the first Spinal Cord Injury Centre in that country.
This particular journey began on August 8, 2000. Well-known Nepali journalist, Kanak Dixit, was trekking with his son, Eelum. Eelum returned to Kathmandu after some time and Kanak continued hiking on the beautiful Annapurna Mountain Range. He called home wherever he could find a phone - and was scheduled to return home on August 20th. After two days of worry, his family hired a helicopter to search for him. It was a time of monsoons and many landslides. For four days and three nights, Kanak was alone where he had fallen, drinking rainwater and praying that he would not die, fearing that the rocks on which he precariously laid would also tumble down the mountain.
His brother and a friend finally spotted his backpack at the top of a near-vertical slope and with great difficulty, together with a Good Samaritan porter, they brought Kanak back up the mountain to wait for the helicopter. His "luck" continued - as he lay on a table at a nearby lodge, a passing nurse was able to arrange for an IV saline drip to help with his extreme dehydration. When the helicopter finally took him to the hospital in Kathmandu, his family found out that it could have been much worse. His upper back was badly hurt. He had two vertebra dislocated and several scalp wounds that required stitches. He suffered nerve damage to his hands but has largely recovered. But what could have happened...
Kanak has slowly and is still recovering. He was placed in a halo and vest to stabilize his vertebrae and had physical therapy for a long time. The halo and vest were sent to him by a doctor friend in New York City - arriving just in time for Kanak's surgery. But on the mountain, through the rescue, in the hospital and at home - his spirits remained high. As a journalist and a Nepali who has trekked since he was 16 years old - he knew the perils of the Himalayas. He started to plan for the first Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centre.
In Nepal, as in any mountainous country, there are a disproportionate number of head and spinal cord injuries from numerous types of accidents. Many children and adults tend to livestock on these steep mountains - and frequently both have accidents. The same is true for those who are carrying everything from tree-fodder to the loads upon loads for tourists who are trekking up the mountains. When an evacuation is available, it is often on the back of a hired porter and on extremely rough roads, often resulting in further spinal injury. There has been little, and certainly not sufficient care and rehabilitation for the many with back, head and spinal injuries. The increasing number of Kathmandu Hospitals that can care for those injured do not have full-time rehabilitation workers or trained staff who know about the care required for long-term convalescence. For those sent home, and those who cannot get any care, the complications from pressure sores, the inability for a family to pay for specialized care when available - lead certainly to loss of a quality of life and very often to loss of life itself.
A non-profit group called the Spinal Injury Sangha Nepal was formed by Kanak, who is President of the Executive Board, Dr. Anil Shrestha who is an Orthopedic Surgeon and Treasurer, Madan Krishna Shrestha (humorist and member of the Board), Meera Jyoti (social worker and member-secretary), Rajalakshmi Golcha (social worker and Vice-President), Shanta Dixit (epidemiologist, educator and board member) and Tashi Jangbu Sherpa (mountaineer, business executive and board member). The Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre is the first activity of this group.
The primary objective of the Centre is "to provide patients with the knowledge and skills to remain active and able to the best of their abilities given the nature of their injuries.". The centre will also provide patients and their families with the skills that will enable them to return home and maintain a quality of life. Staff includes physical therapists, nurses and health assistants. It will cater for up to thirty individuals who will be allowed to stay for a maximum of three months in order to allow space for others in need. The Spinal Injury Sangha Nepal plans to expand its activities to promoting safe evacuation of those injured as well as public education and advocacy about people with spinal cord injuries. Nepali people, the majority of people living in remote areas, have historically had a fatalistic attitude toward many people with disabilities. These attitudes have often led to an acceptance of their fate and an extremely low quality of life for many of those injured as well as their families.
At the opening, Sir Edmund Hillary stated:
"From my work in the Solu Khumba (Everest) region, I know that this kind of facility is extremely important for this country. The hill people who injure their backs as a result of falls from trees, trails and hillsides require a Rehabilitation Centre such as this"
The first three patients at the centre included a young boy and a villager from Nepal as well as a labourer from India - all paraplegics. A woman with a spinal disease was also admitted.
The Centre is being run in collaboration with the Nepal Disabled Association, an NGO that has been working hard in Nepal for four decades. Together, they now have the job to raise at least $51,000 to "run the Centre at full strength".
Recently, Kanak received a letter from a well-known physician Dr. Basant Pant. He shared some of his thoughts with Kanak, telling him that he must have been "saved for a purpose".
"As a learned person you already understand putting your feet into the most tragic part of medical science - a fully awake, intellectually intact person unable to respond to his need and depending on others for living. Although he cannot move he can feel people and their behaviour towards him, which usually changes as the days pass by... There is definitely need for such a program in the country and if the team is motivated enough, many things can be done with lesser resources... I wish you and the team all the success."
Anyone who has ever traveled to Nepal has marveled at the beauty of the Himalayan Mountains and her people. When climbing, sometimes almost 'vertically', one cannot help thinking how easy it would be to miss a step and fall. I witessed an animal that was carrying a heavy load fall off a mountain, crushed by the weight he carried. And this happens more often than any of us realise. Kanak fell, and through a series of 'miracles', survived. The Centre is a great gift to these survivors, many who will be given the opportunity to accept a 'different fate'.
For more information, contact:
www.himalmag.com/spinalinjury
Email: kanakd@himalmag.com
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