FIGHTING COVID-19

Doctor who went beyond call of duty

Kamini.Mathai@timesgroup.com  21.04.2020

His personal protection suit covered in blood, one eye on the police standing a distance away, Dr Pradeep Kumar trembled with fear as he picked up the dirt with his hands to bury Dr Simon Hercules. All that the angry mob throwing stones from outside the burial ground could see was the latest victim of Covid19 -- to them nothing more than a nameless faceless body wrapped in three layers of plastic -- being placed in a makeshift grave.

But alone in the Velangadu graveyard, nearing midnight on Sunday, with just two hospital ward staff for assistance, all Dr Pradeep could see in the dim light he was provided was a friend, colleague and mentor whom he was determined to lay to rest with the dignity and respect he deserved.

“He wasn’t just a neurosurgeon,” says Dr Pradeep. “From conducting free surgeries to offering subsidized treatment, Dr Hercules was always ready to help people.He has been helping with distribution of N95 masks and gloves to government personnel.”

During the 2015 floods, Dr Hercules set up medical camps, says Dr Alington Jacob, a physician at New Hope Medical Centre.

One-and-a-half years ago, Dr Hercules started Hope99, a project close to his heart, to serve those living in slums with health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. “It is heart-breaking that a man who served society all his life was not even allowed a proper burial,” says Dr Jason.