Purnendu
Dutta, M. D.
THESE
ARE THE EXPERIENCES OF DR.DUTTA, AS RECORDED IN THE BOOK
INSPIRED MEDICINE,EDITED BY JUDY WARNER, AND PUBLISHED BY LEELA
PRESS IN USA, RADIO SAI NOW PRESENTS EXCERPTS FROM AN ARTICLE BY
DR. PURNENDU DUTTA, M.D.
RADIO SAI THANKS BOTH THE EDITOR AND THE PUBLISHER FOR GRANTING
PERMISSION TO SHARE THESEEXCERPTS FROM THEIR BOOK.
DR. DUTTA WAS BORN IN CALCUTTA, AND WENT THROUGH MEDICAL SCHOOL
IN THAT CITY. LATER HE WENT TO ENGLAND FOR FURTHER TRAINING, AND
BECAME A FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. HE THEN
RECEIVED AN INVITATION FROM AMERICA, AND ACCEPTED A RESEARCH
POSITION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. HE HAS BEEN IN AMERICA
EVER SINCE.
RIGHT FORM HIS CHILDHOOD, DR. DUTTA HAS BEEN VERY RELIGIOUS, AND
CONSTANTLY PRAYED TO DURGA, THE GODDESS WORSHIPPED IN INDIA AS
THE UNIVERSAL MOTHER. THIS HELPED HIM A LOT BECAUSE THE HIDDEN
HAND OF DIVINITY CONSTANTLY GUIDED DR. DUTTA WHILE DEALING WITH
VERY COMPLICATED MEDICAL CASES.
DR. DUTTA CAME TO BHAGAVAN BABA IN 1985, AND HIS FIRST TRIP TO
PUTTAPARTHI WAS MADE IN 1987. IT WAS THEN HE KNEW WHO EXACTLY
HAS BEEN GUIDING HIM ALL ALONG. SINCE THEN, DR. DUTTA HAS HAD
EVEN MORE STUNNING EXPERIENCES WITH PATIENTS.
I have felt
Baba's presence and guidance in everything I do. I seek His
permission and help all the time. I am not afraid of treating
seriously ill patients knowing that Baba, the great beacon and
guide, will be with me, giving me courage and inspiration. There
are many instances in my practice where extremely difficult
situations were overcome by some inexplicable supernatural
intervention. I attribute this to Baba. To me, God is Baba and
Baba is God. It is all Baba's Leela or sport. All of the
following cases demonstrate the active help Baba has given me
over the years.
There was a
middle-aged man whom I started to treat for peptic ulcer
disease. He soon developed a tumor in his parathyroid gland with
high calcium level in his blood. I removed the tumor from his
neck with great success. The ulcer disease in his stomach
deteriorated and, soon, he was diagnosed to have tumors in his
pancreas, which were responsible for increased acid production
from his stomach and ulcer formation. He needed a total removal
of his stomach, a formidable undertaking. He was also anemic
with increased risk from surgery. Other surgeons were skeptical
about his surgery. I presented the case before a panel of
physicians and surgeons. The consensus was to treat him
medically and not to take undue surgical risk. At this point, I
was very disheartened and disappointed that the patient would
have to suffer tremendously for the rest of his life. I started
praying to Baba for help and gained courage to do the right
thing, which was surgery. I spent several sleepless nights at
the hospital taking care of this sick man and constantly praying
for his life. My prayers were answered, and he survived with a
great result.
The next was
the case of a middle-aged man who was the hospital barber where
I worked. Like most barbers, this man was very friendly and was
liked by everyone. He had a small shop at the basement of the
hospital. The hospital staff and patients were his clients. One
day, the chief of the urology department called to tell me that
the barber, who was his friend, was diagnosed with advanced
cancer of the abdomen and that his doctors felt that nothing
could be done for him. He was suffering greatly with pain and
was unable to eat properly. I felt very sorry for the barber who
was left to undergo the natural course of the dreadful disease.
My urologist friend was hoping that I would be able to help. I
started praying hard to Baba to give me some insight into this
patient's problem. I accepted the patient for evaluation first
and confirmed the diagnosis of cancer of the stomach, which may
have spread to the surrounding organs. CT scan was not available
at that time. After more prayers to Baba, I gathered courage and
explained to the family that I would explore the patient's
abdomen, hoping that I would be able to do something to help
him. During surgery, I found that the tumour had invaded part of
the adjoining colon and the tail and body of the pancreas. I had
never before had any experience of doing an en block resection
surgery of this magnitude. I almost gave up. I prayed intensely
to Baba for help and guidance. Suddenly, I felt some strength,
and I realized that this operation was the only chance that this
man had for any kind of relief of symptoms. I removed most of
his stomach, part of his colon and part of his pancreas in one
block. This was not a curative operation by any means. At best
it was palliative. The man, however, was able to eat and gain
weight and was free of pain. He lived for eighteen months
following surgery and was able to take care of his family duties
before passing away peacefully. Only Baba's help had made this
possible.
A young African
American woman in her late twenties was brought to the emergency
room with massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding. I was on
call, and people knew of my skills with endoscopy. After initial
resuscitation, requiring blood transfusion, I looked into her
oesophagus and stomach with the endoscope. She was bleeding from
superficial ulcerations in her stomach. She also had prominent
esophageal varices, but they were not bleeding. I treated her
with conservative measures. She stopped bleeding and promptly
recovered. After five days, she re-bled massively. On scoping
again, I found that her ulcers were not bleeding at this time,
but there was massive bleeding from the esophageal varices,
which are cherry-like blood vessels in the lower oesophagus. I
treated her with conservative measures of blood transfusion and
intravenous pitressin drip. She continued to bleed. I was
spending nights at the hospital trying to resuscitate her. She
was in the intensive care unit for the whole time and was being
fed intravenously with nutrients. By this time, she had received
many units of transfusion of blood and various blood products.
She was a very poor risk for surgery. I consulted with some
other surgical colleagues of mine. Everyone suggested
conservative medical management. I felt that this woman's life
was threatened. She was the mother of two very young children. I
prayed to Baba for help. I thought that surgery, although
extremely risky, was her only way out of trouble. As she was
going downhill, I intensified my prayers. Baba eventually gave
me the courage to take her into surgery. This time, I needed to
create a bypass between her portal and systemic venous systems,
a really major undertaking and a great risk after so much
bleeding. Upon exploration, I could not find a portal vein as
there was a cavernous malformation of the portal system. I ended
up doing a mesocaval shunt operation with an 'H' graft with a
synthetic material called Gortex. This involved connecting two
large veins with this artificial tube enabling blood to flow,
thereby bypassing the obstruction. During the whole procedure I
was silently praying, asking for some light into this difficult
situation. Baba was kind enough to help me. The patient survived
and is doing well eighteen years later. The family wants to give
the credit to me, but I have been successful in convincing them
that it was God who saved her life.
An elderly African American woman from a poor socio-economic
background was admitted under my care. She had diabetic gangrene
of both feet, and her doctors recommended amputation of her
legs. I presented her in our clinical conference. All the
doctors recommended amputation. I prayed to Baba for this woman
and asked Him to save her legs and feet. I controlled her
diabetes, debrided dead tissue and made multiple incisions in
the feet to promote proper drainage of infected exudates. It
worked in our favor again, but only because of a lot of prayers.
The lady was able to walk out of the hospital after four months.
This patient's legs were saved because Baba heard my prayers.
I have
always believed in God and prayed to Him. After I came to know
Lord Sai deeply, in 1985, I realized that Baba is the Supreme
Lord. All forms of God are His. Since then, I only pray to Baba.
Before my closeness to Baba was developed, I depended more on my
medical and technical knowledge than on the power of prayer in
my practice of medicine and surgery. But after Baba came into my
life, I have dedicated everything to Him.
Becoming a physician has given me the unique opportunity to
serve the sick and the needy. I now feel when I treat my
patients that I am in Baba's service. I offer my Pranaams to
Lord Sai for His constant guidance and His healing miracles in
my medical Practice.
Source: Radio Sai E-Magazine
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/01AUG31/Medicine/Miracle.htm