My Interaction With A Revolutionary Socialist Legend

I consider it a fortune to have been associated with many stalwarts in the field of politics, literature, military and even ecclesiastics, in connection with physiotherapy. Sri. Baby John , the senior leader of Revolutionary Socialist Party , is one of them.

Sri. Baby John

During the last decades of his life, he was succumbed to a devastating ailment and was in death bed for many days in Thiruvananthapuram medical college. He was a senior minister in Kerala state government in Sri. EK Nayanar ministry and was in dangerous illness list as per the bulletins distributed. He was brought to Sree chitra Medical Center for specialised treatments. Dr. Asha Kishore, the senior neurologist and present Director SCTIMST, was in charge of Sri. Baby John's treatment. He had multiple problems. Ten expert doctors from SCT and medical college , ten staff nurses from SCT and other assisting staff were deployed for his treatment management. I was his physiotherapist and had a tough job to do for him in that condition. Being a tall figure, his posture correction was difficult as the whole body was rigid and stiff due to the character of the disease. All my procedures of stretching and strapping on tilting table was painful for him. There was no other alternative for his contour correction. What made my task comfortable was that he was very co operative, forbearing and considerate patient. His long life fight for the moral revolutionary socialistic ideology seasoned his mind for such an endurance. He was a simple living and high thinking bussiness magnate turned to be apple of everyone's eyes by his empathy for the poor. Multiple decubitus non healing ulcers formed in medical college put him in a hell of suffering. SCT doctors and nursing staff took maximum care, leaving no stone unturned. Another impediment for his posture correction was his severe orthostatic hypotension. Every complaint was meticulously attended by Dr. Asha Kishore diligently. All the bed sores were healed in two months. The minister started walking with the support of walker. All those ,including me who took intensive care of him got a good service entry in our personal documents. Sri. EK Nayanar, the chief minister visited him in the evening visiting time a dozen times. It was a coincidence that I was with Baby John sir, all the time CM visited him. They communicated more than half an hour each time. Baby John sir was unable to speak loudly and fluently but could exchange ideas. They were comrades in the party for many years. I could see Nayanar sir talking emotionally to him. It was at that time I saw tears filled in the eyes of Nayanar sir and he was wiping it with the corner of his single layer dhoti. How simple they were in living and high in thinking ! We feel like to prostrate before them. How the present has taken a' U' turn from the noble past. How prodigality and extravaganza engulfed the ruling system? How the present cant forget the guiding moral past? Can we feel solace by thinking that it is a spontaneous natural inevitable evolution or feel depressed of the degeneration of morality in society and government? What ever be the fact, let the new generation make judgement. Having been passed seven decades of life in the midst of righteousness and morality, it is hard to swallow the present with out mastication. Pessimism unfortunately overshadows me as there is no chance for a return of the good old days. There may be something good in the present, which I am incapable to identify. I pray God to enable me to find good in present before I bid farewel to this world.

Sri. Shibu Baby John, Former Kerala state minister & Baby John's son.

Baby John sir had an unhealed bedsore at last in the sacro iliac region, which needed plastic surgery to heal. Reputed Late Dr. Cherian (senior) was their family friend. He came to take the minister to Devaki hospital, Chennai, after his discharge from SCT. Dr. Cherian, a prominent physician of those days asked Dr. Asha Kishore, " Why don't you treat that remaining bed sore also , once you could do everything for his rebirth? "Then Dr. Asha Kishore said, "Sorry sir, we have no much experience in treating that as seldom bed sores are formed in our hospital" . That statement was a clear indication that bed sores are biproducts of mismanagement of patient. Prevention of bedsore is hundred times better and easier than the herculean task of its cure. Keeping bedsores away is the prestige of our Institute. I have worked in twelve central government hospitals in my forty one years and four years in corporate hospitals. Sreechitra Medical center is the only esteemed medical institute which can boldly declare as a zero bedsore hospital. There had been patients remained in ventilator for five years or more ,expired and survived, but never a patient had bedsore or stiff joints. The hospital remains as a paradigm for patient care and epitome of hospitals of Kerala.

Baby John sir got cured his bedsore by plastic surgery, still continued physiotherapy for his fullest possible functional ability. He lived ten more glorious years and bid farewel on 29th January 2008 at the age of ninety, leaving behind nostalgic memories of his experiments with morality, a virtue under threat of extinction on the present day