Care & Compassion
This day was not an ordinary day of OPD, it reminded me that love still exist—that there are people who quietly fulfil their responsibilities with care and love, even when the world often shows us the opposite through daily news about violence against women.
Currently, I am posted in the TB OPD at an Urban Health Center.
It is no surprise that in TB OPD you will find patients who are tired, frustrated due to the side effects of medicines or financial distress, complaining about life. But what I got to witness that day stayed with me.
A Day in TB OPD
There was a woman in her 30s recently diagnosed with extrapulmonary TB. I had started her on AKT a few days earlier. Soon after taking the medicine, she developed severe vomiting, due to which she couldn’t sleep at night for 3 consecutive days. So, she came back to the OPD with her husband.
When they came, she was looking very pale, unable to sit or stand, crying. Many times, she sat on the floor, indicating how restless she was feeling. While I was looking at her and asking her symptoms, her husband started speaking (in Hindi):
“Madam, Iska Kuch ilaaj kijiye. Ye puri raat Ulti(vomiting) karti rehti hai, uski wajah se so bhi nahi paa rahi hai.”
He began explaining everything to me step by step, showing me, every strip of medicine telling me, this is medicine for acidity, this is for vomiting. He asked if there was a stronger treatment that could help her, apart from that, he showed me all the reports again to find out any abnormality.
He was pointing out her USG report, worried about a number he didn’t understand (as other indicators were written normal except this number)—her endometrial thickness. Having no idea about it, it was making him concerned whether this was abnormal in the report.
He was simple man, moderately built, with a tired and pale face in his 30s. But what stood out was his concern. His questions came one after another, not out of impatience, but out of helplessness.
Answering his back-to-back questions, I found out he had studied only up to 7th std, still he remembered her medicines by heart. His financial condition was poor, but he was eager to know what diet would help her recover fast.
I got overwhelmed by the whole situation. Such moments are rare to see in OPD of an urban slum. I appreciated his efforts and motivated him to continue supporting his wife throughout her treatment.
Women’s Day example
Just a few days earlier, we celebrated International Women’s Day at our Urban Health Center. The theme for this year was “Give to Gain.” It means encouraging active contribution of time, support, and respect, emphasizing that empowering women benefits all.
That day, this man became a real example of that theme.
He also reflected the spirit of the upcoming World TB Day theme:
“Yes! We Can End TB: Led by countries, powered by people
People like him make a real difference—not through big campaigns, but through small, consistent acts of care. Supporting a patient through TB treatment is not easy. But his involvement gave his wife strength to continue.
However, this experience also reminded me of another reality
When I was posted in, I met a woman living with HIV who was betrayed by her husband and his family after she got diagnosed with HIV. She was made to work all day and night for her daily wages so she could provide two meals to her children.
The fact was that her husband had already been HIV positive before the marriage, a fact which was hidden from her all these years until he fell severely ill. While sharing her story, her tears did not stop. Yet, she carried a quiet strength—living every day with pain, but still managing a faint smile for her children.
The Reality
After so many years of talking about women’s empowerment and equality, the ground reality is yet different in many places. The success stories we celebrate are only the tip of the iceberg.
There are still countless women who are blamed for everything that goes wrong in their families. Many face physical and emotional abuse. Some are denied treatment for serious illnesses. Others carry the burden of the household alone while their partners struggle with addiction or irresponsibility.
And then, on the same day, we see a man who stands firmly beside his wife, supporting her through illness with patience and care.
The Reflection
Isn’t it striking—these two completely different sides of our society?
This day reminded me that while injustice still exists, so does compassion. And perhaps, change will not come only through policies or slogans, but through people—one family, one act of care at a time.
