A Rose and his thorns A Herald Report BY MELVYN MISQUITA PANJIM, FEB 17 -- He may not have attained the acclaim of his illustrious elder brother Alfred Fernandes -- better known to the Konkani stage as Alfred Rose -- but Albert Fernandes (67) has his own story to tell. �I was an allrounder in every sense. Besides graduating in BCom, I have had experience as an AC and refrigerator technician, turner, fitter, gas welder, carpenter, painter and an electrician. I was also an actor and a musician,� says Albert. �My father�s first name was Ambrose. Hence, Alfred, Marshall and I took the shortened name �Rose�,� explains Albert Rose, now confined to his house in the secluded ward of Nivim in Carona-Aldona. Forced to a reclusive life, Albert is bitter with the medical facilities in the State, that has left him with an amputated leg and virtually bankrupt. �I watch TV or play music in order to distract myself from the acute physical and mental anguish,� says a heartbroken Albert with tears in his eyes. �I can�t bear the pain any more and I have lost the will to live.� Albert was forced to return from Bahrain in 1989, due to harassment of sponsors and acute shortage of staff. Albert admits that though he has had diabetes for many years, he was very fit. �I would do all the work at home and I was very active.� The first sign of sickness was to take place in 2000, when Albert felt his left leg grow cold. �I sensed a loss of blood circulation to my leg. I went to Asilo hospital in Mapusa to have my leg checked. I was simply given medication and sent home,� said Albert. Then in September 2003, a private doctor referred him to Remanso hospital. �They gave me medication and I was discharged on September 30.� A few days later, Albert�s fingers began to turn black. �Scared of this condition, I went to another doctor in Remanso in Mapusa. There, they amputated my three left toes,� he added. On November 12, 2003, he was advised to go to the Goa Medical College Hospital in Bambolim for a checkup. �The doctors did not even conduct a proper checkup and amputed my left leg within a matter of two hours,� insists Albert. He claimed that post-operative care was a nightmare. �The doctors would open up the bandage at about 9.30 am and would leave the wound exposed till about 6.30 pm. When I would request nurses to bandage the wound, they simply replied: �The doctor will come to do it.� But the doctor would never come,� recalls Albert. �At times, I was forced to use the old bandage of the wound to cover my leg. This caused me unbearable pain.� �Once, I had difficulty in passing stools. Despite constant pleas, doctors and nurses at GMC simply refused to give me enema. One day, I shouted at them and a nurse finally gave me a bottle. The enema was however administered by my wife and a man kept to look after me,� he said. Albert claims the GMC doctors kept telling him to go home. �On December 30, one doctor insisted that I leave GMC, athough my wound was still raw. He even threatened me by saying: �If you don�t leave tomorrow, I will put you in a ward where no one will be able to see you�,� said Albert. Left with little alternative, a friend then took him to a private hospital in the outskirts of Panjim on January 1, 2004. �To my surprise, the doctor at that hospital told me that as per the GMC discharge report, I was okay. However on January 4, the doctor came to me and told me that one bone above the amputated portion was coming up and had to be removed,� said Albert. �On January 5, the doctor operated on me and removed the bone. I stayed at the private hospital for one month and seven days.� Private hospitalisation was of no solace to Albert. �The wound would regularly ooze out fluids, I was back in the hospital for two weeks in April 2004. Even then, the wound was not healed,� informed Albert. Frustrated over the long drawn treatment, Albert then changed hospitals for the fifth time, when he went to a doctor at a nursing home in Duler-Mapusa in November 2004. �Without proper diagnosis, doctors at Remanso said there was gangrene in both legs. However, the doctor at the nursing home assured me that there was no gangrene in my right leg and is now giving me good medical treatment,� said Albert. Bitter about the treatment given to him at various hospitals, Albert says: �I have spent all my savings. If I had the money, I would surely have filed cases against the four hospitals.� �At one time, I was so desparate that I decided to commit suicide. I got out of my house on my wheelchair and was proceeding towards the nearby ferry wharf, where I decided to roll into the river,� recalled Albert. �Someone noticed me proceeding towards the river and prevented me from ending my life.� What troubles Albert is that his friends have let him down. �I had lent nearly Rs 3 lakh to friends, but they have not paid me till date,� he says. �I am desperately short of funds. I earn only Rs 1,733 from postal savings, but I need about Rs 200 a day for medicines,� he adds. In January 2004, Albert sent a letter to local MLA Dayanand Narvekar, requesting for financial aid and a wheelchair. �Mr Narvekar asked me to go to the Provedoria. While giving me cash of Rs 3,000, the Provedoria asked me to get a medical report,� Albert said. �Following repeated trips to GMC, I was finally given a wheelchair. As I received no further assistence from the Provedoria, I went again to meet Mr Narvekar in December 2004, but nothing materialised.� Hoping to avail of some benefits, Albert even applied for the senior citizens pension one year ago through Mr Narvekar�s office in Aldona. �But there has been no response to my application till date,� claims Albert. - end - ______________________________________________ Melvyn S. Misquita, Asst Chief of News Bureau, Herald, Panjim, Goa - 403001 INDIA Ph 1 : +91-832-2224202 (extn 231) Ph 2 : +91-832-2224460 (extn 231) Cell : +91-9422064707 Mail 1 : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mail 2 : [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. 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