Medics

27Jul

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Medics, Profiles

Simon Hercules, Doctor

The body of neurosurgeon Simon Hercules was exhumed from the Velangadu burial ground and reburied in Kilpauk on Sunday after a prolonged legal battle. Dr Hercules died due to COVID-19 in April 2020 and his burial drew a lot of attention after people in the vicinity objected to it irrationally. On the day, following objection from people, Dr Hercules’s body was taken to Vekangadu burial ground after a showdown at Kilpauk cemetery. An angry crowd had manhandled the ambulance crew and the police had to step in to bury the body. Following these incidents, the State government had to issue an ordinance mandating stringent punishment for those who prevented the burial of those who succumbed to COVID-19 and other notified diseases. The High Court had ordered on March 31, 2021, to exhume...

25Jul

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India, Medics, Profiles

Pradeep Tara, Doctor

Dr Pradeep Tara Dr Pradeep Tara, a household name in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar, died on Friday after a two-month battle against Covid-19. Dr Tara, a general physician and chest specialist set up his practice in Mayur Vihar in the 1980s. He was admitted to the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre with Covid-related complications in May and died on Friday. He was in his mid-sixties. “He was very well-known in all of East Delhi in fact. His patients remember him because of how sweet-spoken he was. He was also very intelligent and made it a point to stay up to date with developments in the profession. Lively and affectionate, he was popular in his social circle as well. He played tennis every day and we would swim together… He fought against Covid for two long months, and it was his stron...

31Aug

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India, Medics, Profiles

Dr Arun Sharma, senior medical officer

Dr Arun Sharma, the senior medical officer (SMO) of India’s Amritsar Civil Hospital, died on August 30, 2020, at a private hospital from Covid-19 and underlying comorbidities. The 54-year-old doctor tested positive on August 18. “Besides Covid-19, Dr Arun Sharma was suffering from heart ailments. Also, the virus had attacked his lungs. He was put on ventilator on Saturday but the doctors couldn’t save him despite best efforts. He passed away on Sunday morning”, said Dr Navdeep Singh, Amritsar civil surgeon. A viral video had shown Dr Sharma attempting to dance while sitting in bed at the hospital’s emergency ward with oxygen support attached. “We can fight the battle against Covid-19 only with bravery,” he had said. Dr Sharma, who...

30Aug

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India, Medics, Profiles

Dr Sivaramakrishna Iyer, cardiologist

Dr Sivaramakrishna Iyer Padmavati, a pioneering cardiologist who had established the country’s first cardiac care unit at Delhi’s Govind Ballabh Pant hospital, died of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the night on August 29, 2020. She was 103. Born in Myanmar, she fled to India after the Japanese invasion during World War II and became the country’s first woman cardiologist. She was diagnosed with Covid-19 11 days ago and was admitted to the National Heart Institute (NHI), which she had founded in 1981. “Although on oxygen, she was fairly stable till Saturday morning when there was an acute drop in the oxygen saturation. She had to be put on a ventilator and passed away at night. Even though her body had given up on her – she was wheelchair bound for the last five years – she was ...

10Aug

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India, Medics, Profiles

Dr Mohammad Ashraf Mir, physician

Dr Mohammad Ashraf Mir, a senior physician in Kashmir who had been treating the COVID-19 patients, died on August 9, 2020 after contracting the disease. Dr Mir, a resident of Pampore area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, passed away in the morning on August 9, 2020, at SKIMS Soura, they said. Mir had been treating COVID-19 patients for the past four months and in the process, contracted the virus. The doctor tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the hospital with bilateral pneumonia. He was later shifted to an intensive care unit as he could not maintain oxygen saturation and passed away this morning, they added. Kashmir Images

30Jul

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Medics, Profiles, United States

Karen Smith, nurse

Karen Smith, a longtime Houston nurse of more than three decades, died on July 29, 2020, from COVID-19. When not working, Karen volunteered at a local fire department and that earned her a special farewell. Smith was wife to Harvie and mother to Meghan and Christopher. Her best friend, Colleen Lamb, choked back tears as she said simply, “I’m gonna miss her.” The two met 12 years ago when Lamb started working at the same medical clinic. “We lived three blocks apart and never knew it,” Lamb said. The two became friends fast. Both volunteered as EMTs at the Southeast Volunteer Fire Department. Lamb's dad founded the department decades ago. Smith's son and husband have both been volunteers, too. “We started running the rehab u...

26Jul

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Medics, Profiles, United States

Joseph Costa, physician

Dr Joseph Costa, a Baltimore physician, died from coronavirus on July 25, 2020, after battling to save hundreds of patients. He was 56 years old. The Baltimore physician passed away surrounded by about 20 of his colleagues and while in the arms of his tearful husband, David Hart. He told The Washington Post that he pleaded with his partner to stay away from the hospital, with Joseph vulnerable due to a rare autoimmune disorder. "I begged him not to go to work," David said, but his brave husband felt it was important to lead his staff by continuing to work on the front lines. Both Joseph and David got sick with COVID-19 in late June, the Washington Post reported. David eventually recovered, but Joseph ended up in the hospital on a ventilator and later in a com...

26Jul

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India, Medics, Profiles

Joginder Chaudhary, physician

Joginder Chaudhary, a junior resident at Delhi’s Baba Saheb Ambedkar (BSA) Hospital, died of Covid at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on the night of July 25, 2020. The 27-year-old Indian doctor, for whose treatment the capital’s medical fraternity had joined hands to collect funds, fought a month-long battle with the virus, having tested positive on June 27, reported The Indian Express. “He was in a critical condition when he was brought to our hospital. He was immediately taken to the ICU and was continuously monitored by a team of doctors. There were no co-morbidities but his condition turned critical. It was a case of surgical emphysema, and he went into shock last night,” said Dr D S Rana, chairman of Sir Ganga Ram’s board. Chaudhary had joined the ...

21Jul

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India, Medics, Profiles

Dr Ramesh Veer, physician

Dr Ramesh Veer, a 60-year-old consultant physician who ran Veer Hospital at Savarkar Nagar in the city and had practised at Sir J J Hospital, died at Kaushalya Medical Foundation Trust on July 20, 2020. The Indian Medical Association members said that Dr veer was treating all types of patients for past few months. Mumbai Mirror Dr Ramesh's son Siddhesh writes: "I appreciate your team writing about my dad. My dad passed away on Monday, July 20th, 2020. In spite of knowing there is a danger lurking in their area where a lot of COVID-19 positive patients were reported, he went on rendering them emergency services in his own hospital, where very, unfortunately, he caught the infection. "My dad was ever cheerful, big-hearted, and friendly. You could approach him with ease and in no time...

21Jul

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India, Medics, Profiles

Dr Javed Ali, physician

Dr Javed Ali - who was a contractual doctor with Delhi government’s National Health Mission (NHM) – succumbed to Covid-19 at the AIIMS Trauma Centre on July 20, 2020. He was working with a quarantine centre in South Delhi’s Chattarpur, the Radha Soami Covid care centre, and sero surveillance centre in Pushp Vihar March before contracting coronavirus in June. He passed away after a three-week-long battle with the virus. He is survived by his wife Dr Heena, and their two children, aged 6 and 12. Dr Heena told The Indian Express, “He was a dedicated doctor who did not take a single day off since March and was on Covid-19 duty throughout. He even worked on Eid.” For the last 10 days, Dr Ali was on ventilator support. “My children and I didn’t even get to see him one last time. There is n...