I have fond memories of this city. My aunt stayed here until a few years back. As a kid, I have spent many summer days here. The idlis at Sukh Sagar, the pizzas at New Yorkers, my aunt's cooking itself was no less a treat! Then we had a summer camp here as well where cousins from all over gathered and had a blast for a couple of weeks. I remember the drive to Kalambole where we had our fill of water melons from the road side shops that stocked mounds and mounds of this delicious fruit and we kids along with the adults trooped into a shop and finished off 15-20 water melons in one stroke!
Going back to this city is always enjoyable with all these memories!
NephroPlus@Borivali
We partnered with the renowned Dr. Umesh Khanna (well-known for his landmark paper "The Economics of Dialysis in India" among several other accomplishments - but I have always associated him with this paper only!) to run his massive dialysis centre at the Lancelot Compound in Borivali West.
I had a great interaction with all the guests (patients, for those uninitiated in NephroPlus jargon!) there. They all seemed genuinely happy. Dialysis, in some ways, can be a humbling normaliser. Whether your nett worth is a crore or a thousand, you use the same needles, the same machine and the same technique to get your body cleansed.
Annual Patient Picnic of the Mumbai Kidney Foundation
The next day was Sunday and the Annual Patient Picnic of the Mumbai Kidney Foundation (MKF). This was truly an amazing event. It was held at Borivali National Park. Dr. Umesh Khanna (who founded MKF) along with his wife, Dr. Molina Khanna, who happens to be a gastroenterologist were exemplary hosts, literally running from here to there to ensure that every patient and family member had a great time. Handling the mammoth crowd of more than 300 people was quite a task.
This reminded me of NephroPlus' very own Aashayein event. Patients need such outings and events to meet fellow-patients and have a day of complete fun!
Attitude of the patients
One thing I noticed was that most patients in Mumbai - and I met and saw quite a few during this trip - were generally happy despite the burden of a chronic disease. Few complained. They were all having a gala time. One patient sang the whole 'Ek Chatur Naar' song from the film Padosan while the others egged him on. It was a truly pleasurable sight!
The other patients also were very strong-willed and cheerful. They looked determined not to let the disease get the better of them.
Vada Pav
I asked one of our techs at NephroPlus, Mumbai where we got great Vada Pav, the snack, Mumbai is world-famous for and he took my colleagues and me to a 'bandi' called Mangesh Vada Pav. The crowd there was insane. People were literally falling over one another to get their hands on a Vada Pav. I have no idea how the guys there managed the stall. It required some deft pushing and pulling by the tech and my other colleagues to get our hands on some Vada Pavs. They were really awesome!
My cousin, Deep
I got to know of Deep from another uncle of mine who stays in the US. I had no clue that my own cousin was on dialysis. Deep has a condition called Neurogenic Bladder which causes the kidneys to get damaged and lose function. He has been on dialysis for a couple of years now. He is only 23. I can completely relate to Deep because I was also diagnosed at 21. When I came back from Mumbai, I got Deep back with me and both of us spent some quality time together. Here are some pics from Deep's visit to Hyderabad.
Going back to this city is always enjoyable with all these memories!
NephroPlus@Borivali
We partnered with the renowned Dr. Umesh Khanna (well-known for his landmark paper "The Economics of Dialysis in India" among several other accomplishments - but I have always associated him with this paper only!) to run his massive dialysis centre at the Lancelot Compound in Borivali West.
I had a great interaction with all the guests (patients, for those uninitiated in NephroPlus jargon!) there. They all seemed genuinely happy. Dialysis, in some ways, can be a humbling normaliser. Whether your nett worth is a crore or a thousand, you use the same needles, the same machine and the same technique to get your body cleansed.
Annual Patient Picnic of the Mumbai Kidney Foundation
The next day was Sunday and the Annual Patient Picnic of the Mumbai Kidney Foundation (MKF). This was truly an amazing event. It was held at Borivali National Park. Dr. Umesh Khanna (who founded MKF) along with his wife, Dr. Molina Khanna, who happens to be a gastroenterologist were exemplary hosts, literally running from here to there to ensure that every patient and family member had a great time. Handling the mammoth crowd of more than 300 people was quite a task.
This reminded me of NephroPlus' very own Aashayein event. Patients need such outings and events to meet fellow-patients and have a day of complete fun!
With Dr. Umesh Khanna
Dialysis Patient singing 'Ek Chatur Naar'
With the NephroPlus team
With Dr. Umesh Khanna and Dr. Molina Khanna (second from left)
Attitude of the patients
One thing I noticed was that most patients in Mumbai - and I met and saw quite a few during this trip - were generally happy despite the burden of a chronic disease. Few complained. They were all having a gala time. One patient sang the whole 'Ek Chatur Naar' song from the film Padosan while the others egged him on. It was a truly pleasurable sight!
The other patients also were very strong-willed and cheerful. They looked determined not to let the disease get the better of them.
Vada Pav
I asked one of our techs at NephroPlus, Mumbai where we got great Vada Pav, the snack, Mumbai is world-famous for and he took my colleagues and me to a 'bandi' called Mangesh Vada Pav. The crowd there was insane. People were literally falling over one another to get their hands on a Vada Pav. I have no idea how the guys there managed the stall. It required some deft pushing and pulling by the tech and my other colleagues to get our hands on some Vada Pavs. They were really awesome!
My cousin, Deep
I got to know of Deep from another uncle of mine who stays in the US. I had no clue that my own cousin was on dialysis. Deep has a condition called Neurogenic Bladder which causes the kidneys to get damaged and lose function. He has been on dialysis for a couple of years now. He is only 23. I can completely relate to Deep because I was also diagnosed at 21. When I came back from Mumbai, I got Deep back with me and both of us spent some quality time together. Here are some pics from Deep's visit to Hyderabad.
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