It was very nice of Dr. Colaco to give us the history of the above Hospital.
In 1937 my nun aunt was operated there undergoing a nephrectomy by the
famous Dr. Goheen whom hundreds of Goans of those days "venerated". It was
not a common operation in those days but she survived for many, many years
altough always in a parlous state. In fact she received Extreme Unction so
many times that a priest friend of mine when I visited him in Margao called
her " a freira que nunca morre( the nun who never dies. She finally did!).
Many girls who attended FATIMA in Margao remember her well because she was a
big "casamenteira" (i.e. arranged dozens of matches!)
In 1960 when I went with my uncle priest to the Central Hospital in Pangim
( he wanted to consult Dr. Batista Sousa, a Great Portuguese doctor exiled
to GOA by the Salazar regime because of his Communist ideology) the patient
before my uncle was an old Goan Hindu ( in normal dhoti, shirt and blue
coat) who came out with the doctor who then told his waiting son he could
not do much for him but he should go urgently see Dr. Goheen in Miraj. When
the son translated it to the father, he pathetically said" I do not have
money to go there". Dr. Batista pulled a hundred rupee note from his upper
bushcoat pocket, handed it to him and said" You have to go. Dr. Goheen is
the only one that can save you."
Just a recollection triggered by the article.
Marcos Gomes-Catao
cataojm at yahoo.com
