From: "dilip dacruz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
If my memory serves me right, Dilip is the brother of Lorna (gosh was it
Lorna or Rehna)? & he used to stay near where Edgar & Maura used to stay?
A very fitting tribute paid to Alfred by you Dilip & over the last week by
all his friends, & those who knew him. I didnt know him as such, except as
I mentioned earlier in one of my postings, a youngster being dropped to
school by his parents, but have come to know him from the postings of all
on this Net. Eric's demise also shocked me especially since I came to to
know him only in Xavier's despite him being a Saliganvkar. Alfred's demise
shocked me because he seemed fit. I can imagine how his mother must be
feeling now with both her sons taken away from her so suddenly. & Lynette &
kids have to go on without Alfred. How difficult to cope! But that is life!
I have been so upset by Alfie's death that I have lapsed into my usual
introspective silence, >wondering at what forces of nature lie behind these
things;
How so many factors seem to come into play and how they collectively -
never individually - culminate in such tragic outcomes.
Yes this is where I agree but without being "deeply religious", wouldnt you
believe that our Maker's Hand is seen? What or Who lies behind everything,
peel away the various factors - Science, Medecine & Man and what is left?
....Anyway Religion, religious sentiments & beliefs should not be disputed &
especially not on this Net, so I'll just leave it at this, for in our
postings, finally all have prayed or offered prayers for the eternal repose
of Alfred's soul because when it comes to the crunch, that is all we can do.
& we can pray that God gives his family the strength to go on without him.
A hard task & test for them!
Alfie turned up in Bombay in 1975 with lots of friends. I remember Django
and Chris. They were >living in Mahim, I think, and were painting the town
red. We formed a close friendship re-inforced >by others of the generation
- Maxwell, Henry, Suri and Kenny etc who were in saligao. After the
>tragedy of Idi Amin in Uganda, I began to feel I had a new home.
Hmm! I remember all these guys & you have good memories of Alfred to cling
to, Dilip, that is what we all do & have to do, so that we may continue
living... we did it when one of our Sixers - the late Emmie Remedious passed
away, .. she was a nurse, sister in charge in one of the good hospitals in
Bangalore - St. Martha's, she would have had the best care, but finally it
was ... God's Will.
And I guess it did, but not to the point where alarm bells sounded.
I did take a serious look at his ECG, and it was normal. There were
absolutely no changes on his >resting ECG.
With hindsight, I feel that if Alfie had been more forthcoming with the
history of his chest >pain and/or I had pushed harder to discover it
(difficult when you know the guy is a super fit >athlete who leaves you
walking with the stray dogs whilst he dusts up the horizon each morning),
>we might have been able to change things.
There we have it again, resting ECG showed normal, Alfred could outrun
you....
Hindsight? Feelings of guilt that you might have been able to do something
& should have paid more attention 4 months back? Dilip, if you really think
about it, you know as well as the rest of us do that nothing could change
the path set out at the beginning for Alfred. That is why you as a medical
man feel helpless. So just be glad you & the rest of Alfred's friends knew
him & that having him for a friend made your lives richer. Your loss is
great but you will be ok - the usual phrase, "Time is a great healer" -
blah blah. Do take care of yourself too! You, more than others, know what
part stress plays in our lives!
Many on saligaonet are deeply religious and will say it was all God's will.
I will not. A half-competent >medical system that instilled faith and trust
in the local population would have been sufficient to >save Alfie. In my
department in Birmingham, we get any number of chest pains who have angios
>and are stented within one hour of arrival.
Yep, you are right, patients have got the procedure done & are ok, cousin in
Goa - at Apollo's has just had an angioplast done & is back home last 2 days
& is fine, that too he has survived 2 bypass surgeries. But not everything
is in Man's or Doctors' hands.
Alfie, I shall think of you each time a young person comes in with Chest
Pain. I shall try even >harder to make sure tragedy does not engulf those
families, like it did yours.
A good thought which will lead to a good deed everytime! But having taken
the oath, I'm sure you are doing that every day! Having brought you all
together with his thoughtfulness & kindness, his joie de vivre, Alfred will
be happy!
But do take time out to look at the beauty of life around you. For in that
beauty lies all that is dear to us in life.
That is the right advice, glad you gave it - it holds good for each of us
for it is in appreciating life around us that we can live & carry on -
again... life as given to us by....?????
Have a good weeked, all you Netters. And I'll take the liberty of passing on
to you all "The Miracle of Easter" by Helen Steiner Rice that was sent to me
by a good friend & which seems appropriate after Dilip's posting:
The sun just rising in the sky as night is tucked away,
The joy of just awakening to a new and untouched day,
The beauty of the dawning, the freshness of the dew,
The inky clouds of darkness becoming azure blue
Are daily little miracles that speak of God's great glory -
For who can watch the dawning and doubt the Easter story?
Best wishes for a Holy & Happy Easter!
Annette
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