I’ve had 37 orthopedic operations. I ground my feet up into dust. I’ve got a new knee. I‘ve got a new spine. I’m the lucky one... I never thought going through all of it that I would be healthy at the end. And I almost wasn’t.

They did not know it was impossible so they did it

Sushruta described many surgical operations—cataract, hernia, lithotomy, Cæsarian section, etc.—and 121 surgical instruments, including lancets, sounds, forceps, catheters, and rectal and vaginal speculums. Despite Brahmanical prohibitions he advocated the dissection of dead bodies as indispensable in the training of surgeons. He was the first to graft upon a torn ear portions of skin taken from another part of the body; and from him and his Hindu successors rhinoplasty—the surgical reconstruction of the nose—descended into modern medicine. “The ancient Hindus,” says Garrison, “performed almost every major operation except ligation of the arteries.” Limbs were amputated, abdominal sections were performed, fractures were set, hemorrhoids and fistulas were removed. Sushruta laid down elaborate rules for preparing an operation, and his suggestion that the wound be sterilized by fumigation is one of the earliest known efforts at antiseptic surgery. Both Sushruta and Charaka mention the use of medicinal liquors to produce insensibility to pain. In 927 A.D. two surgeons trepanned the skull of a Hindu king, and made him insensitive to the operation by administering a drug called Samohini. For the detection of the 1120 diseases that he enumerated, Sushruta recommended diagnosis by inspection, palpation, and auscultation.

I managed to hold onto some performance with the knee in soccer having had two or three cruciates, whereas in Gaelic football it was a more difficult thing to do.

Each day of those early years in pediatric surgery I felt I was on the cutting edge. Some of the surgical problems that landed on the operating table at Children's had not even been named. Many of the operations I performed had never been done before. It was an exuberant feeling, but also a little scary. At times I was troubled by fears that I wasn't doing things the right way, that I would have regrets, or that someone else had performed a certain procedure successfully but had never bothered to write it up for the medical journals, or if they had I couldn't find it.

In February this year I underwent extensive back surgery. Everything went well, thanks to the competent health personnel, who took care of me. Inevitably, the operation gave cause to thoughts about the future – whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation.

The answer was we thought it could be done.

It wasn't that people were antagonistic; it was more that they were accustomed to doing their work in a certain way, and change always causes some people to be uncomfortable.

While preparations were being made for my surgery, I kept praying. Surprisingly, the surgeons came two days before the surgery to examine me and check if my pulse had increased as it was very low prior to that time. I was sleeping when they came. They woke me up. When they tested me, they saw that my pulse had gone up to 80 and the surgeons shouted in awe.They said they did not believe my pulse would improve that much. In fact, the surgeons said they had to return my money and everything. They returned my money and never performed the operation again. I am still alive till today – I have been going from strength to strength. God has been so kind and wonderful in my life.

We have reached out to the ministry about upgrading healthcare facilities and received a positive response, though progress has been slow.

… they were willing to their ability, I testify, yes, beyond their ability.

The fact that we don't know how to do it doesn't prove its impossibility.

In one respect the Harappa people were technically in advance of their contemporaries - they had devised a saw with undulating teeth , which allowed the dust to escape freely from the cut, and much simplified the carpenter's task. From this we may assume that they had particular skill in carpentry.

Jews navigated the eddies and shoals of Indian culture very well. They never experienced anti-Semitism or discrimination.