NE NEWS SERVICE
PUNE, MAY 5
A 45-year-old doctor working in a private hospital in Pune resumed duty a day after his father’s death due to COVID-19 even as his mother and brother were still battling the disease.
Dr Mukund Penurkar, who is a physician and has been treating COVID-19 patients along with his wife, said he thought serving patients would be the best tribute to his 85-year-old father.
#CoronavirusCrisis | Meet the COVID hero Dr Mukund Penurkar who returned to duty after performing his father's last rites. #ITVideo #RE pic.twitter.com/6fDYTQ1nxR
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) May 3, 2021
“As corona virus cases increased in Pune last year, and since me and my wife are treating COVID-19 patients in the Sanjivan Hospital here, I sent my parents to my brother’s place in Nagpur for the sake of their health,” he said.
But amid the current second COVID-19 wave, his brother contracted the infection last month and later his parents also tested positive for the disease, he said.
The doctor said his brother and parents required oxygen beds and the situation in Nagpur was precarious in terms of bed availability. He then arranged a cardiac ambulance and got all three of them shifted to the Pune-based hospital where he works.
“My father, who was aged and co-morbid, was diagnosed with renal failure. While undergoing treatment, his heartbeat also increased and he was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism (blockage of arteries in lungs). His blood pressure also became low and he died of COVID-19 on April 26,” the physician said.
Dr Penurkar said when he moved his parents here, his father was of the opinion that he should continue to serve the patients in these difficult times.
At the time of his father’s death, his mother and brother were also undergoing treatment in the hospital.
“My mother could see the situation in the hospital and told me to continue serving the COVID-19 patients as the services of MD physicians are required at this time,” he said.
Dr Penurkar said he performed the last rites of his father alone and resumed duty the next evening. “Fortunately, my mother and brother have now recovered,” he added.
