Arrived in Kuwait international airport from Mumbai,on 25th April 1974.It was a great excitement for me as it was my first travel by air,the flight was very pleasant.there were few young Ladies landed along with me from Bombay,Nurses were (we)recruited by the ministry of public health of Kuwait to work in their Hospitals.The girls were much worried because,there weren’t any one from health ministry waiting to receive us at the Air port.after waiting for hours,and after number of telephone calls,someone from the health ministry arrived at the airport and took us to the guest house from where the girls were sent to different hospitals,and I was sent to a temporary Accommodation which was inside the hospital campus.it was only an accommodation,no food facilities available.on 3rd day,at about 4pm,they asked me to vacate the room…..had no option…but to vacate…I had few Kuwaiti dinars,(exchanged few Indian rupees into kd in Mumbai airport)carried my luggage to the road side(bus stop)got into the bus,reached the central bus station…it was almost 6.30pm,getting darker,……didn’t know where to go….sitting on my luggage,and looking at people who were passing by….looked like no one had noticed my panicky condition…I remembered my wife,who was on the bed in the maternity ward after delivering my son,she knew that I had to leave her and my son( who was just one day old,)behind to take up the job in Kuwait…my heart melts when I remember her face helplessly looking at me,while I wiped her tears,I cursed my self for leaving them behind… I was looking at every Indian who passed by…..at this situation,someone pat on my back and said hello Mr. Jeremiah nice to see you after a long time…..(oh…what a relief ! ) He was Mr. Gnanadass who was my colleague in India….he managed to arrange boarding and lodging for me in the place where he lived..
kuwait is called the state of Kuwait.Saudi Arabia,and Iraq are being it’s neighbors.These are oil rich countries.(petrol producing country).Although the ruler of Kuwait is Shaikh sabah family,it has a constitution,elected body called parliament,and the cabinet to govern the country.Arabic is the official language,and it is an Islamic country.it’s population was less than 1.5 million.the currency is KD(Kuwaiti dinar)kd value remains to be the highest in the world.the cost of living in Kuwait was cheep(many essential items were subsidized) Kuwaiti people were kind ,generous,friendly,and they live a quality life.they love to travel to the places all over the world.health care was free to all.people from all over the world work in Kuwait.Facilities are very good,roads are excellent.
I worked in the surgical unit of the Amiri hospital,as a senior nursing staff.the Amiri hospital is situated in Kuwait city(in shark near to the sea )colleagues were Indians,Egyptians,Palestinians,yemenese,Sudanese,Tunisians and very few from Morocco. .I worked in Amiri hospital for five years,and had to leave to the better place,and to the better job.but my memories of Amiri hospital are very fond and proud…I wish to mention some of those wonderful people and a blissful experiences.
Dr.Hassan AL Awadi was an Egyptian expert surgeon and the head of the surgical unit.admirable personality.an excellent surgeon.I had the highest respect for him.I must have spoken to him hardly five times during my five years of service in that unit.but I knew that I was one of his trust worthy staff…….
Dr.Ahmed Abu jabal. Very experienced consultant general surgeon,lovely human being,he had great sense of humor.Very popular among his patients and colleagues…(he is from deposed king phero’s family of Egypt)his professional discussions with his team,were interesting,and enriching,and at the same time very entertaining as he adds a touch of humor to every thing that he says….
Dr.Mustafa Abu shafiq,from Palestine,consultant surgeon…once he wanted a sungstaken tube,but it looked like no one knew of it in the unit,except poor me(Samuel Jeremiah)this one incident made him to relay on me more, than on any one in the ward while handling critical care for his patients…
Dr.sami asfer ….most brilliant,and skillful Surgeon(he didn’t have big qualifications then)but his skills were superb in surgery….on one Friday,there was a RTA patient admitted to our ward,with massive crush injury to his right thigh,who required an amputation of the injured limb,had no time to do any consultation,so he decided to do the amputation in the ward itself,I assisted him,the ward didn’t have the surgical instruments required for an amputation,but we managed the job with whatever instruments we had at hand.I haven’t seen any one who is capable of managing emergency situations like Dr.Sami asfer…(.I was his samirita& his favorite.)..now he is a professor,heading the unit,and teaching in the medical college of Kuwait university….
Miss.Elen from Egypt..she.treated me like brother,used to call me. Sunsun….learnt Arabic from her…..pretty young lady……
Miss.Sabria from Egypt…naughty,but sweet girl…always been in my shift,….interested to learn more and more..I learnt a bit of Arabic from her…
Mr.Mahmmed Ali…a patient with burns on his chest and abdomen…he stayed more than a year in the ward as his wounds were not healing….(a top plastic surgeons were attending on him,wounds were dressed as per their instructions)Mohammed Ali had become my friend and the patient…I told him that I want to dress his wounds the way I want to dress….and he promised me that he won’t tell anyone that his wounds were dressed differently….and asked him to keep the same dressing for three days without wetting …after two days(when I was off duty)the concerned doctors opened the dressing and found the wounds were completely healed,which was a big surprise for whole unit,and a big jubilation to the patient himself…they wondered to know the secrete,and the patient told them that the prophet healed his wounds….hope he is alive somewhere….
Mr.Saleh AL Haddad…Kuwaiti gentle man,assistant under secretary in the ministry of oil….one of our patients,and a good friend…
Mr.Krishman nair…he was operated for gastric problem(gastro jejunostomy)by Dr.Prakash…I noticed that his abdominal was distended,and his vital signs were not satisfactory.and he was taken into operating room for laparotomy twice in five days time..because.. There was fluid collection in his abdomen..the cause wasn’t known….he was in critical condition for few weeks,…the health ministry arranged the Visa for Krishman Nair’s wife so that she could be with him while he was critically ill.after few weeks,his abdominal biopsy was taken for AFB test with Dr.Ahmed Abu jabal’s advice,and the test was Positive (TB)….Mr. Nair started recovering as soon as the treatment for TB started…and it was a pleasure to see him completely recovered …and more pleasure to see him grow in his hotel business to a commendable level.
Mr.Hammed AL Bahar…chair man of Kuwait finance company(Bahar family is one of the big families in Kuwait)his son Ahmad AL Bahar was admitted in our ward with fracture of orbit bone,the eye lids were swollen,eye wash was given every four hrs.after a day he did not allow anyone to touch his eye except by me….his family members started calling me by name very affectionately….Mr.Hammed AL Bahar remembered me for a long time….(privileged to be in his good books)(cont…)
Molathati Samuel Jeremiah 
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