The Forgotten Fathers

Apollo Spectra Hospitals celebrated this Father’s Day at Rajeshwari Old Age Home, Hyderabad. A health camp was also organized for all senior citizens at the old age home. The hospital had volunteered to spend the day with these forgotten fathers, who had welcomed us into their lives with warm smiles and cherished memories of the past. Sharing tales over snacks, they emphasized on family and children and expressed their longing for a youthful past. Apart from this, the men were also counselled by Apollo Spectra’s dietician about healthy eating habits, while the physician and orthopaedic surgeon had stressed on the importance of bone health and other age-related ailments that plague the elderly. Most of the residents of the old age home had shared their plights of taking regular medicines, suffering from pain and loss. A majority of them were suffering from severe conditions of diabetes, blood pressure, knee pain or back pain. Some were even handicapped or bedridden due to their ailments. Along with their chronic conditions, they mentioned that they all share the sorrow of losing their loved ones- either by age, diseases or to the countries abroad.

Nonetheless, the old age home continued to cheer the doctors’ day out with them by indulging in games, a cake-cutting session, and a movie session. However, one could see the tiredness in their eyes draw parallels with the sadness of their lives, as they bask in another day with happy smiles. As one of the residents of the old age home mentions, “I had travelled the entire world but compromised on my wife and children for that. In this process, I thought I was enjoying life, only today do I realize it was spent losing my future to bills, lavish expenses, and bankruptcy,” says Muralidhar Rao, 73 years.

Lastly, as the old age home’s founder, P. Rajeshwari puts it, “When you have two hands, feed yourself with one and feed the needy with the other.” Apollo Spectra’s initiative was not just to help the needy but to also address the key issue of health care for the elderly. The doctors had stressed the importance of regular health checkups, and how even a mild pain could lead to chronic ailments if ignored. Old age is as tender and fragile as an infant’s and needs to be tended to with the utmost care.