Letters

Set up a medical fund for senior citizens

Quite a large number in Sri Lanka comprise the elderly, who after contributing their mite to saving the country, now languish in elders' homes. This isolation from their loved ones was described by a psychologist as "the dread of loneliness, of being separated from the herd."

In the twilight years of my life, I myself had first-hand experience of it, after my wife's death when I was compelled to live miles away from Dambulla town, near the Pidurangala mountain, on my property. The vast expanse of water, popularly known as the 'oya' recedes often. By evening, darkness blankets the area save for the fire-flies. By night, elephants roam in search of food. The only way to keep them away was to light crackers.

Having faced the hazards of rural life, I often ponder on the easy life in Colombo. It was while living and working in the fields, that I developed an ailment known as inguinal hernia.

According to the doctor this is common among men.

As days and letters to my daughters passed, I got a reply from one to come over to her home in Dehiwela. From here I sought medical treatment and entered the Colombo South Hospital for surgery. I was told, at my advanced age, a truss was necessary. It was expensive. At Osu Sala the Indian one costs about Rs. 4,000 and the English one 50 percent more.

As the Colombo South Hospital was a teaching hospital, my ailment was reviewed by a large number of medical students. In the course of a lecture by a surgeon I learned that hernia is a protrusion of an internal organ, especially a part of the intestines. The treatment, in elderly people, consists of placing the intestines in position with a truss to maintain it as the aged tissues on their own, cannot do so.

About 85 percent of elderly males suffer this ailment. I wonder how many elders cut away from their kith and kin, with no income, can afford such a cost.

Elders need a fund to provide for their medical needs. The authorities should make some arrangements for this.

Stanley Geevaratne

Dehiwela