Gayatri Sundaram talks about Alpha Pain and Palliative Care, which stands out unique in its vision and mission from other Pain and Palliative Care units. Though executing apparently a Charitable trust, Alpha prefers to tag their activities as ‘responsibilities’ rather than  hallowed ‘charities’ by re-defining the hackneyed anecdotes of Palliative care.

Being a middle brow and getting on with a charity-oriented life simultaneously is somewhat like a bravado which when realized, Mr.K.M.Noordeen, the Humanitarian Award winner at last had to prostrate at the showbiz of modern life – He arranged a documentary show in the air conditioned auditorium of a Star hotel, invited people from all sectors of the society and standing on the dais in the limelight, shouted: ‘I’m here and I do all these things. See, Will you….?”

You can fill up those dots with any word which resonates anything relevant to the 20 minutes’ documentary titled ‘Aaravangalkkappuram’(Beyond the hustles and bustles).

It tells us about the painful realities existing beyond the unending festivities and pompous celebrations that fill our domain. It shows us the children of wrath who live next to our gate, but not seen or not taken care to see. It shows the dirty, muddy and charred ways leading to the ‘les miserables’ who is in a hammer out to outlive the life.

The documentary was a visual replica of a part of a mission that extended its compassionate minds and hands to those who were thrown beyond the sunny side of existence. The very name of the institution shades the vision behind it – Alpha – the Beginning. In fact, the man and men behind this trust ask the world to begin an already-existed something which can be done to improve the life and living condition of a suffering neighbor apart from all piss and wind.

Alpha Pain and Palliative Care

“Palliative care is an approach that aims to improve the quality of life of patients, and their families, facing life-threatening illnesses through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification, impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems: physical, psychosocial and spiritual.” W.H.O defines Palliative care like this.

There was a time when Palliative care used to be synonymous with terminal cancer care or the last sacraments. But now it encompasses all chronically ill and bed-ridden patients. When this equation came into implementation most of those who jazz around the world were amassed after it – India too was not behind in the caring and social service sector. Alpha Pain and Palliative Care also began to exercise their mission but not as to the patient-care but as to a social service.

Alpha, the beginning, starts with the ‘enliving’ of a hapless Ambujakshi from central Kerala, thrown into the fathoms of unending trauma, when her husband, succumbed to the rude destiny leaving two physically challenged daughters with her. That was in 1995.

Alpha’s assignment was ‘to improve her life’ so as to pull her back from suicide – the only way left to her. By providing a monthly pension scheme, however she could get on with a meal ticket.

It was the kick start of a canopying charitable mission in the central Kerala. Along with eminent and like-minded doctors, Mr.K.M.Noordeen, an ordinary Indian citizen, never a big-wig, has started the functioning of Alpha Pain and Palliative care, a novel branch of modern medicine. The placid village area of Trichur District, Edamuttam thus has been the seat of the trust.

To aware the public about the need of such a branch of medical care was the first thing in their agenda. For it, various seminars had been conducted throughout the village. A lot of persons allured by the charitable activities, realizing its non-profitable motive came forward full of beans to work as volunteers, thus the program has been geared up.

Next thing was a survey on the patients who were waiting for death as a burden and pulsating pain for the families. The survey unearthed the significant factor of the mission to which the need is to be concentrated – the unaffordable hospital care. Thus Alpha stretched out its functioning in Home Care. The volunteers went to their homes and extended their helping hands with smile. Those unfortunates had been forgotten about smile for years.

Afterwards, Alpha began to work as Alpha Pain and Palliative Clinic with all the hospital facilities plus palliative care. This particular type of approach could instigate at least some of the patients to outlive the wrath of God fell upon them. Alpha could bring back Thankamani, a 29 year old lady suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis and left to live the life in the bed with restricted mobility, to walk with the assistance of a walking frame. So is the case with 46 year old Mohanan happened to fall from an areca nut tree and suffered a traumatic cervical spine injury and lost the mobility of his four limbs. A totally bed ridden Mohanan is now walking with a walking frame, thanks to the physiotherapy and boost of confidence he could receive from Alpha.

“Alpha gave free service and medicines regularly. They visited home every three days and spent more than an hour. In between these days they made phone calls and follow up on patient status. The best part I like about them is that during their visits we offered them tea and snacks but they denied it. They said they don’t accept anything from patients home because they don’t want to be partial in the service. They are committed to provide the same quality service even for the rich and poor patients. So they avoid accepting any gifts or hospitality offered.” Says a contented young man about the love and care his grandfather has enjoyed from Alpha after being abandoned from various hospitals.

Alpha then realized the bitter fact that, even after the cure, these people were ill-treated inside the society either because of ignorance or of unawareness. Hence sprouted Alpha Sakthi, Alpha Kuda and such rehabilitation programs through which these ‘forbidden’ people could earn money without being a permanent burden to the family. Thus small stationery shops, umbrella manufacturing units and like things has been rendered to them after the hospice care. You can see such fragmented shades where the victimized and marginalized spend the lives and earn the livelihood, under Alpha if you browse through this coastal village area.

Alpha was spreading out its canopy under the blues of Trichur District. Though the hospice and clinic are confined to the remote village of Edamuttam, the span of activities have extended to more than 68 Panchayaths and one emerging OP clinic in Palakkadu, with the active and voluntary participation of like-minded people.

Punarjani – a re-thinking

At times, ‘understanding’ becomes the most perplexed thing and it can be had only after getting deep into the fact. That is what happened here in Alpha. More than a peripheral financial or medical support, Alpha identified the ‘why me’ attitude which radiates negativity throughout the life of a home-bound bed-ridden patient that they understood incurable with the present amenities. Apart from providing Social rehabilitation, a need of Medical rehabilitation also flicked the activists while going into the truths.

Hence did come the thought of Punarjani meaning re-birth. As the Pain and Palliative Clinic bylines as a ribbon of hope, Punarjani tells all about life, sometimes a second life.

It is becoming more than 10 years the functioning of Alpha has been started. But it is known to the public of a less span due to lack of publicity. All these treatments, love, care, medication and everything rendered by Alpha are absolutely free of cost. But at the same time Alpha also provides the service of a permanent panel of more than 5 eminent doctors and visiting faculties comprising the numero uno s of Oncology, Radiotherapy, Neurology, Psychiatry and General Medicine departments, in the State. They are being assisted with specially trained nurses and altogether more than 50 paid employees are working in this charitable trust. Meanwhile when the thought of a Punarjani , an extending link, hit he nerves, Mr.Noordeen had to tell aloud the world (which was ignorant about Alpha), through the documentary preview, ‘Aaravangalkappuram’, the shots and frames of which drags us through the toughest roads on which Alpha staggers to reach the bed-ridden and forbidden.

At present more than 20 Pain and Palliative Care units are working in Trichur District including the one executed by the State Health Department. But what sets aside Alpha from the many is their updated and advanced programming and its implementations out of the so called bureaucratic red- tapism and bumbeldom. Substantially, a relief from the pain from all aspects is being wiped out absolutely by Alpha within its execution.

The Project Punarjai plans to go on with Alpha’s Home Care division after segregating the patients in to four main categories/clubs according to their physical inefficiency. They will be brought to the Physiotherapy Centre in the Alpha Clinic once or twice the week. Alpha takes pride to say that it owns the best Physiotherapy unit in the State. Along with the Physiotherapist, services of Psychologists and Speech Therapists also will be provided if necessary.

In Punarajani, they plan to set cultural programs among the club members to get rid of the distressing conditions of the hapless lives at least for a day of merriment. Indoor games and concurrence of the like-fated people in the club provides the lost ones to vent their sorrows and hurl out their loneliness.

Alpha provides scholarships to the children of the patients who are denied of further education, sometimes even a normal living condition. Alpha stands secular in its full means as its reach covers the needy irrespective of the color of the skin or color of the flag in a kingdom of democratic diversities!!!

Reaching beyond the trends

Though the aforesaid programs are being executed in Alpha in a peripheral means currently, through the new annex Punarjani, they expect to widen their sky-line of services so as to reach the needy sooner and closer. To implement this, they attribute a pivotal and vital role to community participation. As for any social service, man power and money power are the significant duo to accomplish the dream Punarjani a true one in the proximity.

‘Aaravangalkapuram’, the docu-fiction meant to popularize the dream project was a curtain-raiser for the mission-race. For fund-raising and people-participation, the inevitable part of the project, Alpha has to wander still more. Taking into bosom, the responsibility (never as charity), Alpha volunteers are on a run to render love and cuddles to those who are denied of such physical intimacy, to search for the needy, to drape the rotten wounds, to drench the dried up minds, to play with the challenged, to chat with the lost…..

Through Punarjani, Alpha plans to open more chapters and to protract their mission to the urbanized wastes. In a time when ‘use and throw’ tags the genre, Alpha is on the beat to check the thrown out wastes along the waysides and inside the harems of neglect and unawareness. Gathering it handfuls and giving back reformed is Alpha’s modus operandi contrary to the folklores of contemporary unction and bidding farewell.

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