Chinese Doctor Makes Horse Calls
The traditional concept of the old-fashioned doctor who makes house calls to visit his sick patients may have seemed to be a thing of the distant past, but for Chinese physician, Dr. Sonam, it has merely been revised.
For the last thirteen years, this doctor has run a “clinic on horseback” that operates in the remote northwestern Chinese region of Qinghai Province.
Residents are scattered around the plateau of Niandi Town, which is located 3,250 meters above sea level on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
About 300 families live in this 15-square-kilometer mountain area and it is so remote that paying a visit to a doctor is arduous, expensive and even dangerous.
For Dr. Sonam, his patients and medical services are four hours away and it is a solitary ride. He often signs to the mountains and his horse to keep his spirits up. (It is not known how his horse feels about this.)
“When I feel lonely, I would start singing this song about Tibetan New Year, and I sing it to express my best wishes for my patients to recover soon,” said Dr.Sonam.
Dr. Sonam’s mobile clinic is well loved and respected and locals look forward to his frequent visits.
Hats off to this physician who has taken his calling up far more than the proverbial notch expressed by world-famous chef, Emeril Lagasse.
Hats off to his horse too, for where would this good doctor be without his faithful steed?
(Link)
By MDeeDubroff on 19-04-2011
