Saved by a syncretic faith? A case from 1995

Physicians in countries like India have to take on the care of seriously ill patients that, in a strict sense, maybe beyond their means to handle. They do so often because their patients trust them or the institutions that they may be a part of. The author reflects on his stint as a young physician in a rural medical college in Gujarat in the 1990s. He narrates the experience of dealing with a critically ill young man brought by road from a hospital in Bombay, 500 km away, to his hometown. The patient survived because the correct diagnosis was reached, and the family assisted in his intensive care with a remarkable composure which owed its origins to a faith crossing the boundaries of religion.