Dr Haebus S. Vethabothagam took charge as Medical Superintendent of St Luke’s Leprosarium in December 2009. He is the great-grandson of Dr.Rathnam Vedabodakam, the founder of St.Luke’s Leprosarium and is a graduate of Christian Medical College, Vellore 98’ Batch. Dr. Balachandran, the Diocesan Medical Superintendent, visited Dr Haebus in 2008 in Dornakal, where he was […]
Category Archives: St Lukes News & Articles
By Ruth Dawson It was with very mixed feelings and low expectations that I was returning to India. I knew I really wanted – even needed? – to go, but I was carrying memories of how it had been when I was there as an 8 then 12 year old child. At that time the […]
In February 2007, Colin and I had the privilege of visiting St Luke’s Leprosarium. All the staff we met were endlessly kind and patient. They treated us as ‘honoured guests’ – educating us about leprosy, explaining, and answering all our questions. Dr Jeyabalan, the Medical Superintendent, had arranged a very interesting three day programme for […]
Blindness is an occasional complication of leprosy. The plight of a BLIND leprosy patient is pathetic beyond words. A ‘normal’ blind person manages to grope his way thro’ somehow with his sensitive hands and feet. But very often a leprosy patient has no feelings in his hands and feet. In other words, he is blind […]
The year was 1971, Dr.G.M.Jeyabalan, the new Medical Superintendent has just taken over from Dr.Vedabodakam. One day, he was examining a 25 year-old woman suffering from lepromatous leprosy – the infectious type of leprosy with complications, which warranted hospitalization. “I would like to admit you as inpatients” said Dr.Jeyabalan. “You will have to stay in […]
Enlightening health-education has been the sheet anchor of St.Luke’s leprosy-control drive. The health-education van, armed with audio-visual aids, the St.Luke’s Health Education Team visits schools, and colleges especially Teacher-Training Institutes to teach the scientific facts about leprosy. The results have been very rewarding. The Tempo Traveller – St.Luke’s has been using in the health-education campaigns […]
India is home to the second highest number of HIV-AIDS patients in the World. In the opinion of some experts, India, home to one sixth of the world’s population is sitting on a HIV-AIDS-Volcano. When it explodes, the results will be catastrophic. Mumbai is one of the most populous cities in the world, it is […]
The Indian Government has claimed that leprosy has been eliminated from India. This gives the impression that leprosy has been eradicated from India. Later, by way of clarification the Government has defined what they mean by elimination. To the Government elimination means that leprosy prevalence has been reduced to one per ten thousand of the […]
Every year the Paul Harrison Award is bestowed upon an alumnus of Christian Medical College, Vellore who has made an outstanding contribution to the health and welfare of people in need. Dr. G.M. Jeyabalan of the batch 1959 was given this award for the year 2002. The following citation was presented at the Graduation Ceremony: […]