Paging 'Dr K' - Medical practitioner dedicated to making people well

Karen Sudu, Gleaner Writer

LINSTEAD, St Catherine:

HIS DEDICATION and commitment to duty have been unquestionable. In fact, it was his father, Janardhana Prasad Katragadda, who passed away in 1993, who propelled him to pursue a career in medicine. His mother, Akhilandeswari died when he was just six years old. his desire to save lives and the fulfillment he gets from the gratifying smile from a satisfied patient have kept him in the profession for almost 34 years.

Born on October 18, 1951, in Patamata, a small village in India, Dr Kotaiah Katragadda was encouraged by his elder brother, then living in the United States of America, to migrate to Jamaica in order to have a better life.

So after working in his homeland for three years, 'Dr K', as he is affectionately called, arrived in the country with his wife, Manimala Anne, on March 1, 1981. He worked at the Bustamante Hospital for Children for nine months, at the end of which he began his sojourn at Linstead Hospital .

"In the first year, only the SMO, Dr Arthur Wint, and I were there. We used to have 136 beds, male and female surgical, labour ward, female and male medical, paediatric ward, and A & E ," he recalled.

He was charged with the responsibility of overseeing the A & E department and the paediatric ward.

Passion for the profession

"I leave home at 5 o'clock and by 1 o'clock, I used to have to do the minor ops, About 4 o'clock, I used to come for lunch, and then I used to go back again about 9 o'clock," he recounted.

After Wint retired, Dr K was the sole medical officer at the institution from 1987 to 1997.

Dr K's passion for the profession and the care meted out to his patients both at the hospital and in his private practice are second to none.

"Usually, I don't go out of Linstead. If I do, I stay one or two hours. When I am away from the hospital, my heart would be palpitating. I love my job. I never thought it is an obstruction to my personal life, I never thought that," he said with sincerity.

His 51-year-old wife throws her full support behind him without hesitation.

"Even sometimes when he is tired, I encourage him and support him fully. I don't have any problems with him and how he is dedicated to his patients. When I hear people sick and ask for him I say go,'she shared with The Gleaner.

At the same time, she said that illness has never been an excuse for her husband not to perform his duties.

"If he is sick, usually he still goes to work. If he didn't go, people would come to the gate and say 'How come he didn't go?' and I say 'Yes, he's a human being, too. He'll get sick and, say, just for one day he's sick," she said.

For Dr Tanesha Burke, who has been at the hospital for one year, Dr K is more than a boss.

"Dr K is a wonderful person first, and then, a very good doctor second. The thing about it is he is a very good mentor.

"He tends to be very hands on. He actually comes as an SMO. Most of the times you don't really find that. He will see us on a one-to-one basis, ask us how we are doing. When you are having doubts, he helps you to look at the broader picture that you might not necessarily see," Dr Burke reflects.

In 2005, Dr K was honoured by the staff of Linstead Hospital for 25 years of dedicated and loyal service to the Linstead community and its environs.

On that occasion, a section of the citation read: 'Dr K is a very unassuming and humble person who is proud of his art. He possesses a passion for caring and healing the sick. He is also cheerful, humane, and humorous."

He has been married to Manimala since March 12, 1978. The union has produced two sons, Arunshekar, 26, holder of a degree in business administration, now pursuing his second degree in information technology; and Chandrasekhar, 22, a third-year medical student at the University of the West Indies.

Dr K's commitment to duty hardly allows him the opportunity to enjoy his interest in flowers.

PHOTOS BY KAREN SUDU