The well known doctor of our time, Dr. Upendra Devkota, has died of cancer (news report) in the hospital he founded.
Video update:
The doctor who cured thousands of other people and saved their lives couldn’t save himself. The cancer growing in him wasn’t detected until it was too late. He went to London, UK for treatment but after five months of treatment, there was no hope. The doctors at the King’s College Hospital tried their best without progress. Dr. Devkota decided not to try any experimental medication and he returned back to Nepal to die in Nepali soil. The cancer of the bile duct took his life on June 18, 2018.
He landed in Kathmandu airport in April and was admitted to the Neuro Hospital in Bansbari, the hospital he started. His last wish was to to to his village in Gorkha and drink water from a spring near his birth place. His wish was fulfilled by taking him in a helicopter a few days before his death.
As a doctor, Devkota knew he was going to die soon. So, he asked to be put on sedatives two days before his death. He slept peacefully and didn’t regained unconscious. He was pronounced dead at 5:35 pm on Monday.
Dr. Upendra Devkota Childhood:
Upendra Devkota was born on December 19, 1954, in Pandit Gaun of Liglig, Gorkha. He studied in a local primary school till grade four until transferring to the missionary school in Luitel, Gorkha. In his primary school he was the first boy. In grade five, his classmate and rival Dr. Baburam Bhattarai became the first boy and Dr. Devkota was the second in the class.
In SLC, Baburam Bhattarai became the board first, the first in the whole country. Dr. Devkota was placed Board 10th, the 10th ranked student in whole Nepal. That was in 2029 BS.
After the completion of the school, Dr. Bhattarai and Dr. Devkota attended Amrit Science College – competing with each other again. I have shared an interesting video report about the education rivalry between these two strongholds.
Both Baburam and Upendra went to India for their bachelor’s degree – Baburam studied Architecture and Upendra studied Medicine.
Devkota graduated in 1983, and went to the Glasgow Neuroscience Institute, UK to become a neurosurgeon under professor Graham Teasdale. He practiced in Bir Hospital and worked under a renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Goyal to start a neuro ward in the hospital. The Durbar Hatyakand created a different environment in the country. His was one of the few eye-witness of the scene at the military hospital, right after the incident. He treated prince Dipendra on his last days. He also wrote an account of the incident. It seems, King Gyanendra was impressed by his work during the incident. He later became the health minister during the rule of King Gyanendra in 2005.
Being a minister had helped him in gaining upper hand in the health sector. He dreamt of building a international standard hospital in Nepal. The Neuro Hospital (National Institute of Neurological and Allied Sciences), Dr. Devkota’s dream project was built at Bansbari, Kathmandu and was inaugurated in 2006. Dr. Devkota invited Prof Teasdale to inaugurate the hospital.
Dr. Devkota’s one of the most famous patients were Ganga and Jamuna, the conjoined twins. Dr. Devkota tried to operate and save them in 2002 before they were taken to Singapore.
Dr. Devkota’s death is a huge loss to the country. May the soul of Dr. Upendra Devkota rest in peace.