© 2023 Dr. M. Sheppard
This Ayurverdic doctor is very famous and van and lorry loads of patients come from all over Sri Lanka to consult him, arriving from early in the morning.
This particular patient had been diagnosed with advanced cancer by Western medicine practitioners and had already had a major operation to remove a tumour. Despite having left at 4.00am to consult this Ayurrvedic doctor, she was number 56 in the queue. The family waited patiently in their car for her turn.
When eventually it was her turn the doctor approached the car. He took her left hand and held her 3rdand 4th fingers in his hand. He closed his eyes and muttered something (a mantra?). Then he felt her pulse in her left wrist. Next he tapped his hand on her forehead and felt her fontanelles, all the time he was muttering. He then told her that she had had a major operation recently and the hospital had done many things to her. He could “see” that she had problems passing urine. (N.B. As is customary when visiting this type of practitioner, she had not told him any information about her symptoms or case, prior to his diagnosis).
He told her that if she had not had an operation he would have treated her condition with Ayurvedic medicines – she had in fact been diagnosed at a top Colombo hospital with pancreatic cancer and had a carcinoma blocking her bile duct, causing her to turn yellow, removed. The immediate symptom that she was presenting on this occasion, was difficulty in passing urine.
The Ayurverdic doctor her told not to worry. She did not have cancer, she had a blockage which his medicines could cure. The instructions he gave her included refraining from eating eggs, fish or meat for the 12 days of the treatment he would prescribe. She was given a prescription to take to an Ayurvedic pharmacy (the consultation asting about 10 minutes, cost 2000 rupees and the herbs from the Ayurvedic Pharmacy a further 5000 rupees). Basically she had to drink these herbal “teas” morning and evening for 12 days. They had to be chopped up and boiled – a somewhat complicated and time-
She had 4 cups fulls of different combinations to drink morning and evening for the 12 days. She was to wash only with hot water and not take cold showers during this time. Then after these 12 days he assured her that she would feel much better, passing urine normally and her appetite would return so that she could eat normally.