Army Research And Referral Hospital retrogrades ESM healthcare

Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal, PVSM, AVSM*, VSM
The Adjutant General
Adjutant General’s Branch
Integrated HQ of MoD (Army)
Room 280, South BlockDHQ PO, New Delhi -110011
Sub: HEALTHCARE DEFENCE VETERANS

Dear General Sabharwal,
1. On 03 May 2011, I had an opportunity to visit RR Hospital Oncology Department with a relative patient. While waiting for our turn to be seen by the doctor, I happened to read a Notice Board put up in the corridor which has compelled me to write their letter.
2. All along our Military Career, (the post retirement being part of it as the last stage), we were told that Health Care of the Defence Veteran and his/ her spouse would be taken care of by the Govt. We were told that DSSR also mentions so. The ECHS was introduced to further improve the healthcare of defence Veterans. But what is written on the Notice Board referred above, one can safely deduce that any Defence Veteran or his/ her ECHS dependent inflicted with the Cancer will find it most difficult to get the treatment and he is sure to die most probably due to harassment and exhaustion rather than by cancer. I borrowed a paper from the reception counter and copied what was written on the Notice Board. The same is as follows:

All Ex Servicemen to be registered under ECHS for treatment of cancer.

All ECHS members to come to Oncology OPD with reference for ECHS Policlinic.

ECHS members to come to OPD Days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) for consultation between 0900 – 1400hrs.

All patient coming for initial or subsequent visit should get then registered in OPD.

All special investigation or Radiological investigation will be done from civil hospital through ECHS Cell.

Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy will not be provided at this hospital.

Surgery may be offered depending on availability of beds and OT slot, after permission from Commandant.

Medicines and disposable for ECHS members to be collected from ECHS policlinic.

Only patients operated at this hospital will be reviewed here. Others, who have received treatment in civil are to be followed up at the respective hospitals.
3. The analysis
(a) The individual first reports to ECHS, collects the investigation forms, goes to
investigation empanelled hospitals which is difficult to find, gets back to ECHS, collects referral form for RR, reports to RR gets registered and then reports to Oncology department. (The patient and his/her relatives are already exhausted).
(b) ECHS members can visit RR only on OPD Days ie Tuesday, Thursday,
Saturday for consultation between 0900 – 1400hrs. Coming from 50 – 60 Kms away he is late at the reception and may not get his turn that day. This is what a few in the corridor had to tell me.
(c) The notice says that all special investigations or Radiological investigations will
be carried out in civil Hospital through ECHS Cell and not in RR Hospital. The patient returns to ECHS polyclinic which has already been closed for the day. He comes to ECHS, the next day and gets referral forms for investigations, goes to civil hospitals and gets the investigation done. After a few days collects investigation reports from the civil hospital and returns to ECHS Polyclinic. Again waits for his turn, gets referral to RR Hospital and then on OPD day reports to Oncology Dept.
(d) He is seen by the specialist doctor but his ordeal does not end. If Radiotherapy and
Chemotherapy are required to be don, the Notice Board says that these will not be provided at RR Hospital. He then goes back to ECHS polyclinic, is seen by the doctor who then prepares referral for civil hospital.
(e) He then goes to the civil hospital and waits for his turn to be given future date for
the therapy.
(f) The Notice Board also says that surgery if required may be offered depending on
availability of beds and OT Slot that too after permission from Commandant. The individual then starts his journey to reach upto the Commandant to get permission. If he is lucky, to get permission, he returns to oncology department and gets the date for surgery.
(g) The problem is further compounded, the Notice Body says, Medicines and
disposables for ECHS members to be collected from ECHS polyclinic. The patient returns to his dependent ECHS Polyclinic and asks for Medicines and disposables. More often, the local purchase funds would not be available, and the individual is harassed further. He is now at the breaking point.
(h) If he is lucky to get his surgery done at RR, only then he can get himself reviewed at RR. But if he has been operated in any civil hospital, he would have to follow the same tedious procedure to get himself reviewed at the Civil Hospital since RR will not entertain him for any future complications.
5. After reading the Notice Board I looked up and prayed to the God that No defence veteran should ever get Cancer since he is sure to die due to the bureaucratic tedious system of provision of Health Care. Soldier took the oath that Nation comes first then come his comrades and his own comfort the last and accepted to sacrifice his life. But he was assured that the Nation will lookafter his needs. Alas! if the instructions on the Notice Board are any indication, a defence veteran has been left at the VILLAGE WELL AS FIRED CARTRIDGE TO DIE. Dear General Sabharwal, I must admit that my emotions over took and tears rolled down.
6. May we request you to please take up the case at the highest levels and get the system set right to ensure that super specialty care to the Defence Veterans for all type of health problems is provided through single Widow concept. Please treat this MOST URGENT.
With Regards,
Jai Hind
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM
Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement

World Tobacco Day focuses on Protecting Women Worldwide

Sunday, May 30, 2010
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Globally, every year, May 31st is observed as World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). This year the focus is on Gender and Tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women. In commemoration of World No Tobacco Day this year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India with support of World Health Organisation (WHO), and in collaboration with Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) and other partner organization including Voluntary Health Association of India(VHAI), India Cancer Society (ICS), Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), and Consumer Online Foundation (COF), is organizing an event at Lady Hardinge Medical College auditorium, N.Delhi. The activities include an exhibition and panel discussion on the theme, skits by school students. Ms. Barkha Singh, Chairperson, Delhi Commission for Women will be the chief guest for the function.

Tobacco is the most common preventable cause of death in the world today. Globally 5.4 million deaths can be attributed to tobacco use, and it is expected that by year 2030 about 80% of these deaths will be in developing countries where tobacco use continues to grow in a healthy manner. Roughly 10 % of the tobacco smokers live in India, and if we include the chewers the data will more than double. Currently India accounts for a sixth of world tobacco related deaths.

According to a study published in ‘New England Journal of Medicine’ in Feb, 2008 smoking alone will cause one million deaths every year in India during the 2010’s. As per the estimates from the latest round of National Family Health Survey-3 (2005-06) 57% males and 10.8% females reportedly consuming tobacco in some form , smoked or chewed. More than a third of Indian men and about 8% of the Indian women chew tobacco in form of gutkha or paan masala, the prevalence is more in rural areas than urban areas. Among women, 0.5% in urban areas and 2% in rural areas use the smoking form of tobacco products and about 6% of urban women and about 12% of rural women use smokeless tobacco.

Further, in India about 6 million farmers are involved in growing tobacco and it provides employment to 36 million people. Likewise, more than 4.4 million people are engaged in bidi rolling, and majority of them are women and children. These are conservative estimates as bidi rolling is mainly a household activity, and the entire family is engaged.

Tobacco and Women
The adverse health effects of tobacco on men and women exhibit sex-specific differences and women have specific health issues due to its use and exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS). The adverse effects on reproductive health, including those on unborn child and the newborn are issues of grave concern for women.

Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy increases the risk of health and behavioral problems including: abnormal blood pressure in infants and children, cleft pallets and lips, childhood leukemia, infantile colic, childhood wheezing, respiratory disorders in childhood, eye problems during childhood, mental retardation, attention deficit disorder, behavioral problems and other learning and developmental problems.

In addition, the industry also engages a large number of women in tobacco farming and manufacturing and thus exposes them to a multitude of adverse health effects. Women working as tobacco workers suffer from numerous health hazards and various kinds of exploitation from the employers. Tobacco workers are caught in a vicious cycle of poverty, exploitation and helplessness. Low wages, poor returns, lack of alternatives and exploitation at the hands of middlemen keep them in perpetual poverty and debt. Bidi rollers handle tobacco flakes and inhale tobacco dust as well as volatile components of tobacco which put them at a high risk of cancer, chronic lung diseases, tuberculosis, asthma, eye problems, pains in neck and back, gynecological problems.

In order to protect the youth and women from the adverse harm effects of tobacco use and Second hand Smoke, Govt. of India enacted “Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA) in 2003. The Act also bans all forms of advertisement (direct and indirect), promotions and sponsorship of tobacco products.

In the report “Women and Health: today’s evidence, tomorrow’s agenda,” Director-General of WHO, Margaret Chan wrote “protecting and promoting the health of women is crucial to health and development – not only for the citizens of today but also for those of future generations”. Hence, recognizing the importance of reducing tobacco use among women, and acting upon that recognition, would save many lives. DS
‘World No Tobacco Day’ focuses on Protecting Women from Tobacco Use and Tobacco Marketing

IESM: Life Insurance cover for Veterans

CASE FOR ARMED FORCES GROUP INSURANCE SCHEMES FOR VETERANS

The need for providing group life insurance cover to the soldiers was felt after 1971 war. More than 3843 soldiers were killed and 9851 were wounded in the 1971 Indo- Pak war which lasted for only 14 days. When the concept of Group Insurance Scheme for the armed forces was muted, even the state owned Life Insurance Corporation of India did not come forward to take up the scheme for the Armed Forces, because of the alarming death toll in the 1971 war.

Therefore, the responsibility of creating and administering a Group Insurance Scheme was entrusted to our own senior officers. The Indian Air Force and the Indian Army started their own group schemes in the year 1975 and 1976 respectively. The efficient administration with military discipline and sincerity rendered more surplus funds to start the Post Retirement Insurance Schemes to its retired members.

The Scheme which started with an amount of Rs.30,000 in the year 1976 for the serving personnel is now marching with 15 lacs in the Army and Rs.30 lacs in the Air Force and from Rs.65000 to 4 lacs for retired personnel in the Army and Rs.30,000 to 5 lacs for the Air Force personnel. Whenever a new scheme is introduced, the retired people are always neglected and forgotten. While we fight for the parity in pension (OROP) with the Government, we fail to implement the same benefits to our own elders even though we ourselves govern the entire schemes like this.

For example, a person who had contributed a lump sum amount for the Post retirement insurance scheme in the year 1981, is now out of the scheme without any benefit. General O.P.Malhotra, the then Chief of the Army Staff, whom I presume to be the first person to start and join the extended insurance scheme in the Army is now out of the scheme without any benefit. Because, the terms and conditions which was framed by our own men stipulates that the benefits are available within a period of 15 years or 70 years of age whichever is earlier, renders him ineligible for any benefit. Can we not accommodate the elders like him in the scheme, even by charging some additional contribution to the extended scheme. Nothing is impossible, if we have the will to do. After all, every one is going to die one day. The cut off age and the cut off term period framed by our own men should not come in the way for depriving any benefit. Some small amount of death benefit must be given to all the Post Retirement Scheme members irrespective of age and term.

With profound grief and tears in my eyes, I want to narrate a real life story of an Ex Sgt Krishnawamy, Engine Fitter, of Indian Air Force. A decorated Airman, with a number of commendation certificates and cash awards for his dedicated work as a Engine Fitter in the Air Force, was discharged from Air Force in Aug 1989. 14 years after his discharge from Air Force, it was detected that his days are counted at a faster rate due to chest cancer. A detailed diagnosis revealed that it was an occupational hazard that had attributed to this decease. The hard work he had to put up in the Air Force to service the 2nd world war type Air crafts such as Dakota, Fairchild Packet which had earned him Commendation certificates, but these substandard aviation machines taken his life by slowly poisoning his body. A renowned cancer institute expressed their inability for any further treatment.

As I was close associate of the family, I tried to mobilize financial assistance from wherever possible. During our search for help in his home, Sgt Krishnasamy himself with great difficulty opened a cupboard in his house and took out the Air Force Group Insurance Society’s post retirement insurance memorandum and asked me to find out whether his family can get any thing out of that. He knows very well that the AFGIS comes into effect after his death. But he does not know that the cut off date in the memorandum is going to expire in a few days, which will make his wife ineligible for the claim of Rs.40,000/ as per the memorandum. Considering the situation my heart and soul went out of way to pray for his peaceful death within the cut off date (As it is, we all know that his death is certain in few days) so that his family will get at least that amount as a last rescue from starvation. Alas! it did not happen. The date of death succeeded in denying the insurance benefit to the family. This tragic event triggered me to make this appeal to the society, so that if possible, it could be prevented to some extent for the future generation. Let me not come across any such tragic experience any more. If not the full amount, at least some amount to meet the funeral expenses may be given by the Group insurance society, to the old veterans whose contributions were the foundations for this great Institution. Let us set an example to others instead of begging the politicians and bureaucrats.

The Indian Armed Forces are well known for its clean administrative skills. Therefore there is nothing impossible, if there is a will to do. Will the concerned authorities in the three services consider the request sympathetically and implement it immediately so that every member of the extended insurance scheme get some grant at the time of his death. This may be done with retrospective date so that no one is hurt on any cut off dates.

C Muthukrishnan, (Ex Sgt)
Active Member IESM
Blog: indianexserviceman.blogspot.com

Soldier Braves Challenges of Life

Remembering Jeet with her precious baby
It was in Jun 55 that I was married to my second wife, my first marriage; it was with all the pomp and ceremony with the Parade the marching columns and the Brass band in attendance. There were VIP’s presiding and relations, friends, colleagues, and a multitude of others present. I was on top of the world, having just braved the long and arduous ceremony, still decked in finery.

Little did I know that my new wife, my new love, had other plans for me. Demanding total submission, whimsical and unpredictable by nature, expecting and getting 24-hour attention, her control over me was total- deep, pervasive and complete, courtesy the ubiquitous Tele J (that was what we had those days to communicate).

My life style was totally controlled by her norms; I was reminded time and again that I had to follow the customs inherited from her forefathers. I did not even have choice of what I ate and when I ate, the timings were fixed; the menu was decided a week in advance.

Periodically, I would be taken out in wilderness, to asses how well I had been conditioned, physically and mentally even when deprived of basic comforts. I would , at times, even be put under test to determine if I was brave enough to face a bullet to keep her honor. However, I was still infatuated by her and the style, glamour and prestige accruing for having tied the knot with her

Then one day she had competition, her own doing, as she permitted me to marry a second time, to my first wife. I was in euphoria once again; the two of us living in our own world, alas the paradise lasted, only, till the leave of absence, a wedding gift, having run its course, came to an end. I was in a dilemma. Short of words and bereft of any logic to convince her, as to why she, a citizen, free to travel anywhere in the country, could not accompany me to where I was going. I did not have any option but to report back to the Second, abandoning the bride of few days, leaving her perplexed and heartbroken. It was some thing that happened time and time again.

Alas, one day, exactly after 30 years of devoted servitude, the Second, perpetually young, decided that I had become too old for her and pensioned me off.

I was now free to spend more time with Jeet and try to compensate for having neglected her all this time. The damage however had already been done, the pain suffered, hurt felt and tensions borne during the earlier life, had their cumulative effect and one day she also left me for her heavenly abode.

Abandoned by one and discarded by the other, I, now left alone, divide my lonely hours, longingly looking at the Photo hanging on the wall and with nostalgia at the uniform in the cupboard.

Brig Lakhsman Singh, VSM (Retd)

Challenging Concerns Combating Cancer and Commanding

Medical report
With me posted as FCE commander in Mhow. Jeet my wife was still in Delhi with the children, Kalpana in JNU doing her final MA in French and Ranjit in Eleventh at Army Public School. I had managed to retain the accommodation at the SP Marg officer’s enclave Block 12/ 474 with some difficulty. To add to our mutual worry and problem she was also not well. Both of us were in mental trauma, she had been advised surgery for a suspected tumour in the abdomen I can still not forget the adjective used 'Tennis ball Size' to describe the tumour by the Doctor who had examined her at MH Delhi Cant. I had in desperation called her to Mhow to discuss the future course of action.

The family on a short visit to Mhow
Genuine grudge
Jeet never failed to remind me that I had abandoned her way back in 1959 though it was true her grudge genuine, yet I have often wondered if she ever realised the trauma that even I had to suffer leaving them behind. Possibly the plethora of letters she did receive from me during the periods of separation were not poignant enough to convey my feelings or did the contents made the separation just a bit more unbearable for her. I do know however that waiting for her infrequent letters was a torture enough which was lessened only when I was handed over the then so familiar an envelop which contained her letter even though the euphoria lasted for a short time it is what sustained me during that difficult period at Tawang where I had been moved as the Sparrow of 7 Infantry Brigade from the Regimental HQ at Tezpur.

Family station sans family
Even later I left her many times due to the exigencies of service to fend for on her own and bring up the two growing children who needed the love and care of both the parents. At times we had to live separated by choice due to the children's education when we could visit each other only for short periods also at times it was she who abandoned me leaving me distraught and brooding in my bachelor’s quarters while posted in a family station sans the family. Now she was returning back to Delhi both of us having mutually agreed that she should face the ordeal of the operation albeit alone due to the urgency and the fact that I could not be away from the college at that time. I do wonder now as to what could have been more important to me at that time than her well being and the need of moral support of my presence at the time of the operation.

Heading to Indore
On the drive from Mhow to Indore airport she in the back with another lady who had taken a lift with me in the front with the driver both of us in silence buried deep in our own thoughts; my helplessness and her apprehensions. The seating arrangement in the car and the presence of another person precluded any exchange of last minute words of consolation.

Deafening silence
There was another reason for the deafening silence between the two of us as she had been waiting, in my room in the bachelor’s quarters, sitting with this uninvited guest, for me to pick her up. She with her own worries, I was no where in sight the time for her flight to Delhi approaching naturally she was getting tense and justifiably upset with me. I was all this time stuck in the Commandant's office who was interviewing the foreign students of the faculty with me in attendance. The Commandant though aware of the fact that I was to see- off my wife was in an expansive mood enjoying his interaction with the students from Africa, Iran and Afghanistan in the process honing his already considerable diplomatic skills. I was all the time on tenterhooks covertly looking at my wrist watch, calculating by the minute diminishing gap in the travelling time from Mhow and the Checking- in at the airport. I desperate for an opportunity to get away and having reached the cut- off stage ultimately asked to be excused which he graciously granted. I rushed to the waiting wife to be greeted with frozen looks that made me quickly sink way down in my ammunition boots.

Brave face
On my prodding the skilled driver kept the accelerator pedal pressed to its maximum travel and made the Ambassador fly onwards, we did make it to the Airport in time for check- in but only with a whisker. Once at the Airport and with her realising that the time to leave me behind had finally arrived I did notice a thaw in her till now rather sour expression. Waiting for the Aircraft coming from Bombay to land, both of us distraught she held to my hand as a desperate gesture, eyes brimming with tears. I equally emotionally charged with a turmoil brewing inside, yet presenting a brave face to keep her morale up added to the fact that I was in uniform and as such had to keep a brave face for the benefit of the public at large.

Flight announcement
The Public Address system came to life crackling and in a tinny voice announced the arrival of the flight from Bombay. Soon the Boeing 737 landed with the characteristic roar of its twin jet raced the full length of the tarmac stopped with an effort at the very end of the short runway took a U turn and slowly taxied to the parking bay a short distance away from the terminal. Once again the PA came to life this time announcing the departure of the flight to Delhi and advising the passengers to board. The terminal came alive with the passengers rushing to line-up carrying the in-cabin baggage in both the hands all in a hurry to reach Delhi before others.

Tearful farewell
With tears streaming down her cheeks Jeet bid me a silent farewell no words exchanged the hand slowly and reluctantly withdrawn from the comfort of my grip and joined the line to face the daunting prospect of facing a major operation alone. Leaving me she slowly walked out of the terminal and trudged towards the plane and to an uncertain future. My eyes followed her each step desperate but unable to do any thing to mitigate our mutual apprehensions. I was still tied to her with an invisible elastic band which was getting stretched as she approached the Aircraft to finally break once she entered the door and disappeared from my view. Possibly she was the last to embark and soon the door shut with a bang breaking my contact with her.

Sane decision
As the staff car with me drove out of the Airport the Boeing also took off, flying low overhead with the two turbines whining at full power. I watched in a pensive mood from the window of the car its steep climb the visible effort to break from the shekels of the gravity pulling it towards the ground and become a free bird once again. Soon it took a sharp turn and headed towards Delhi, taking all that mattered to me with it leaving me forlorn worried and with an empty feeling inside. On my way back to Mhow I did take a sane decision and rang her up at the earliest to defer the operation till I could be with her at Delhi.

Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM (Retd)

Posting to Mhow as Faculty Commander

Posting
The posting to MCTE Mhow in 1979 as the Faculty Commander FC&VE was the highpoint of my instructional career. It was even to my own eyes a bit unexpected especially with a plethora of average grades collected by me in all the Corps courses attended. It was no small wonder; I did manage to make a success of it. Possibly it is not the grades on the courses but the application of the knowledge and experience gained in various situations reaction to the problems faced and the attitude when things got difficult and the horizon bleak overcast with dark-grey and threatening clouds.

Spectrum
The tenure as Faculty Commander in MCTE considered a hot seat by some of my predecessors was not an easy one. MCTE was a mine field to be traversed most carefully inhabited by highly ambitious and furiously competitive young staff, young student officers the young and pretty wives and senior officers living some reason or other separated. There were also some passengers both in staff and the students who had their own agenda and well thought-out plans to achieve the same. The place had its own dynamics, the air perpetually bristling with palpable energy of all frequencies across the spectrum.

Constraints
I did identify the problem as to why the "Faculty Commander's chair" had become so hot for the previous occupants who not only found it difficult to manage the highly qualified and ambitious faculty as also the nearly rebellious students branded as an undisciplined lot. The Key lay to get out the mindset those training institutes, colleges; universities are not for the students but for themselves and the staff, to some how solves the administrative, personal and domestic problems of the student officers, a misunderstood lot, and win their confidence. Though students they were still officers and needed to be treated to as such. For me it became an exercise in human relationship and personal management.

Convocation Signal Officers Degree Course
Student assignments
In case of the teaching faculty problem was of the lack of planning at the faculty HQ level with the teaching assignments being given in an ad- hoc manner; with the help of my able Senior Instructor Lt Col Daspal it was soon sorted out even though still heavily loaded at least now they knew as to what was required from them.

Enduring Friendships
Perhaps it was due to this that I did make some enduring friendships. The tenure enriched with me more than 300 friends some now senior officers or doing equally well in civil life who recognise me at airports seminars and social occasions, approaching with a smile. Even some Foreman of Signals students who have risen to officer ranks also coming and greeting me when we meet on social occasions. It more than compensates for the hazardous journey through the so called mine field that I did manage to traverse with fortitude, patience and skill; some inherited others acquired.

Lt Gen MS Sodhi So-in-C with the Commandant visiting the MCTE TV Studio at FCE
Challenges
Meeting the College HQ requirements of using the FOS (Foreman of Signals) students for the Adm Wing requirements in afternoons, running of the ‘Annexe’ the MCTE Club and the organising of the entertainment evenings both my responsibilities as also my insistence in strictly following the orders emanating from the HQ on holding the PT and Drill parades for the student officers was a different issue and was the cause of my running battle with the Deputy Commandant and at time creating difficult situations for even the Commandant.

Reposing faith
My young staff officer; earlier Capt Sunil Arya and later N V Pandey had to bear the brunt of these demands on daily basis which they resisted with my my unambiguous directions backing them. I am glad Arya made it to the rank of Brigadier, Pandey as Maj Gen had the privilege of being the Deputy Commandant of MCTE. Once again they proved the faith that I always reposed in my young officers. At that stage of service they are happy to learn, especially if being guided, and work whole heartedly in delivering the goods rather than harbouring any long time ambitions which quickly grow as one advances in service.

Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM (Retd)

Indomitable Spirit Lives on for Eternity

I fell in love with the perceived image of Jeet,(my late wife) even before I saw her. I had been sent a small a photograph small print with all the seven sisters jostling for space. Travelling all the way from Jalandhar to Dehradun I was trying desperately to solve the riddle of identifying my prospective bride, I had been given no clue in the accompanying letter about her identity. Any way I saw her and was conquered on the spot.

Our parents also decided to make the love bond stronger and made us take the vows twice in 12 hours by having two separate and different wedding ceremonies. Army also helped, those days it firmly believed in the adage; ‘Separation makes the Love Bond Stronger’ and promptly posted me to a field station far away from her, where even letters took ten days or so to reach.

In due course the children followed making the bond even stronger.

Nature also decided to chip in and one day the sky fell on us, her biopsy result came out positive. That started our long fight, lasting for more than 8 years with the most dreaded enemy one can have, Cancer, she bravely and I patiently. Many battles were won and lost by both of us over the period. We came even closer to each other, the love bond becoming stronger, she worried of my future without her and I fearful of loosing the battle, holding her hand tight to prevent it slipping away.

Alas one day the hand did slip away, leaving her frail body in my hands, both of us speechless, she permanently, with just a half shed tear hanging precariously to the eyelid. Was there a last unspoken message in the tear for me?

Her illness was our second and longer Honeymoon, at least in terms of the time, now, together. To me she, even with her now frail body, was still as attractive as before, may be more especially with the fear of loosing her looming large all he time. The Army once again proved right, now that we are so far away from each other the bond is the strongest

We lost the battle but won the war, possibly because of the love, concern and empathy for each other, proving that these are equally important to a terminally ill, possibly more, as is appropriate medical care.

A combination of the two does make a formidable and powerful weapon in the fight against Cancer irrespective of the fact that one wins or looses the fight.

Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM (Retd)

Report My Signal Team grieves the loss of Jeet who bravely shared the travails of a Soldier. Her spirit and embodiment of immortality transcends time and space.