Dr. S.M. Kowsar

Dr. S.M. Kowsar is the residence surgeon for orthopedics at CIMCH. Just has his MBBS for now. That means he basically lives in the hospital. The RS room is probably small. A narrow bed with a thin mattress. Maybe a mosquito net with a hole in it. He gets woken up a lot. Chittagong has those big covered vans near the port. They cause bad accidents at night. People get brought into the emergency ward with shattered legs. He is the one who has to go down there at 2 AM. Sleepy. Rubbing his eyes. He checks the pulses on their feet. Makes sure the bone did not cut an artery. Just tying temporary splints with whatever bandages are around. Morning rounds start early. He walks behind the professors carrying a bunch of files. The orthopedic ward smells like old sweat and iodine. Lots of patients lying in traction. Weights hanging off the ends of their beds. He writes down the notes. Change the dressing on bed twelve. Give painkillers to bed four. Sort of repetitive work. He probably drinks a lot of cheap tea from the canteen downstairs just to stay awake. His white coat pockets are always heavy. Stuffed with pens and a measuring tape and a reflex hammer. Sometimes he cuts off old casts with that loud vibrating saw. Plaster dust gets everywhere. On his shoes. On his sleeves. He just brushes it off. Goes to the next bed.