By Ali Naseer
Crayons, coloring books, and stuffed animals in hand, we embarked from the CRD department, making our way to the children’s ward. As Manoosha, a nine year old suffering from severely impaired vision, but whose condition has greatly improved thanks to the care she has received, and other young children brought pictures of sunrises to life with vibrant yellows and blues, they were enlivened themselves. Each stroke of orange in Manoosha’s piano could practically be heard as music, and the laughs, smiles, and tired yet enthused greetings we received from bedridden children afforded some rest to their anxious mothers. Despite the circumstances of many of the young patients, in the wards we visited, a dismal hospital room became a relaxed and playful space, this immediate and overwhelming shift defining our visit as a time when the children felt less like patients, and more like normal children living normal lives, allowed to embrace their creativity and stimulate their minds. As we shuffled from room to room amidst the doctors and stethoscopes, I realized that our work was providing a different, invigorating aspect of healing to the children, one just as important as the amazing medical treatment they receive here at Indus Hospital.
The Indus Hospital 