Dr Arcanjo de Menezes, who passed away in Margão, a month ago, at the ripe age of 88, was a double postgraduate (in Surgery and Obstetrics) from the Lisbon University in Portugal, a rare feat only a few could be proud of.
I first met him in 1966 at the Hospicio Hospital where I worked as a Junior Medical Officer and he had been appointed as the Head of Surgery and Obstetrics. We anxiously awaited the arrival of the new appointee. Everyone had heard so much about him. He was brilliant, had a glorious career and won several awards for his academic excellence. Armed with prestigious scholarships, he also specialised in Trauma, Gastric and Colorectal surgery at the topmost centres in Europe. Thanks to his expertise in Gynecology, he earned the enviable position of Chief Specialist in Obstetrics at the celebrated Maternidade Alfredo Costa in Lisbon.
Though his flashes of brilliance were evident all the time at the Hospicio, what impressed me the most was the missionary zeal with which Dr Arcanjo treated his patients. I still remember the first indelible lesson he taught me about the awesome role a concerned and committed surgeon can play empathising with his patients: – Dressing with his hands daily the non-healing “diabetic ulcer” of a forlorn patient, he succeeded in salvaging a limb from a sure amputation. Admirably, he was ready to do all the “dirty” work himself to bring about miracles, one after the other, in the fashion of a Dr Paul Brand (the world-renowned limb surgeon and leprosy specialist) whom he admired so much.
In the operation room, Dr Arcanjo worked like a master: nimble fingers, deft hands and quick reflexes, rightly regarded as the “clean” model surgeon – one of the best that passed through the corridors of the Hospicio. He believed that outstanding results came from hard work and pioneered several surgical procedures in healthcare with an unmatched dedication to his profession.
As obstetrician, he made “Dr Menezes Nursing Home”, in the heart of Margão, the number one hospital sought by pregnant women. He totally identified himself with his patients. He loved to provide a warm and calm environment for a baby to be born into, gently reassuring expectant mothers and winning their trust. The task of an obstetrician is admittedly mentally, emotionally and physically draining, “but coaxing a smile from an anxious new mother is the best part of my job”, he would say. Arcanjo would also swear, “Babies are bits of stardust, blown from the hands of God. There is nothing like a newborn baby to renew your spirit and to buttress your resolve to make the world a better place.” The angelic toddler was the best reward for all the exhausting work he would put in.
He maintained high ethical standards in the discharge of his duties, respecting the patient’s right to refuse or choose a certain treatment, acting in the best interest of his patients and never doing anything unbecoming for filthy lucre.
Dr Arcanjo had a bent for research and published several important papers in leading journals. Even after returning to Goa he carried out a lot of research. He was the first one to purchase a “Hitachi” ultrasound machine. A self-taught sonographer, he mastered the technique and eventually presented a widely acclaimed paper, “Prenatal diagnosis of fetal abnormalities” at the Conference of the Indian Medical Association in 1972.
He played the violin with panache and was a great enthusiast of western classical music, his favourite composers being Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin. At the end of a tiring day, he would relax listening to a wide repertoire of music. He personally saw to it that all his three children, Maria Nadine (now a Pediatric Surgeon), Maria Alina (a Pathologist) and Jean Louis (an Oncologist) did advanced studies in classical music.
Sadly, in the last decade of his life, he was plagued by “sensorineural deafness”. Little by little, he became aware that his hearing was getting dull. He could no longer differentiate between the subtleties of pitch and tone. As he went from doctor to doctor they examined him and shook their heads. Commendably, Dr Arcanjo never became frantic. Armed with a strong faith, he surrendered entirely to the will of God. How terrible, though, it must have been not to be able to listen now to his favourite sonatas or the sweet voices of his beloved near and dear ones – a cruel blow indeed!
Miraculously, instead of giving in to despair, Dr Arcanjo bounced back with a renewed desire to go on. With his wife, Dr Ninette, always by his side, he pursued dauntlessly, his busy surgical and maternity work till he died. Dr Ninette is among the rarest ladies, replete with exemplary qualities – a veritable guardian angel to her husband even while discharging efficiently her duties as a devoted mother and a tireless homemaker.
In conclusion, how should we describe Dr Arcanjo? He was a super achiever! Someone with the tenacity to believe that one can become as small as his controlling desire or as great as his dominant aspiration; that one who stops learning is old whether at 20 or 80 and anyone who keeps himself active and learning stays young forever.
In this sense, we can say, Dr. Arcanjo really died young.
(Dr Francisco Colaço is a seniormost consulting physician, pioneer of Echocardiography in Goa and a column writer.)
