The tragedy of Dr Pesamosca

Prof. Dr. Pesamosca's tragedy: The great surgeon who saved thousands of lives, forgotten in a small hospital room

He saved lives but the world has repaid him with forgetfulness. One of Romania's most prominent doctors is living in isolation, in a room of the very hospital in which he worked for decades, waiting for somebody to bring him a cup of coffee or a bowl of warm soup. This is the tragic story of Alexandru Pesamosca, a brilliant surgeon who was forced to retire, a story told with sadness in an Antena 3 report.

His hands shake now. Some time ago, not very long, his long fingers used to move with incredible accuracy and a pianist's finesse. They used to work wonders in the operating room. Day and night, year after year. For over half a century. Without limit, as he himself says. He only knew one thing, how to do good, and that is because most of his patients were poor, but had an incredible sensitivity of heart and soul, as he confesses.

Now, the man described as a titan of Romanian medicine, is stuck in bed and in almost complete isolation in a room at Marie Curie Hospital. For a few years, the surgeon's only world has meant shelves full of books, icons, paintings and photographs he received as tokens of gratitude from patients.

Days on end go by until somebody opens the door. Now, at 80, Professor Pesamosca is trying to confront reality. Once in a while, some old colleague, one of the people who worked alongside him, drops in to visit.

Before, there was always a long line at the practice door. As of 1984, he hasn't left the hospital: he worked there and lived there. He simply never had time to attend to his own needs, to mourn his two sons that died before him or to buy a home. So the hospital became his home and the job became a way of life. He became a professor and at the end of his career, an academician.

Through various interventions, the professor was allowed to live in the hospital. And forgotten. Even by the people who are supposed to look after him. Now he settles for a lot less. A bowl of soup, two apples and a few seconds of company a day. Abroad, Professor Pesamosca would not only have been respected, but venerated. The letters he receives from former patients every year can testify to that.

Letters of gratitude letters continue to arrive. And the professor reads each and every one of them. After almost 60 years of work in the hospital, Pesamosca learned why he did this job with so much love. An unjust career ending for a person who loved and helped people but who was not loved or helped enough in the end.

Source: Bucharest Herald

Comments

[RP]

this man saved my life 30 years ago

[Roland Hrubaru]

May God let him rest in peace, and may He give us the power to respect, honor, and VALUE this kind of people. I am romanian, living in Timisoara, and I am ashamed of what this country has become. Thank you Prof. Pesamosca for all those lives you saved. The masses may forget you, but the people who appreciate what you have done will NEVER.