Kerala nurse assists her doctor-son in Payyanur hospital

On a busy day at the casualty of a private hospital in Payyannur, Dr Renju Sebastian carefully examines a patient. As he goes through the process, he turns to the nurse and says, "Mommy, note the temperature, weight, and pressure of this patient". A curious smile lights up the patient's face. The nurse, Shirley Sebastian, acknowledges the smile that says "Yeah, I know". The routine of this mother and son is a matter of wonder for the patients.

Shirley has been the staff nurse of the Saba Hospital for the past 22 years. It was her dream to see her son become a doctor, and when he joined the hospital, the dream got real and sweeter. Her colleagues cheer at the mother-son exchanges.

"Renju is known to many of the old colleagues here," Shirley says. "I used to bring him here from the time he was two and a half years old. When my husband and I had to leave for work, the kids could not be left at home," she says.

Shirley says she has always encouraged her children to follow their hearts. "Being a nurse, I have so much respect for the doctor's profession but I never imposed such thoughts on them during their early academic years. We had left it to them to decide their fields of interest. Fortunately, both my elder daughter, Chinchu, and Renju were good at studies. It was after Plus Two that Renju told me about his wish to pursue medicine," Shirley says.

Renju agrees with his mother. "From a very early age, education was very important for me. I was of the view that only education could provide me a dignified life, and seeing doctors and their work from close quarters, I felt that this is what I wanted to do, as I believed in being of service to people along with achieving financial security and social status," he says.

His sister's dedicated academic pursuit was an inspiration to Renju as well. "In fact, it was she who wanted me to be a doctor, although her personal choice was different. Her favourite subject is Chemistry, and she is doing a Master's degree," Shirley says.

Renju completed his MBBS from Kollam Medical College. Renju's father P J Sebastian, who retired as a Clerical Assistant with Kalady University, is proud of his son and daughter. " We struggled a lot, but our children held out, following the path of hard work and perseverance with an unwavering resolve," he says.

Dr Renju is now preparing for his NEET PG exams and he aspires to do PG in General Medicine. "My first preference is to be a physician, and my next choice is ortho surgery," says Dr Renju.