Real story of one leg that refused to walk

“ Will  help you walk in just one  fortnight “

(The real life tale of one leg that refused to walk even one step)

Faith is not belief without proof, but it is trust without reservation

C, N Vidyalaya is a vast & well known educational campus in Ahmedabad. Shri Bharat Pattani is professor of painting in CN Fine Arts College in that campus. Popular among the students and versatile graphic artist, his body is strongly built, but with a little extra weight. No BP, no diabetes. Never even a complaint of headache.

But, such a person with good heart and good health started having a small trouble for unknown reasons. He started feeling some pain in one leg while walking. He felt the pain often but did not pay much attention to it. This went on for about 2-3 months.

Even the best surgeons in the world first obtain the signatures of some relatives before operating on the patient. Doctors are unaware about two things: one, about several micro connections between the body and various body parts and second, about the Theory of Karma (or our past deeds). Due to these two things, it is not possible to forecast what will happen after the operation is performed. One may perform operation as per the books and as per his experience  & practice, but still one may get opposite result.

Now, the matter got even more complicated. It was not possible to lift the leg in a normal manner and his leg became a cause for worry. He discussed full details with his cousin brother Mukund Prajapati, who suggested him to go for Ayurvedic treatment. This treatment was taken for 4 to 6 weeks but there was no improvement. It was then decided to go to a neurosurgeon.

He was advised to go for MRI test and the report was received by evening. The doctor studied the report and opined that he needs to be operated for the spine (backbone). The nerves connected to section 6 and 7 were getting compressed and this had severely affected the nerves in the leg, he said.

The leg was severely affected. This was a fact and there was no doubt about it. At this stage, it became impossible to climb steps. The leg would turn and twist while walking. Once in the bed, the leg was to be helped with hands if he wanted to turn the body to the other side. There was no energy left in the leg, as though it had become useless.

Even the doctor had said the same thing: “Presently, one leg has become useless. If you do not go for operation, the other leg will also become useless. Not only that, your sex life will also be affected. The more you delay, more will be the damage. So, please do not waste much time and decide as fast as possible…”

Bharatbhai was examined by a village person near Nadiad in Kheda district who was practicing as an expert in treatment of backbone. His opinion was: “The disease is in advanced stage. It is not possible to tell you how many times you will have to come here. It may take five visits or even fifty visits. Very delicate nerves coming out of the spine have been damaged and it is not possible to judge when it will become normal again.”

Operation... and that too of the backbone! By chance, suppose there is some damage during the operation to the spinal cord and its microscopic nerves (which are so delicate that they are not visible to the naked eye), then what? Suppose something gets cut and as a result, this artist will not be able to paint again, then what? Different friends were advising about many danger points of spinal surgery.

He then consulted a doctor who was a specialist in spinal surgery. His opinion was also the same: “Get admitted tomorrow and I will do the operation and thereafter I also have to go to USA.”  He kept all reports with himself and returned only after a week.

When Mother Nature wants to save you from hardships, it comes out to help you in one way or another and holds your hand. When all this was happening, election for Lalit Kala Academy was announced. Avinash Thaker had come for the election voting and told Bharatbhai: “My wife had similar problem and she took acupressure treatment and was cured. You may also try the same”.

Someone suggested that “there is a person in some village in Charotar who treats the diseases of the spine by stretching the leg. Many have been cured by him. You may also visit him. Former President Shri Shankar Dayal Sharma was also treated by him as on the recommendation of ex-Chief Minister Shri Madhavsinh Solanki”.  Bharatbhai went there also and he was examined.

Treatment was started. That person said: “Normally, this should be cured in four to eight weeks but your case is somewhat different. So, it is not possible to give exact time limit and say when it will be cured. It is possible that it may take even fifty weeks also.”

Bharatbhai  was very disappointed  when he returned home. He then remembered the advice given by Avinashbhai about accupressure.

We are discussing what happened between November 2002 and January 2003. One night in January, 2003, Bharatbhai telephoned Shri Madhav Ramanuj.  Ramanuj saheb told him : “I do not know any acupressure expert but I very well know one couple who gives Naturopathy treatment. They will surely have some cure for you. Please telephone them, take an appointment and reach Nihar Arogya Mandir in Ranip…”

Those days, I had started naturopathy consulting centre at “Vishalla” for two hours in the night. Astu - daughter of Shri Surendrabhai Patel ( owner of ‘Vishalla’ ) was a student of fine arts under Bharatbhai . So everything was organized quickly.  Bharatbhai was literally lifted and put in Surendrabhai’s car by his brother Dineshbhai, his friend Jayesh Shukla and well known sculptor Rajesh Sagara and in this way Bharatbhai arrived at Nihar..

After reaching Nihar, again Bharatbhai had to be carried from the car into the clinic. I examined him, studied his reports and told him : ” There is no need for operation”.  After suffering so much in the leg, the patient probably has heard such comforting words for the first time.

What he heard  was also very unbelievable for him. He asked: “ You mean I will  be able to walk without operation, right?” I said “yes”. Second question: “ In how many days?” I said: “ In fifteen days, but only if you strictly follow my advice”.

Bharatbhai had said: “ I will do exactly as per  your advice. I will  follow  even your most difficult  instructions”.

And then the treatment started.

Bharatbhai truly and sincerely kept his promise. He followed the most difficult procedures word by word. He was made to fast only on water. When he became thirsty, he was allowed to take only plain, boiled water (after it had cooled down). Every night, before going to bed, he was taking four tablespoons of castor oil. Daily four spoonfuls of castor oil and that too on empty stomach! As though this was not enough – four spoonful of castor oil to be taken again after getting up in the morning (after cleaning the throat with gargles). So, total eight spoonfuls of castor oil...daily.

Someone will question: How can you ask 50 grams of castor oil to be taken on empty stomach with only little quantity of plain water?  But don’t the doctors prescribe harmful steroids as a part of his prescription and in abnormal situations, don’t their very intelligent patients obediently take them? Here, it is just castor oil, which is , though indirectly, a part of our diet.

Shri Vadilalbhai, the grandfather of our friend Ravindrabhai Kansara was a friend of Shri Ambubhai Purani ( the founder of Vyayamshala or the public gym in Ahmedabad almost a century ago). He consulted a doctor at the age of 10 when he had some illness. The doctor had then opined that his heart was weak. So Vadilalbhai started going to the public gym and worked so hard for his health that he was later on known as Vadilal Pahelvan ( body builder or wrestler). Vadilalbhai would, once in a week would swallow a glassful of castor oil at the bed time! This Vadilalbhai, once labelled as having a weak heart, lived 91 long years.

 Let us return to Bharatbhai. He completed five days’ fast, with only water and castor oil. He could feel some improvement by this time. After a few days, fresh lime juice in water was added to his diet/treatment. No sugar, nothing except lime juice in plain water. Exactly after two weeks, he started walking with the help of a stick, just as I had told him in the beginning.

He would take about three months to walk without the stick, because when he came to us, his weight was 95kg and this would be a heavy load and stress on his backbone. There was nothing called ‘ physical exercise’ in his daily routine so it will require little more time to reverse the damage to the body system due his earlier life style.

He was a passionate artist. He would paint even when he was not teaching his students in the fine arts college. When you are painting, you often forget all that is surrounding you. And then only your best will come out. You and your work and nothing else in between is the key for perfection. There would be many days he was  so engrossed in painting  that he would not feel hungry and would forget to take his meals.

For two weeks, he remained only on simple, plain lime water and then for next two full months he was kept on dates (khajoor) and spinach soup. Alongwith this, his daily treatment at our centre continued.

Every day, he came to the centre with the help of a friend or his younger brother Dineshbhai. For about six to eight weeks, it was not possible for him to drive his two-wheeler to the centre. His treatment included mud pack on the abdomen, steam treatment to the affected part and full body steam treatment at appropriate times.

When he was fasting on plain, boiled water, his mother had once inquired: “ How can you take this much castor oil daily, my dear?” When he took castor oil, his mothers face would look as if she had tasted castor oil. But Bharatbhai sincerely followed every single instruction during the treatment.

I had asked him in the very beginning to walk five to ten steps once he started feeling some sensation in the leg, after five days of treatment. If necessary, support from the wall can be taken during this trial.

After two such weeks, Bharatbhai started taking sun bath, lying in the bed in the open space in his house, as it was possible for him to walk a few steps. His daily routine was walking exercise  four to five times a day,  sun bath and treatment at Nihar, our centre. After fifteen days, he could daily walk a thousand steps.

His basic problem was related to his nerves. There could be many reasons for such an attack on the nerves…physical, mental & social. Everything was adding up, pressure was mounting and finally all this jointly resulted in this damage. The micro pressure on the brain and nerves could have  come from one or more specific sources but it was difficult to find that cause. So, the operation was conducted in a natural way. Fasting  done by the patient completed that job.

Nature cure means treating the patient on the nature’s own operation table. Five specialist doctors from nature’s side – Dr. Agni (fire), Dr. Prithvi (earth), Dr. Jal (water), Dr. Vayu (air) and Dr. Akash (space), the five powerful natural elements-  got together and did this marvellous job of repairing the microscopic nerves. When the patient is fasting, there is little or no food intake and that is when natural forces will start working most powerfully to cure the disease.

Treatment also included  a large cold water bandage on the affected leg. It could be wet cotton or khadi type cloth, with additional woolen cloth covering it. When convenient, it can be applied for one hour or more, up to  seven hours a day.

After twenty days of treatment , he was advised to take sweet  lime (mosambi) with its fibre. Castor oil was continued for a good long period. Bharatbhai came for our treatment for about three months. Thereafter, he started his original daily duties so smoothly that we thereafter did not come to know much about it.

 Today (in 2002),  already nine years have passed. Bharatbhai now does not have  slightest effect left on his mind or body about the hurricane that stormed his life. He keeps  sending his artist friends and others to our centre for nature cure treatment. He still feels indebted and deeply grateful to Mother Nature for his miraculous cure. His contact information:

Mr. Bharat Pattani, E-4,  Sagun Plaza,

Opp. Goyal Plaza, Judges Bungalows Road,

Vastrapur, Ahmedabad-380015

(Gujarat, India) Tel: +91-93761-11033 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            +91-93761-11033      end_of_the_skype_highlighting


The above  interview was written by Shri Madhav Ramanuj, the renowned Gujarati author for the first issue of our health and wellness magazine “ANUPAN” in July 2007 
 http://www.anupan.in/

You can read old issues of ANUPAN here: http://www.anupan.in